Celebration of Authors is sponsored by WINTRUST BANK
Purchase Tickets!
It’s both our annual gala AND a family-friendly, interactive festival!
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 2024/25 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!
Adult Regular Priced Tickets —$75
Youth Regular Price Tickets, ages 4 to 15 —$50
Children 3 years of age and under can attend for FREE
Mary Winn Heider is the author of over 30 books for kids, including THE LOSERS AT THE CENTER OF THE GALAXY, THE UNICORNS WHO SAVED CHRISTMAS, and THE STUPENDOUS SWITCHEROO series, which she co-created with Chad Sell. Mary Winn’s very first novel, THE MORTIFICATION OF FOVEA MUNSON, was based on her time working in a real life cadaver lab, and now that it’s a musical. In a School Library Journal column a few years ago, Betsy Bird wrote, “In an era of information overload, Mary Winn Heider is the author who will lead us through the pandemonium into the light.” Mary Winn’s books have been on state lists, appeared on Bank Street Best Books, received Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection status, been long-listed for the Edgar Award, and landed on Indies Introduce and Indie Next lists.But before all of that, Mary Winn was a company member with Playmakers Lab, where she spent a decade pretending to be a chicken, an astronaut, and a princess, and sometimes, all three at once.
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 28 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 utilize 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.
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 Mardi Gras Fund,
The Paul M. Angell Foundation,
The Polk Bros Foundation,
The Siragusa Family Foundation,
And generous Individuals like you!
By London B, Millennium Park Summer Residency
There was a girl named Bubblegum. Bubblegum loved to eat bubblegum. One Night Bubblegum didn’t want to brush her teeth but her parents smelled her breath every night. So she had an idea to eat some peppermint flavored bubblegum bc it was the same flavor as her toothpaste. So she at some bubblegum and she went to sleep forgetting to spit it out. So she went to sleep and Bubblegum got everywhere on her bed and worst of all her HAIR. So she woke up and felt the gum inside of her hair and the said “I can’t let me parents find out.” So she put on a bonnet and went downstairs and got some scissors went back to her room and cut the gum out. But her hair was then uneven so she decided to cover it up with a bow and her parents never found out. The End.
By Maya R, Millennium Park Summer Residency
Once upon a time there was a dog named Bentley. He was brown and white. He was taking a nap. He was laying down, all curled up on a blanket. Bentley had a bad dream. In his dream he was lost in a forest and he saw a giant animal; It was a lion! In the dream he ran away as fast as he could. He was a fast runner and would always beat his owners in races. In his dream, he got out of the forest and then he woke up! When he woke up he freaked out. Then he got tired again and went back to bed. The End.
By Katelyn, Millennium Park Summer Residency
Once upon a time there was a boy named Liam Noah. Noah’s life was great. His skin was as smooth as a baby’s bottom. One night Noah got into an argument with his mother about his hygiene. He told his mother that he can’t wait to grow up. As soon as his head hit the pillow he fell into a deep slumber. At 7 am on the dot he woke up for school as usual. Once he woke up he went to the bathroom to when he noticed his face was heavy. When he looked into the mirror with facial hair as long as a giraffe’s neck. Life went on and he never moved out of his mother’s basement and forever lived alone, with his mother. No one wanted him because of his long facial hair and he died alone. The End :)
By Aiden, Millennium Park Summer Residency
Once upon a time there was a boy named John. He was a regular boy until one day he found something crazy- a diamond! But not a regular diamond, it was green. Then, he just went back to his house and fell asleep. The next morning, he tried to get a drink but then it moved and he tried to get the cup but it fell. Then, he had to mop it up but the whole mop froze into pieces. So, since he found out that people have these abilities at Chicago he moved to Chicago. So that he found somebody. They had the power to take any power they wanted. So, they were friends now but wait for chapter 2.
Chapter 2: The Mystery Superpowers
So we all know John, but who is this other guy? His name is Peter, and you already know his powers. They formed a squad their name was… The Awesomesauce Squad. Until that day, they fight crime.
Sold wherever books are sold.The End.
By Ethan C, Millennium Park Summer Residency
It was a friendly day in Chicago when clouds started forming. Then suddenly, the CBR tower was hit with a gamma-ray missile and fell right into Trump tower. Reinforcements were called to fight the alien spaceship that was destroying the city. Then suddenly giant fire aliens started burning down structures. Then, missiles were fired from an unknown location. It was the reinforcements with a giant robot! Then POW! The robot slammed the fire giant to the ground but the monster appeared from Lake Michigan. The monster shot a laserbeam from its mouth. With very few options left, the robot grabbed the Willis Tower, which showed a sword underneath, and jumped and SWISH stabbed the sword right through its’ skull and sealed its doom. And Chicago was saved! The End.
By Tess, Millennium Park Summer Residency
One day little Butter ran through the city and found himself in front of The Bean (aka Cloudgate). He was just a kitten. Little Butter explored all of the ground near The Bean. Then, he explored the rest of Millennium Park. Then, he came across a bridge and ended up in the modern wing of The Art Institute of Chicago. Then he went down to the bottom level where the throne rooms were, which are the little doll houses. Then, he makes his home in the doll houses he likes best! Then, he explores the rest of the museum. Then, he gradually grew into Butter the cat. Butter built passage ways from room to room so he didn’t have to break glass in every throne room he stayed in. The End.
By Vincent H, Millennium Park Summer Residency
When I think of Chicago I think of my home.
It taught me a lot that’s in my dome.
I thank God for making me one of his creatures
Now when I grow up I was thinking of being a preacher
Everyday someone gets shot that’s to prove life isn’t fair.
So now everybody needs to help and care.
The End.
By Melody H, Millennium Park Summer Residency
I like Chicago, and I like to go to the museum and one day all of the things in the museum came alive. I seen a little boy that is an alien and me and my family ran out of the museum with the boy to save him from the government. And at night, we got him to his family safe. The End.
By Soleil (so-lay), Millennium Park Summer Residency
It was my first day in Chicago, lets just say it didn’t go as planned. We were here for a family reunion but that didn’t happen. Instead of going to dinner and coming home we went to dinner and never left. Lets start from the beginning. The whole family met for dinner and two vampire looking waiters took us to a tinted dining room. At first I didn’t think anything of it, but when we couldn’t leave thats when I started to freak out. The only one able to escape was my sister, she pushed over the waiters and ran. So we all just hope she is ok and finding way to help us. Till then I write stories and hope she hears them. The End.
By Gissel G, Little Village Academy
One there was a young girl that decided to go to the forest. She was looking for a taxi. She got a map to go to the forest and go on a bus. When she got their she lost her map and she didn’t know her way out of the forest. She spent her whole life there until she was 90 and she always wrote every day to remember and she meets some of the forest and they talk to each other and help each other get out of the forest like sisters. Sometimes you have to work together. End of my story.
