I had a lovely time at the Kennedy Center!
We stayed overnight at the One Washington Circle Hotel, and the next morning were met with a shuttle ride over to the Kennedy Center.
That’s when I met Uma Krishnaswami, Jorge Teti Argueta and his wife. When Bryan Collier & his wife and daughter, Daniel A. Kelin II and Nikki Giovanni boarded the bus, we were off!
At the festival, I met staff and organizers Vanessa Thomas and Mitra Arthur who did an awesome job helping make the event such a success. I was introduced to many more wonderful folks, and I’m sorry I can’t remember all of their names.
My signing area was next to talented author-illustrator Adjoa Burrowes! She illustrated My Steps, written by none other than Sally Derby!
I also met Carole Boston Weatherford and Janet Wong, both lovely people.
I didn’t get to meet Karen O. Brown, Lulu Delacre, Farafina Kan, Edwin Fontánez, Baba Jamal Koram.
Best of all, meeting the hundreds of parents, kids, teachers and librarians who attended the festival. I managed to take a few photos, but I’m afraid I don’t hold the camera still enough, so some shots are blurry and cropped funny.
What I love to do is give away freebies – postcards, bookmarks, coloring pages. I was a little surprised when people would ask how much the cards were, or if there was a charge for the coloring pages. Books can be expensive, so it’s nice to give away little freebies.
