First Lady Mary Perdue to Host Reading Under the Stars

ATLANTA – First Lady Mary Perdue announced today that she will host Reading Under the Stars at the Georgia Governor’s Mansion on Tuesday, August 25 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. First Lady Perdue will host Georgia’s Pre-K students for a live reading in the mansion gardens of Bedtime in the Jungle by John Butler.

Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning is celebrating a significant milestone this year. During the fall of 2009, the one millionth child will pass through the doors of a Georgia Pre-K Program. The program was established in 1993 to provide the state’s four-year-old children with high quality preschool experiences. In conjunction with the Millionth Child celebration, Georgians are encouraged to read to children in child care programs, family day care homes, at home, in schools, in church, in public libraries, at fairs or anywhere there is an opportunity to share the love of reading. Readers can visit Bright from the Start's website to log the number of books read at www.decal.ga.gov.

Families who wish to attend should RSVP in advance by calling the Constituent Services Hotline at (404) 656-1776. Only phone reservations will be accepted. Reservations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis until capacity is reached. Due to space limitations, the number of chaperones must be limited to no more than one adult per two children. Each person will be asked to provide the name and Pre-K program the student will be attending this coming school year.

Activities at the Reading Under the Stars event will include face painting, music, giveaways and information on the Millionth Child campaign. Peachtree Publishers and the Junior League of Atlanta are providing books and volunteers for this event. Light refreshments will be provided. Families are asked to bring blankets for seating during the reading.

Participants are asked to arrive at the Governor’s Mansion at 6:30 p.m. Guests with reservations should enter at the main security gate.

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