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 Shelby Vargas, 4th Grade, Columbia Explorers Academy
That's Weird, Grandma
Once upon a time there lived a cat and a girl. The cat always smelled bad but the girl didn’t know it. But, one day she did notice it. “Ooh, stinky kitty!” she said. “Kitty needs a bath!” The cat scratched the girl because she hated baths. Ouch! Bad stinky kitty! The girl dropped the cat and the cat ran away. About a year later the cat was found inside a school. The cat graduated and went to the 5th grade. Three years later, after finishing college, the cat became an astronaut. The cat went to the Milky Way and took pictures. When it came back to earth, it became famous and went back to its owner.
The End (meow!)
By Latoya B., Henry Suder School
That's Weird, Grandma
Once upon a time there was two kids there name was Cherry and Coconut they wish it snow were they lives it never snow. It just rained all the time and it was December the 23, 2001 two more days and two New Year day and it was this tree. It was a Oak Tree it had magic if you touch it will come alive and you can only get three wish and Cherry she made one her wish was it Will it snow and her sister Coconut she had a wish that she get some new shoes but she was so mean and she saw the tree again and it had talk to Cherry but Coconut she focused on herself she did not have time for her sister but one night she heard something in the yard and it was a cat so she went outside to see what it was and she had look up and saw a shooting star and the tree had said make a wish and she had said I wish it will snow and the next day she looked out the window and she had saw snow and Coconut had said so I want my shoes Cherry had said be quiet and let’s go out and thank the talking tree and play outside and lets build a snow man and let’s go and tell the whole town and let’s go and buy some new shoes and some new coats and sock’s and some gloves and some hot chocolates and rent some movies.
By Takeyha B., 4th Grade, Chalmers School
Podcasts
That's Weird, Grandma
Other Venues
TOTL 2005
Wilmette 2007
Once upon a time was a man named Jack, Jack right. He was the King’s server. The king was so mean to the server the King forgot his name. So one day jack was cooking the king dinner and he was thinking about what the king did to him all his life. Then he got an idea. The idea was he was going to put poison in his food. So he went in the back of the living room where the back door was and got some Swan that you clean the sink out with for unclogging. So he poured a lot in his food and mixed it around so he could not see the Swan. Then when the food was ready he went upstairs. The king started eating and said, “it was good.” Then a few hours later he was dead. The server take the dead body and bury it. But the server wasn’t done yet. He had to clean up the finger prints that he left. So the next day the expert came they were investigators. They know that there was a problem because the neighbors saw a person with a shirt with blood all over it. So the men went into the house and started looking around but they could not find anything so they went to the yard in the back of the house. The man came back and saw that the two men was in the yard and he hurried back there and ask them to come have some tea. They talked and talked until the server fell asleep.
Listen to the podcast episode adapted from this story!
By Ruvanna C., 5th Grade, Suder School
Holidays
Winter Holidays
That's Weird, Grandma
Nobody knew how it happen but Santa arrived very lean and muscle-bound he carried all of his toys to one house and all the kids woke up and came down stairs and ask Santa what big muscle-bound you have. Santa said none of your business and go back to sleep and then Santa left. And no one ever seen Santa again.
By Destanee, 4th Grade, Agassiz
That's Weird, Grandma
Once there was this girl who bit off her dogs ear. She cooked the ear and ate it for dinner. Everyday she saw a dog she bite off the ear. So when people walked they dog the ear was off. the dogs didn’t like the way they looked. Her mom said I smell dog ears. One day when she woke up all the dogs were around her and bit her ear off but they didn’t cook it. She went to the hospital to get her a new ear so the doctor gave her a plastic ear. She said I can’t hear that well. The dog was sad. So they lived sadly ever after.
By Alysia T. & Niya S., 5th Grade, Agassiz
Dialogues
That's Weird, Grandma
Setting: at a mall
Pretty girl: my name is pretty girl
Pretsy girl: I’m pretty girl’s twin sister pretsy girl
Pretty girl: sometimes we say the same things at the same time
Pretsy girl: sometimes we get rilly mad at each other because we don’t agree on things.
(at the same time): we agreed on going to bath and body works
Pretty girl: we decided to buy each other something and we ending up getting the same thing.
Presty girl: we have separate rooms and sometimes even come out wearing the same thing.
Pretty girl: we don’t like the same food
Presty girl: I like salad.
Pretty girl: I like fruit
(at the same time): I like fruit salad (laughing)
Pretsy girl: we also like hand claps (starts playing hand claps)
By Jamie C., 5th Grade, Henry Suder School
That's Weird, Grandma
I think people should give the parrot a carrot but they think they should give him a cracker but the people who walk by say you better be grateful you have a carrot they say so this lady named Mrs. Meeks say do you want some tuna.
So he sings a song.
I love tuna that’s my
favorite no one eats but me
I love tuna.
By Alejandro Q., 4th Grade, Columbia Explorers Academy
True Stories
That's Weird, Grandma
One day in Mexico me and my family were at a water park. My mom went on the mid diving board. She jumped off and dived. There was a moment of silence. My mom didn’t come out from the water yet. We worried. We got distracted by something. And my mom went up for air but we didn’t see. She swam underwater and then she came up and tapped me on the back and startled me. Then my dad did the same thing and startled me. I was worried when I did it no one was there. Suddenly they all tapped me on the back and startled me again. Next day we were at a party with a pool. I stayed underwater for about two minutes. Everyone was worried they couldn’t find me. Then, I startled them. My family all laughed and giggled. Now I felt better.
The End
By Zach Oakes, South Loop
True Stories
Songs
That's Weird, Grandma
I went on my first roller coaster. My dad was there and made it less scary. The roller coaster was “The Raven”. The number one wooden roller coaster on the planet. It was fast-I screamed my lungs out.
By Alexis M., Garfield Park After School Program
That's Weird, Grandma
Other Venues
TOTL 2005
One day a girl named Halena was walking down the street, while she was walking she saw a man riding a motorcycle and she said
Halena: I wish I could ride a motorcycle at this age.
A few days later it was Halena’s birthday. When it was time to blow out the candles, Halena made a wish. One day Halena counted allowance, she had 33,509$ dollars, she said
Halena: I have enough money to buy a motorcycle.
So Halena went to the motorcycle store bought a motorcycle. She rode it, and rode it, and rode it. At 8:00 pm the police caught up with Halena and stopped her.
