Oh, the places you'll go: Abilene's Children's Art & Literacy Festival celebrates 10 years

No lyin,' there were tigers and bears.

Oh, yes.

A hailstorm, pandemic and high temperatures well above 100 degrees ...

That, too.

This weekend marks the 10th anniversary of the Children's Art & Literacy Festival. Like the Outlaws & Legends Music Festival, there was a lost year due to a health crisis.

The 2020 outdoor music festival had to postpone its 10th anniversary weekend and the downtown arts event had to skip that year, too.

What to expect at the CALF Festival in 2022

But the CALF, as it quickly became known, has endured. And endeared itself to youngsters and the guardians of their galaxies who bring them to the event to celebrate the world of children's literature.

More than 5,000 attend each year, coming from across Texas and the nation.

Because, founder Lynn Barnett said, the focus remains on "whimsy" and "characters."

It's hard for her to believe an idea to celebrate a day or two or 2½ with children has grown to be one of the city's annual marquee events. Something requiring closed streets, multiple venues, considerable planning and, now, 535 volunteers.

And one more thing.

Staying on the good side of Mother Nature.

A cat, a hat and all that

It's natural and oftentimes prudent to look around to see what someone else is doing but, Barnett said, no one else does a multi-day children's event based on books.

There are events for children, of course, and there are events involving books, including the fall Bath Children's Literature Festival in Bath, England. But that is geared more toward authors and illustrators, not so much the little hands that turn the pages.

"We looked to try and find other places to see what they might be doing, and there really aren't any," Barnett said.

The idea to do a festival locally sprang from a joint cultural tourism study for the Abilene Cultural Affairs Council and the Abilene Convention & Visitors Bureau.

"When they saw what a family friendly, child-oriented community we are, they said it would work well for you-all to have a children's festival," Barnett said.

A year or so after that, The Grace Museum was host of a one-day children's event. It was successful, Barnett said, but it wasn't carried forward as an annual event.

When she heard the National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature was bringing in a Lorax exhibit, "that seemed like the perfect opportunity" for a festival.

"Everyone knows Dr. Seuss," she said.

About 18 months before the first CALF in June 2012, Barnett asked Beverly Guthrie to lead the effort for an event.

"We started looking at what that might be like," Barnett said.

A traveling exhibit of Dr. Seuss sculptures was booked to come here for the first CALF. Those pieces were displayed at various locations in the city and well received, she said.

"Once it came, we thought wouldn't it be great to have it here permanently," Barnett said.

The $30,000-$40,000 needed was raised to purchase a Cat in the Hat sculpture.

"That was so quickly raised that we thought, 'Golly, wouldn't it be great to have the whole collection,'" she said.

The first event coincided with the 20th observance of Theodor Seuss Geisel's death in 1991. Soon, six sculptures of his work could be viewed at Everman Park — the Grinch, Lorax, Yertle, Horton and a plate of green eggs and ham were the next to arrive.

But displaying sculptures didn't stop there. Sculptures began to appear throughout downtown. In 2017, Adamson-Spalding Storybook Garden opened.

This week, it will add a 10th sculpture – Winnie, the bear, by Sophie Blackall.

2022 CALF Schedule: What's happening at the Children's Art & Literacy Festival?

There was some programming the first year in 2012, Barnett said, following a Dr Pepper formula at 10 a.m., 2 and 4 p.m.

"We had a few other things going on but it wasn't anything like what we have now," she said, noting shows by a singer, ventriloquist, marionettes and, this year, an original production of "Ivy + Bean," a Blackall work, by The Panto Company.

"Now, you couldn't possibly do everything in a day. Back then, we were just getting things organized," Barnett said.

Suddenly, planning for something to happen and when and where became more complicated. A countdown to liftoff was need to ensure kids and adults had a blast, and those organizing the festival wouldn't hit a snag.

Even if a snake slithered into the electrical system.

Abilene had its children's festival.

Glad y'all are here

While Dr. Seuss was honored posthumously, the other artists have come to Abilene to be celebrated, both with an exhibition at the NCCIL and in person with a parade, character statue unveiling, speaking engagements and book signings.

Oh, they may hear that Abilene rolls out the proverbial red carpet but author-illustrators each year are overwhelmed by their roles as royalty. And seeing a creation on paper or computer screen transformed into a three-dimensional object for kids to touch, sit on and pose with for mom's photo.

"This is just unbelievable," Loren Long, who lives in Cincinnati, commented a year ago.

"They seem very grateful" for the attention, Barnett said. "I don't think they quite understand the scope of what's going to happen in terms of the banners and the costumes and readings and the performances based on their work until they get here."

While as yet there is yet no lion sculpture to join a tiger and, now, four bears, we have a moose and a mouse, four pigs, three mischievous kittens, a wolf and a dinosaur.

The tiger is Mr. Tiger by Peter Brown and Winnie's the new bear, joining the three who unexpectedly meet Goldilocks.

More: Bearly any effort required to place Winnie in Abilene storybook home

► Look for a story on Blackall in print Thursday and online at reporternews.com.

All hail William Joyce

Many memories have been made, but few top the hailstorm that battered Abilene minutes after the Storybook Parade ended in 2014.

That was the year William Joyce was honored. He has returned several times since then, and the sculpture "Childhood's Great Adventure" based on his

"Santa Calls" book is the showpiece of the Everman Park collection of characters. It predated the parade of CALF sculptures.

There are more Joyce sculptures across downtown based on his "Guardians of Childhood" book series and a friendly green dinosaur with an orange VW.

The hail began pounding the pavement just minutes after the Storybook Parade ended.

Barnett still gives thanks that everyone was under cover, and those under the cover of awnings quickly moved as those shelters were left in tatters.

"It came with a vengeance," she said of the storm that officially came out of the north.

But the show must go on and that year's CALF persisted, though Joyce may forever check The Weather Channel more closely wherever he visits.

During every visit he has made back to Abilene since the third CALF year, the hailstorm is mentioned.

Winning an Academy Award (for the animated short film "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore") was easier than avoiding hailstones that whacked and cracked windows, dented and dinged Dodges and other vehicles, and left leaves everywhere but on tree limbs.

A later CALF experienced power disruptions because of that rascally reptile.

"A snake gummed up the works for a little bit," she said.

Picking the right artist

CALF featured artists over the years have experienced less drama than Bill Joyce.

The complete lineup has been:

2012: Dr. Seuss

2013: Walter Wick

2014: William Joyce

2015: David Shannon

2016: Mark Teague

2017: Garth Williams

2018: Oliver Jeffers

2019: Peter Brown

There was no CALF in 2020, with the works of previous author-illustrators displayed in a group show at the NCCIL

2021: Loren Long

More: 'This is just unbelievable': Loren Long, family, Otis revel in storybook celebration

2022: Sophie Blackall

Blackall previously exhibited at the NCCIL, in 2018, and has been to Abilene. She is proud to be the first woman honored.

That is not an oversight, Barnett said. After all, women have headed the entities most involved in the CALF, including Cultural Affairs and the NCCIL.

The event needs to appeal to the widest age group, Barnett said, and it has to be character-driven. Some author-illustrators focus on a younger age group, while others may tell the stories of real-life people or address social issues.

Their work is terrific and important, but it doesn't work as well in a festival setting.

So expect to see a lighthouse and a brown bear, both Blackall creations, downtown during this weekend's event.

Animals work really well, Barnett said, though a friendly tractor found its pasture here.

Also, the honored author-illustrator is chosen because he or she has a great body of work to present. There have been times when the NCCIL is the first to present a retrospective of their work, which provides another thrill for the honoree.

Blackall is celebrating 20 years in her craft, so the timing is perfect.

These factors have made the Children's Art & Literacy Festival a one-of-a-kind event for attendees and experience for the guest.

Besides Everman Park, home of the Seuss sculptures, the work of Teague, Williams, Jeffers, Brown and Long can be viewed at the Storybook Garden.

Pieces inspired by Teague can be seen on the North First Street side of the NCCIL and across the street on the lawn of Candies by Vleta's.

You have to look up at the corner of North Second and Cypress streets to find the Seymour sculpture based on Wick's work. There also are the six "little" Seymours scattered about.

"We thought it would be kind of fun for a seek-and-find kind of thing because that's the premise of Wick's books," Barnett said.

The diversity of locations helped Abilene claim to be the Storybook Capital of America.

10 years down the road

Barnett had high hopes for the CALF.

"I guess I always thought it could grow and that being an annual thing would be a good thing for Abilene," she said.

A key element is working in tandem with the NCCIL to focus on children's storybooks and a reading theme.

"It was a good framework to build something on," she said, noting the support provided by the community. "If we had these ideas and the community had not been behind it, obviously we wouldn't be where we are now."

She recalled a boy who didn't want to come to a summer reading camp the year that Joyce was honored. He was brought to the CALF and ended up wanting to buy books with his own money.

"That's the kind of thing that makes it all worthwhile," Barnett said.

Barnett said she gets particular joy from the sculpture unveiling the first evening.

"Part of that is because there are so many people gathered around and people always seem so happy," she said. "It's such a great community bonding experience. They are enjoying the heck out of it. Seeing the number of families participating and enjoying taking their children to these readings and collecting all of the buttons.

"That overall is very gratifying to me."

Greg Jaklewicz is editor of the Abilene Reporter-News and general columnist. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com. 

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: CALF Festival marks its 10th year celebrating art, literacy in Abilene