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<\/p>\nOrlando Family stage to host inaugural Florida Children’s Book Festival<\/p>\n
The inaugural festival will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Feb. 21 and 22 at the Orlando Family Stage in Loch Haven Park<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGET READY FOR A CELEBRATION OF READING, THEATER AND IMAGINATION. THE ORLANDO FAMILY STAGE IS PREPARING TO HOST THE INAUGURAL CHILDREN\u2019S BOOK FESTIVAL. AND JOINING ME NOW TO TALK ALL ABOUT IT IS THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF ORLANDO FAMILY STAGE, JEFF REVELS. AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR JAMES PONTE. GREAT TO SEE YOU BOTH. WHAT AN EXCITING DAY TODAY, BECAUSE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT SO MUCH COOL STUFF HAPPENING AT ORLANDO FAMILY STAGE. AS A PARENT, I\u2019VE TAKEN MY KIDS THERE. WE HAVE SEEN EVERYTHING FROM SOURCE TO JUNIE B JONES AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN. WHAT DO YOU WANT OUR COMMUNITY TO KNOW ABOUT THE WORK THAT YOU ALL ARE DOING THERE? WELL, I THINK I WANT THEM TO KNOW THAT IT PROFESSIONAL, QUALITY THEATER FOR CHILDREN, NOT THEY ARE OUR MOST IMPORTANT AUDIENCE. IF WE DON\u2019T GIVE THEM THE BEST ARTS EXPERIENCE THAT THEY COULD RECEIVE, THEN WHY WOULD THEY EVER BE INTERESTED IN PURSUING THE ARTS AS THEY GROW OLDER? BUT IF THEY PURSUE THE ARTS, WE KNOW THAT THEY ARE INTERESTED AND ENGAGED, AND READING IS SO LINKED TO THE THEATER. YEAH, AND LET\u2019S TALK ABOUT HOW YOU\u2019RE KIND OF MAKING THIS CONNECTION. HOW DO THEY HOW DO THEY GET YOU INTO THIS HERE? WELL, THE SAME WAY THEY GOT THE SAME WAY THEY GOT YOU. SO I RAISED MY MY FAMILY HERE. AND MY KIDS HAVE FOREVER LOVED GOING TO SEE THE SHOWS. AND YOU MENTIONED SEUSS, JUNIOR B JONES. THOSE ARE BOOKS TURNED INTO THEATER. AND THEY\u2019VE DONE SUCH A GREAT JOB. THERE IS UNITING THIS WORLD OF CHILDREN\u2019S LITERATURE AND CHILDREN\u2019S THEATER. AND SO WHEN THE CHANCE TO BE PART OF THE FIRST ONE OF THESE, IT\u2019S LIKE IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO GIVE UP, IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO SAY NO. SO I, YOU KNOW, I JUST CAME UP WITH A BOOK TOUR. I\u2019M EXHAUSTED. BUT I\u2019LL GIVE ONE MORE WEEKEND BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP. WE LIKE TO THINK THAT WESH 2 NEWS IS GOING TO BE A LITTLE BIT OF A GOOD LUCK CHARM FOR YOU, BECAUSE YOU\u2019RE GOING TO FIND OUT SOME BIG NEWS TODAY. I THINK YOU GOT A PHONE CALL A LITTLE EARLIER. YOU BREAK SOME NEWS, WE CAN\u2019T BREAK NEWS BECAUSE IT\u2019S ALWAYS BOOK COME OUT LAST WEEK AND IT FOUND, YOU KNOW, SO THIS MORNING IT MADE THE USA TODAY BESTSELLER LIST BESTSELLER LIST COME OUT THROUGHOUT THE DAY. CONGRATS. CROSSED THAT WE\u2019LL GET SOME OTHER ONES, BUT SO IT\u2019S NOT ABOUT THAT. WHAT\u2019S AMAZING IS THAT I FIRST OF ALL, I USED TO BE A TV GUY. FOR 30 YEARS. I WORKED IN TELEVISION AND, AND AND I MOVED OVER IN LATE NIGHT TELEVISION. YEAH. RECOVERY TELEVISION FROM TELEVISION TRIGGERED. BEING HERE ON THIS STAGE. BUT. THAT I FOUND A LIFE IN, IN DOING THIS THING THAT I LOVE OF WRITING BOOKS HAS BEEN SO GREAT AND THAT WE CAN SHARE IT HERE IN ORLANDO WITH PEOPLE. FANTASTIC. YEAH, WE LOVE THAT. JAMES AND JEFF, LET\u2019S TALK ABOUT THE INAUGURAL EVENT. WHAT ARE WHAT ARE WE GOING TO SEE AS WE KIND OF BRING AND MELD ALL THIS TOGETHER? YOU\u2019RE GOING TO SEE SO MUCH BECAUSE THE CHILDREN\u2019S THEATER AND CHILDREN\u2019S LITERATURE, SO INEXTRICABLY LINKED, YOU ARE GOING TO SEE PERFORMANCES, FULL PRODUCTIONS THAT ARE BASED ON BOOKS, AND YOU\u2019LL SEE THOSE AUTHORS AND PLAYWRIGHTS THERE. BUT WE WILL HAVE READINGS, WE\u2019LL HAVE AUTHOR SIGNINGS, WE\u2019LL HAVE CRAFTS, WE\u2019LL HAVE STORY SPRITES, WE\u2019LL HAVE DRAGON PARADES. WE\u2019LL HAVE SO MUCH GOING ON. BUT IT\u2019S ALL BASED AROUND CHILDREN\u2019S LITERATURE. AND THANKFULLY, OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH WRITERS BOOKSTORE, WRITERS BLOCK, BOOKSTORE IS PROVIDING OVER 30 AUTHORS AT THIS INAUGURAL EVENT. SO TWO DAYS FULL OF READING, FULL OF THEATER. YEAH. AND HOW DO WE ALL GET CONNECTED TO IT? WELL, YOU LOOK UP ORLANDO FAMILY.COM OR ON INSTAGRAM. IT\u2019S FLORIDA CHILDREN\u2019S BOOK FEST. OKAY, EASY TO FIND. WE\u2019VE GOT THE QR CODE ON SCREEN. IT\u2019LL HANG THERE FOR ANOTHER 30S JUST SCAN IT WITH YOUR PHONE OR WE\u2019LL PUT ALL THAT INFORMATION ON WESH.COM. AND HERE IN THE LAST JUST 10S FOR EACH OF YOU, WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? WE\u2019LL START WITH YOU, JAMES. WE TALK A LOT ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR YOUNG READERS TO SEE THEMSELVES IN A BOOK. WHAT\u2019S GREAT ABOUT A FESTIVAL LIKE THIS IS THEY GET TO SEE THEMSELVES ALSO AMONG THE CREATORS OF BOOKS AND REALIZE THAT, YOU KNOW, ONE, THESE OTHER PANELS, WE\u2019RE JUST AS SILLY AS THEY ARE WITH THEIR FRIENDS AND MAKES IT THAT MUCH MORE ACCESSIBLE TO THEM. I LOVE THAT. WHAT ABOUT FOR YOU, JEFF? I\u2019M LOOKING FORWARD TO READING ALL THE BOOKS THERE TO SEE WHICH ONE TO BRING TO THE STAGE NEXT. OH, I LOVE THAT IDEA. MAYBE SOME OF YOUR WORK, RIGHT. YOU READY? WE\u2019LL TALK A LOT. THAT\u2019S RIGHT. LOVE IT. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU BOTH FOR BEING WITH US TODAY.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Orlando Family stage to host inaugural Florida Children’s Book Festival<\/p>\n
The inaugural festival will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Feb. 21 and 22 at the Orlando Family Stage in Loch Haven Park<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\tUpdated: 10:02 AM EST Feb 18, 2026\n\t\t<\/p>\n