To help celebrate the arts in Waterville and the inaugural year of the Gordon Center for Creative and Performing Arts, Mo Willems plans to speak on Monday, March 18 at Colby College and receive an honorary degree.
The college, Waterville Creates, and the Waterville Public Library will offer associated events for community children on Saturday, March 16.
Mo Willems Chris Fortuna photo
Best known for his No. 1 New York Times bestselling picture books “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!,” “Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale” and “Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity,” Willems is an author, illustrator, animator and playwright. He was the inaugural Kennedy Center Education Artist-in-Residence (2019-22) and continues to collaborate on creating projects involving classical music, opera, comedy concerts, dance, painting, and digital works. He began his career as a writer and animator on PBS KIDS’ Sesame Street, where he garnered six Emmy Awards (writing), according to a news release from Colby College.
Willems will receive an honorary doctor of fine arts degree, the highest honor the college bestows to recognize accomplishments and achievements that reflects its ideals, values and aspirations. Willems will engage in a conversation with Tracey Keevan, an editorial director at publisher Union Square & Co., about his creative process and how he built a career that spans multiple modes of creative expression.
The event, to be held at 4 p.m. in the Performance Hall of the Gordon Center at 4000 Mayflower Hill Drive, is free and open to the public. RSVP at colbycollegecampusevents.regfox.com.
In celebration of Willems’ visit, the Waterville Public Library will host a read-aloud of his books from 10-11 a.m. Saturday, March 16 at 73 Elm St. The event is for children and their parents and caregivers, and participants can take photos with Willems’s Pigeon character.
Free copies of Willems’ newest book “The Pigeon Will Ride the Roller Coaster!” will be available while supplies last.
Also on Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Waterville Creates will host an “ART-ivity” event for children of all ages at the Paul J. Schupf Art Center on Main Street. Activities from Willems’s “We Are in an ART-ivity Book!” — drawing, coloring, sculpting, gaming, puzzling — will be available to complete at the center, and copies of the book will be provided.
For more information, visit news.colby.edu.
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