Tickets are On Sale for CELEBRATION OF AUTHORS 2026 on June 27!
CELEBRATION OF AUTHORS 2026!
SATURDAY, JUNE 27 from 12:30PM – 3:30PM CDT
At The NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MEXICAN ART
Sponsored by WINTRUST BANK & FORWARD SPACE
It’s both our annual gala AND a family-friendly, interactive festival!
Buy Tickets Now!
Silent Auction! Games! Food + Drinks! Open Bar for adult guests! 360 Photo Booth! And of course, LIVE performances of stories written by our students for the 2025/26 School Year!
Attire: Fancy Schmancy where you can come Fancy – dressed to the nines in your best attire. Or you can come Schmancy – with a silly hat or funny outfit that expresses YOU!
You can bid on our amazing Silent Auction Prizes at the event, or remotely from anywhere! Silent Auction items include: A Trip to Mexico with Vidanta Resorts, A Sailing Excursion, An At-Home Dungeons & Dragons Session, Dining Packages, Sports Tickets, Theatre Tickets, and MORE! Stay tuned for a preview and get those bids ready!
This is the most affordable & most FUN Gala in town!
Tickets include food, drinks, a show, and activities for all ages!
EARLY BIRD Adult Tickets (available through 5/31)—$50
EARLY BIRD Youth Tickets, ages 4 to 15 (available through 5/31)—$35
Adult Regular Tickets —$75
Youth Regular Tickets, ages 4 to 15 —$50
Children 3 years of age and under can attend for FREE
Because PlayMakers’ students rock, they typically go on to do exciting things. Every year, we use our banquet to honor a special alum. This year’s Annual Storyteller of the Year Award goes to Isabella Wilhemy Sanchez. Isabella is a special effects make up designer, and former PlayMakers Laboratory student!!!
Isabella Wilhelmy Sanchez has been in the performing arts ever since she was a student at Play Makers Laboratory. She graduated as a theater major from Lincoln Park High School and has been working in the Chicago Indie film scene working on shorts like The Crossing 2020, Perfectly Sane 2025, Wild Party 2025 and I Only Sleep When The Room Is Pitch Black 2025. Isabella has worked under Chicago based makeup artist Anthony Kosar learning more of the makeup profession and learning skills like laying beards and applying prosthetics to create characters/monsters. Isabella’s passion for story telling was nurtured by the teaching artists at PML and is thrilled to join us at the Celebration of Authors gala to share more of her journey, and to celebrate creatives of all ages in Chicago.
Buy Tickets Now!
Can’t attend our party? We’ll miss you! Consider donating to support arts education in Chicago. Thank you!
Additional Information:
This event is a fundraiser to support PML’s outstanding creative writing programming in partnership with Chicago Public Schools. 100% of the tickets proceeds will support PML classes! For 29 years PlayMakers Laboratory has served Chicago Public School students by providing a creative writing residency program aimed primarily at elementary schools. Our company of over 60 teaching artists utilizes creative drama and storytelling to promote literacy and self esteem during our in-school residencies and park district programming. Each year, our programs serve more than 4,000 young people across Chicago. In our 6 week writing residencies, a whopping 88% of students improve writing scores by at least one level over the course of our residencies. Plus, 100% of classroom teachers report that our program supports their student’s writing and improves confidence and self-esteem.
Celebration of Authors is sponsored in part by
Wintrust Bank
Forward Space
PlayMakers Laboratory is sponsored in part by
The Chicago Community Trust,
Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events,
The Crown Family Philanthropies,
The Field Foundation,
The Illinois Arts Council
The Mardi Gras Fund,
The Paul M. Angell Foundation,
The Polk Bros Foundation,
The Siragusa Family Foundation,
And generous Individuals like you!
The National Museum of Mexican Art has a ramp and is accessible to wheelchairs, both manual and electric. PML staff are not able to assist patrons transferring to or from a wheelchair, theatre seat or vehicle. Service animals are permitted. At this time there is not a planned usage of audio descriptions, Open Captioning, or for ASL interpreters to be in attendance. For any additional accessibility information or requests, please email admin@playmakerslab.org.
By Stella, Hector, Wyatt, Emma, Ella, Lennox, GG,, Drummond Montessori
When Stella was in her mommy’s tummy she couldn’t see anything. Hector and Wyatt kicked their mommy’s tummy. Everyone kicked their mommy’s tummy. Stella and Emma’s first word was Dada, Ella’s first word was Kitty Cat. When everyone was a baby we wore diapers and went to the bathroom. When GG was a baby he ate tomatoes, Emma ate Mashed Potatoes. Stella ate lots of mashed foods, Everyone drank milk from bottles (Lennox is not sure if he did). When we were babies, we took naps in a crib or our car seat. We took lots of naps and mostly we cried and cried and cried and cried…The End
By Joaquin, 4th Grade, Gunsaulus Scholastic Academy
Personajes: Tigre, Lobo
Tigre: Que rico pollo
Lobo: Ese es mi pollo yo lo case
Tigre: No entonces por que esta con migo
Lobo: No es mio
Tigre: Gggg.
Lobo: Aaauu.
Tigre: Le rasguñe al lobo gg
Lobo: !!!! Fin.
By Luna, 4th Grade, Gunsaulus Scholastic Academy
Dear Donald Trump, I believe that you shouldn’t send the Mexican people back to Mexico. My first reason is that the Mexican moms they cook for their children. My second reason is that the Mexican dads they work really hard for to win and pay the bills for there house. My third reason is that you shouldn’t sent the Mexican people because the people they work really hard to come to USA and get a job for their kids and pay the bills
In conclusion is that you shouldn’t not send the Mexican people back to Mexico. The End.
By Zoe, Skinner West Elementary
Once upon a time there was an artist and he loved all his paintings. But something was different when he made one picture. He didn’t like it!!! Because he always did his paintings in color but he did this in black and white. The artist was shocked and he never wanted that feeling again so he stopped painting. 2 years later the artist redeemed himself and started painting and he loved his new artwork. He soon sold his painting and only when he sold one painting he was rich. The artist learned to believe in himself even when you don’t like what you did. The End.
By Dhruven, 3rd Grade, Skinner West Elementary
Don’t put a lobster with a blue crab, let me tell you why.
1. A lobster have two different hands, with speed.
2. And a blue crab have spike hands and the same.
3. Then the lobster strong and large.
4. Next a blue crab is strong but small.
That is why don’t put a lobster with a blue crab.
The End.
By Johnny, Jem, Mariah, Armani, and Taevion, 5th Grade, Dixon Elementary
Tony the talking microwave is unplugged on the sidewalk, and needs a ride home. Tony wants to get home to heat up a steak dinner with noodles and sausages. He tries to cross the street, but a truck full of hamburgers stopped, and put Tony in the back of the truck to be plugged up and used to heat the burgers. The hamburger opened the back of the truck and Tony fell out on the concrete. Tony looked up and saw that he was home. Tony was happy and warmed up the food to feed the family. THE END
By Jada, Pottawattomie Park After-School Program
One time I put mentos in my cola and regret it. So I wanted something cold and got it from the machine and drank some here and at home. And went I got my mentos and I was dumb and I put them in there and I was in my room so no one knew. And I heard a sizzle. I put the top on and it popped off and now my room smells like cola spoiled cola!!! And I hate spoiled everyone Wants dislike me so much every time they come in my room they run right out. The End.
By Lucy, Loti, Willa, Noah, Eli, Jane, 4th Grade, Peirce International School
Harold the Cat had a great day. He escaped and ran outside to get some ice cream. He met his idol at the ice cream shop, Lady Gaga. Lady Gaga was so famous to Harold she looked to him to be 100 feet tall. She was in Chicago for her tour, and she was taking a coffee break, and she said, “Want some?” Coffee is POISONOUS to Harold! His face turned red as a tomato. He screamed MEOW!!! Harold thought “I’m gonna throw up”. Eli was tipped off by Harold and called for security. Noah came with the vet and gave him the antidote and pumped his stomach. He throws up, RETCH! Then Eli pets him and gives him ice cream. P.S. The vet was Harry Styles. The End.
By Lashawn, 3rd Grade, Morton School of Excellence
So there was a love bird, if the love bird land on someone, they will fall in love with the first thing you see and you will be in love forever and ever, but if you want to break the curse you have to dig and dig, and dig for 27 hours and you will see the treasure and you open the treasure box and you will find a cat. You have to love the cat and the curse will be broken forever. The End.
By K.K., 4th Grade, Peirce International School
Characters: David the friend, Karen the wedding girl, and Andrew the wedding boy
Setting: They were at meeting at night
There was a wedding and the wedding was going fine until someone said I do not want them to marry each other because then she won’t want to hang out with me as a friend So they kicked him out and then they lived happily ever after. The End
