In FoHi, turning the page on book censorship

 As book bans sweep across the nation, Forest Hills is fighting back with creativity and community spirit.

On Saturday, Oct. 4, from 1 to 4 p.m., the third annual Freedom to Read Festival will transform the First Presbyterian Church basement, at 70-35 112 St., into a haven for banned books, hands-on art and activism, inviting New Yorkers of all ages to celebrate the right to read and take action to protect it.

The festival is a grassroots initiative, spearheaded by the owners of Kew & Willow Books in Kew Gardens, Holly Nikodem and Vina Castillo, and Yvette Jong, a Forest Hills parent and owner of Something for Sophie, a hand-printed custom design shop, with support from various area parent groups.

“Yvette came to us with the idea to do this, and there were so many parents that wanted to be involved,” Castillo told the Chronicle. “We decided it’s something that is, especially in these times, absolutely important to do when so many books are being banned, especially in Florida and Utah. So even though we’re in New York, we are trying to make a difference.”

Books are considered banned once they are removed from a library’s collection after being challenged by a person or group. Bans and challenges overwhelmingly target books for young adults that are written by or feature people in the LGBTQ community or people of color.

“Personally, for me, I always feel like folks in New York, and specifically metropolitan New York, sometimes feel that they’re in a little bit of a bubble when it comes to book challenges and book bans,” Nikodem said. “But that’s untrue and not always a guarantee. It is something that schools and libraries see.”

Each year, Nikodem said, the festival has a different focus, with this year’s being actionable steps.

“Now that we’re where we are, what we can do to try to protect the freedom to read in schools and libraries,” Nikodem said.

Some of the steps, outlined on the festival’s website, include writing to your local library to thank them for fighting against censorship, checking out a banned book so the circulation data supports keeping it on shelves, registering to vote, reporting censorship, attending library, school and City Council meetings and, of course, attending the festival.

“This time around, instead of having authors or illustrators come in and read their own books, we’re gathering people to read banned picture books for story time,” Nikodem said. “So that’s fun, because that could be anything from one of the most famous ones, which is ‘And Tango Makes Three’ about the penguins, or even ‘Where the Wild Things Are,’ the classically banned book.”

Kids in attendance will have a packed program, with button making, storytelling, art, drag story hour and more, while the “big kids” can engage in a guided meditation and sound bath, a “Know Your Rights” workshop and deep discussions on how censorship and book bans affect our communities and daily lives.

Authors Thuy Petersen and Jehan Madhani will be in attendance to read from banned books, not yet named.

In addition to the panel discussions, workshops, storytelling and presentations, there will also be fundraising raffles to support the Alliance for Quality Education, Queens Community House and Drag Artists for Expression. Raffled items include two tickets to a show at Forest Hills Stadium, $100 off a beginner FoHi Improv course and a $100 certificate for Spencer Pilates Arts.

To purchase a festival ticket, or to enter the raffles, visit freedomtoreadqueens.com.

Castillo said Kew & Willow also will have a pop-up bookstore with banned titles for sale, with proceeds donated to The Lynx Watch, a Florida-based nonprofit that works to distribute challenged and banned books there.