None can deny that Dr. Seuss played with words. His rhymes and nonsense words made his stories original and fun.  We were happy we could open our spring season with a celebration of his birthday on March 2.

Lots of party guests arrived! At the end of the day 2650 people came through the gates.

I think the first thing they noticed was the Truffula Trees. Our talented staff created brilliant truffula-top covers for the light poles around the park.  It was fun to hear guests ooh and aah as a favorite storybook setting was transported into real life – if only for a day.

Once inside, kids could make ‘Cat in the Hat’ hats, create rhyme books and plant Truffula seeds (dandelions) to take home and watch grow. Through these playful activities they developed the eye/hand coordination so important for reading, learned about individual letter sounds, and connected the dots between seeds and trees.

Many guests congregated by the Mother Goose Stage where they could hear local dignitaries and celebrities read Seuss stories all day long. It’s not very often a child gets read to by their local councilmember or television anchor! Through this activity children and their family members were able to make important connections to their community.

It was a good day of play. And it all started with a few simple words!

Photos by Dina Heidrich