Children Play and Pretend during A Cat’s Tale Storybook Festival at the UK Arboretum

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 21, 2015) — A CAT’s Tale Storybook Festival will bring the imaginative world of children’s literature to life at the University of Kentucky Arboretum Oct. 23-24. 

During the outdoor event, families can walk the Arboretum path and experience their favorite children’s storybook plots and characters.  A CAT’s Tale will include interactive exhibits, painted backdrops, costumes and activities to engage children ages 2 to 12. The event raises funds for Child Advocacy Today (CAT), a medical-legal partnership based at Kentucky Children’s Hospital that helps families across Kentucky solve legal problems with medical consequences.

The event features Lexington author K.E Ormsbee, who wrote “The Water and the Wild,” which is about a little girl searching for a magical cure for her best friend’s terminal illness. Author Ben Woodard will also tell stories and sign his book, “The Boy Who Flew With Eagles.” Miss Kentucky 2015 Clark Davis, whose platform is dyslexia awareness, will read to children. 

Students from the University of Kentucky designed exhibits for the event. The event is supported by Kentucky Children’s Hospital, Transylvania University and The Learning Center at Linlee.

"This festival is a wonderful way to showcase the talents of our students at UK, Transylvania, and The Learning Center at Linlee, while fostering a love of children's literature and reading,” Andrea Welker, program coordinator at CAT, said. “Literacy is vital to health outcomes, and early childhood literacy sets children on a strong path.  We are excited to raise awareness about children's health issues, children's education and the legal issues that are barriers to children's health.”

CAT was created to focus on the healthy development of the younger population. Lawyers and pediatricians work together to help provide children with health insurance, housing, education and public benefits.

A CAT’s Tale will be open to the public from Noon to 5 p.m. on Oct. 23 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 24. The cost is $5 for children ages 2 and older. Children younger than age 2 and adults accompanying a child are admitted free.

For more information about A CAT’s Tale, visit www.childadvocacytoday.org. 

MEDIA CONTACT: Elizabeth Adams, elizabethadams@uky.edu