Dive In!
No, I wasn't at the pool. I was at Fairy Trail Park in Newmarket.
But I learned once again what it feels like to dive in. And how wonderful that feeling is — sinking between two book covers into a story. “Dive in” is the motto of the Newmarket Public Library and the TD Summer Reading Club.
And right at the heart of it all: my most cherished project, The Fairy Trail Walk for Esther.
Sunday afternoon at Fairy Trail Park. The sun does its sunny thing, the wind blows agreeably gentle across the meadow, and the amphitheatre fills with guests. Because for the third time, the Fairy Trail Walk for Esther is taking place in Newmarket.
In this third year, quite a bit has changed about this wonderful, colourful event. The author of *Biidnigen Says Welcome*, Nancy Cooper, guides the Fairy Trail Walk guests warmly and lovingly through the story — post by post. Nishiime is a shy beaver lady who expects a visit from her cousins but hides from them. Because she is shy, after all. When I read the story with such enthusiasm, I couldn’t overlook the connection to my late sister Esther. Esther, too, was shy and reserved. Yet she transformed her life when she quietly and secretly trained to become a storyteller. Shy? Reserved? That was yesterday.
Speaking of yesterday. The Fairy Trail Walk for Esther grew into a joyful, bubble-filled event of a very special kind. The team at the Newmarket Public Library, together with the TD Summer Reading Club, made the experience even more inviting and even more joyful for the children — and for me too. With the slogan “Dive In,” they hit upon my greatest passion exactly: the plunge into a story that blots out the entire rest of life. The story seizes all the senses and refuses to let go. That is Dive In — not only in summer.
Of course, it warmed my heart to see so many of my neighbours and friends from Specialty Lofts sitting in the audience. Debbie was even wearing the very first T-shirt, back when the motto was still “Fairy Trail Run for Esther.” After the storywalk, the bubble team let the children — and those who never quite grew up — reach for those glittering, fragile, ever-bursting little works of art. When joy becomes something you can almost grasp, and it makes your heart leap — that’s when fairy tales are called for.
An event like this can only work and grow when generous people like Jackie Playter and others come forward, people who have supported the Fairy Trail Walk for Esther financially from the very beginning. And when the team from the Newmarket Public Library and my friends simply pitch in, without question and without hesitation.
Comm Unity has always been one of my favourite words and favourite sports.
The community in Newmarket lives intensely, excessively, and with staying power. It is no soap bubble — but it does delight in them.
Thank you to everyone who supports the Fairy Trail Walk for Esther and the TD Summer Reading Club at the Newmarket Public Library.
All four storywalks are open from May to October.
https://www.newmarketpl.ca/en/kids-and-teens/td-summer-reading-club-.asp
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