Mark your calendars, it’s that time of year again…and this October, we’ve tripled the fun by rolling the SFDS Library Party, Family Photo Night and Fall Fair into one exciting event: Family Fun Fest 2010!
This year, Family Fun Fest will take place over two days (Sunday , October 3rd – Monday, October 4th).
Sunday, October 3rd
The action kicks off with the Library Party on Sunday (10:00am – 5:00pm), where each book sale will benefit the SFDS Library Media Center. Sales will continue throughout Monday (10:00am – 8:00pm), so there’s plenty of time to shop all day and read all night. Once again we are partnering with Books Inc., who will have helpful and knowledgeable staff onsite to help you with recommendations and to answer any questions you have. Of course, our librarians will also be available to guide you on book choices for your child.
Please be sure to check out the latest acquisitions for our library, which will be ready and waiting for your child to read. We highly encourage all those who would like to consider donating a book (your child can fill out a name plate for it) or taking care of some pre-holiday gift shopping. As with last year, kids are welcome to fill out wish lists for their holiday requests.
Our second event, Fall Fair, will also take place on Sunday (11:00-2:00pm). As always, we will be sharing a potluck and ask all participating families to bring for 8-10 people:
Kindergarten & Grade 3: Appetizers
Grade 1: Salad
Grade 2, 4 & 6: Main dish
Grade 5 & 7: Dessert
Grade 8: Drinks
Monday, October 4th
As part of this year’s library breakfast (8:30-10:00am), we are proud to present critically-acclaimed novelist, Dave Eggers, who will be discussing his national bestseller, Zeitoun. Mr. Eggers currently lives in the Bay Area with his wife and two children, and has a personal connection to our school – his younger sibling is an SFDS alum. Eggers’ first memoir, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, garnered much praise in 2000 and his most recent release, Zeitoun, has also been well-received; both are a must-read for all who attend. Zeitoun is a timely non-fiction piece on a New Orleans resident immediately following the events of Hurricane Katrina. 
“Imagine Charles Dickens, his sentimentality in check but his journalistic eyes wide open, roaming New Orleans after it was buried by Hurricane Katrina…. Eggers’s tone is pitch-perfect—suspense blended with just enough information to stoke reader outrage and what is likely to be a typical response: How could this happen in America?… It’s the stuff of great narrative nonfiction…. Fifty years from now, when people want to know what happened to this once-great city during a shameful episode of our history, they will still be talking about a family named Zeitoun.”
— Timothy Egan, The New York Times Book Review
Last but not least, we are wrapping up Family Fun Fest with our annual Family Photo Night. Don’t miss out on your chance to capture a moment in time – come have your family picture taken by a professional photographer and enjoy an evening with other SFDS families. In celebration of our diverse families, an exhibit of the photos will be displayed around the school for everyone to enjoy. As RSVPs are mandatory, sign-ups will be made available via a link later this month.
A special thanks in advance to all who choose to participate in this year’s Family Fun Fest – we greatly appreciate your support and look forward to seeing you this October!
