Jasper is gearing up to celebrate Family Literacy Day, with all kinds of events planned to get people excited about reading, writing and critically thinking.

Family Literacy Day is an event that is celebrated each year on Jan. 27.

The national initiative was created by ABC Life Literacy Canada in 1999 to raise awareness of the importance of reading and engaging in other literacy-related activities as a family.

The value of family literacy programs is that it keeps parents’ skills sharp, while also strengthening the skills of their children and other family members, according to ABC’s website, which suggests that everyone should set aside 15 minutes a day for literacy training, like reading, writing, playing word games, following a recipe or singing a song.

With those diverse suggestions in mind, Jasper has come up with many of it’s own Family Literacy Day activities.

Events started on Jan. 16 at Jasper Elementary School, with students reading books over the school intercom each day leading up to Family Literacy Day. There was also a family games night held Jan. 18. These are to be followed by student-led conferences on Jan. 26 and a read-in on Jan. 27, where students will read in the gym from 2 to 3 p.m. 

The Jasper Municipal Library will also be taking part in Family Literacy Day. It’s holding a teen writing contest for students between Grade 7 and Grade 12. The assignment is to write a short story or poem about a memorable learning experience. The entries, which can be no longer than one side of a single sheet of paper, are due Jan. 23.

The contest will have three prizes awarded by random draw.

Now those are the events for kids, but there are also a couple community events being held for adults, like a Scrabble tournament on Jan. 25. The tournament, organized by the Jasper Adult Learning Council, is open to people 18 and older and will take place at the Royal Canadian Legion beginning at 7 p.m.

Cynthia Bigrigg, literacy and essential skills coach, said the council wanted to create an event that focused on adults, since Family Literacy Day usually focuses on youth.

“Because it’s so important to foster literacy at a young age, adults often get overlooked, however they’re part of the family too, so instead of just engaging the children, we wanted to engage the adults, as well.”

Another adult-friendly event is L’Association canadienne- française de l’Alberta’s karaoke night, also at the Royal Canadian Legion. It will be taking place Jan. 26 beginning at 6:30 p.m.