Arts and Literacy Festival 2023

The City of Santa Monica in collaboration with SMMUSD and YMCA Healthy Kids Day welcomes families to the annual Arts & Literacy Festival.  Activities for kids, storytelling and live entertainment.

The year’s theme is “Ready, Set, Build,” and the event will host over thirty different community organizations offering games and activities that align with Santa Monica Cradle to Career Building Blocks for Kindergarten campaign. The campaign promotes social and emotional development, self-care, physical well-being and motor skills, language development and early learning to help parents, educators, early childcare providers, and other community partners work together to make sure all Santa Monica children start kindergarten ready to learn, inside and outside the classroom. 

Activity Highlights

• reDiscover Center’s Tool Zoo and Carboard Construction Zone
• Cayton Children’s Museum Recycled City activity 
• Santa Monica Public Library (SMPL)’s Storytime Stage features construction themed books read by Library staff in hardhats!
• Construction Tool Relay Races 
• Roaming Stilt walkers
• Book Characters
• Interactive Explorer Card redeemable for a free book at the SMPL booth

Main Stage Performance Schedule

• Emcee Sean Hill 
• Santa Monica Youth Orchestra’s Mariachi Ensemble and Balkan Ensemble 
• Bollypop Interactive Dance Performance 
• Elemental Music’s Prelude Program 
• Santa Monica Ballet Folklorico 
• Psychic Buster Magic and More Show 

For more information about the Santa Monica Cradle to Career Building Blocks to Kindergarten campaign, visit santamonicacradletocareer.org/kindergarten