HIPPY parents reading with their children.

UPDATE: The Clinton Center’s Bridge to the Future Festival, originally scheduled for Saturday, April 29, has been rescheduled due to a threat of potential severe storms.  The new date is Saturday, May 20. The story below has been updated to reflect that change.

Kids score lower on standardized tests at the end of summer vacation than they do at the beginning, according to a press release for the Bridge to the Future Festival. This means kids are at a disadvantage when they return to school, and the learning loss is cumulative and follows kids through high school.

Bridge to the Future will hold its fourth annual festival from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on May 20 at the Clinton Presidential Center. The festival brings community organizations together with families to encourage kids to read throughout the summer to avoid learning loss.

Too Small to Fail and Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) team up to help Arkansas families get the resources they need to keep kids reading all summer long.

The event features reading resources from the Arkansas Campaign for Grade Level Reading, free books from Renaissance Learning and AR Kids Read, appearances by the Berenstain Bears, storytime with Entrepreneur Kids, magic shows by Blayk Puckett, poetry performances by the Foreign Tongues Poetry Troupe, the “commitment wall” that encourages students to commit to reading throughout the summer, face painting, bouncy castles and more!

For more information, call (501) 374-4242 or email the center.