FOLD Kids Book Fest

Virtual Events for Educators

Alone Together: Exploring Loneliness in the Classroom

Tuesday, November 5 - 5:00 pm

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on loneliness and socialization. In this workshop designed for educators, Petti Fong—journalist, educator, and author (Alone Together)—explores the effects of loneliness and provides helpful tools for educators tackling this issue in the classroom.


Fantastical Tales in Pakistan

Tuesday, November 5 - 7:30 pm

In this evening conversation, authors M.T. Khan (Amir and the Jinn Princess) and Emily Varga (For She is Wrath) explore two fantastical Pakistans: one existing parallel to the world of jinn and the other inspires a romantic fantasy retelling of a literary classic, The Count of Monte Cristo. They'll discuss worldbuilding, character motivations and writing for teen and middle grade audiences with moderator Ameema Saeed.


Talking to Students About Disability

Wednesday, November 6 - 5:00 pm

In this workshop designed for educators, disabled author and retired teacher Dorothy Ellen Palmer (The Scooter Twins) provides meaningful tools for discussing disabilities with students and how to teach books featuring disabled characters.


Reimagining Anne: Celebrating 150 years of LM Montgomery

Wednesday, November 6 - 7:30pm

This year marks the 150th birthday of iconic Canadian author of Anne of Green Gables, LM Montgomery. In this evening event, authors Paul Coccia, Matthew Dawkins and Natasha Deen discuss their reimaginings of Anne Shirley in The ANNEthology with moderator Catherine Little (Anne of the Library-on-the-Hill).


Individual clubhouse passes can be purchased for just $25 or school boards can purchase a board-wide pass for all their teachers, extending access to the virtual clubhouse and resources for the entire 2024-2025 school year. Contact us at director@thefoldcanada.org to learn more about obtaining a board-wide pass.


Frequently Asked Questions

What is the price of tickets and passes?

A virtual festival pass is $25 and allows you access to our Virtual Clubhouse, which includes an interactive scavenger hunt, live events, on-demand events and more. You also get access to replay all virtual events on demand until Dec 9, 2024. For a group of tickets for five or more, email the FOLD for bulk pass rates. If you are an educator and your school board has purchased a board pass, you can register free of charge with your board-assigned code. Check with your school to see if you have a school board code or email us kids@thefoldcanada.org

How do I register for the virtual festival?

You can register for the virtual festival by purchasing a Virtual Clubhouse Pass here: https://foldkids2024.vfairs.com/

What do I get with a virtual pass?

Virtual passholders get access to our Virtual Clubhouse, which includes more than twenty virtual events designed for students in grades K-11 as well as a select number of events for educators. The clubhouse also includes an Exhibit Hall with exclusive access to book publishers and resources, and a customized resource room for additional support material. All virtual passholders will receive a festival book list and will have access to an educator resource guide, which provides pre- and post-event activities four school group events.

What do I need to do to register for in-person events?

Most in-person events are free, but registeration is encouraged, and in some cases required, in order to ensure proper and safe seating. For paid events, payment is required at the time of purchase. In addition to our weekend events, on November 8, FOLD Kids Book Fest will host its first in-person field trip event at Lester B. Pearson Theatre. To book tickets for a class, call the Brampton On Stage Box Office at 905-874-2800 or email boxoffice@brampton.ca.

How do I know if my school board has purchased or reserved a block of tickets?

We will list the school boards who have purchased passes on this page and will continue to update it. We recommend checking back in as well as following the FOLD Kids socials and signing up for the kids eNews at thefoldcanada.org/kids.

The following boards have board-wide passes for their teachers:

  • Halton District School Board
  • Waterloo Region District School Board
  • Durham District School Board
  • Upper Grand District School Board
  • Peel District School Board
  • Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board
  • York Catholic District School Board

If your board isn’t listed, please contact your board representative and/or check your board message board to see if there are any updates. Email us if you have any questions.

Do I need a Student Access Login (SAL) if I'll be showing the virtual events in class?

If you’re planning to show the events in class, you will not need an SAL, but when you register as an educator who will be showing the events in class, one will automatically be created for you. SALs are helpful if a student is away or if they are planning to watch events on their own device.

How many codes do I get if I don't know how many students I'll have?

Register for the tickets you MIGHT need and adjust your ticket amount once you know your class numbers. If the block of tickets is claimed and you need more tickets later, we will not be able to add more tickets, but if you adjust your tickets later, it’s possible that someone else may be able to use your leftovers.

If I'm interested in one event, do I still need a full pass? Are individual event registrations available?

Unfortunately, access to individual events is not available. However, festival passes are set at a reasonable rate, providing access to just over 20 incredible events and supplemental resources. We’re confident that educators we be able to find several events for you and/or your class to enjoy.

How do I log into the Virtual Clubhouse to view a virtual event?

You can log into the Virtual Clubhouse by going to our website or by visiting foldkids2024.vfairs.com (registration opens September 25). We recommend logging into the Virtual Clubhouse as soon as you register. You’ll be prompted to create a password using your email. Please do this for your SAL as well so that you can share the code and the password with any student who needs it.

How can I watch events on the Virtual Clubhouse?

The Virtual Clubhouse will open on November 1 to give educators time to get themselves acquainted with the space before the virtual festival begins on November 5.

To view events, head to the Auditorium, click the screen and you’ll be led to the schedule. There you can find the bonus events available on November 1 and can click “Play” to view them.

On the day of a live event taking place between November 5-7, you’ll see the “Join” button appear 3 mins before the event’s start time. Events can be found based on the date and time they appear on the schedule.

Completed events appear at the bottom of the date they were live if there are more live events to come. Replay of these events are made available a few hours after they’ve gone live.

If I can't attend the virtual event live, will I be able to access the videos afterward?

All FOLD Kids Book Fest events will be made available virtually within a few hours of being presented live. All videos will be available until December 9 for regular passholders and June 30 for school board passholders.


What security precautions are in place to make sure students are safe online?

The FOLD is taking every precaution to keep all guests safe. SAL’s give students restricted access on the platform. They will never appear on video. While they can pose questions in Zoom, they cannot participate in the chat or on the leaderboard. All questions will be monitored by a designated FOLD team member. Any concerns with student use will result in the suspension of that code and a follow up with the teacher associated with the account.

Our Virtual Safe Space Policy will be posted on the platform and shared with teachers prior to the event. In the unfortunate event that inappropriate behaviour does occur, FOLD staff will act swiftly, in consultation with the teacher and school board.


Frequently Asked Questions

What is the price of tickets and passes?

A virtual festival pass is $25 and allows you access to our Virtual Clubhouse, which includes an interactive scavenger hunt, live events, on-demand events and more. You also get access to replay all virtual events on demand until Dec 9, 2024. For a group of tickets for five or more, email the FOLD for bulk pass rates. If you are an educator and your school board has purchased a board pass, you can register free of charge with your board-assigned code. Check with your school to see if you have a school board code or email us kids@thefoldcanada.org

How do I register for the virtual festival?

You can register for the virtual festival by purchasing a Virtual Clubhouse Pass here: https://foldkids2024.vfairs.com/

What do I get with a virtual pass?

Virtual passholders get access to our Virtual Clubhouse, which includes more than twenty virtual events designed for students in grades K-11 as well as a select number of events for educators. The clubhouse also includes an Exhibit Hall with exclusive access to book publishers and resources, and a customized resource room for additional support material. All virtual passholders will receive a festival book list and will have access to an educator resource guide, which provides pre- and post-event activities four school group events.

What do I need to do to register for in-person events?

Most in-person events are free, but registeration is encouraged, and in some cases required, in order to ensure proper and safe seating. For paid events, payment is required at the time of purchase. In addition to our weekend events, on November 8, FOLD Kids Book Fest will host its first in-person field trip event at Lester B. Pearson Theatre. To book tickets for a class, call the Brampton On Stage Box Office at 905-874-2800 or email boxoffice@brampton.ca.

How do I know if my school board has purchased or reserved a block of tickets?

We will list the school boards who have purchased passes on this page and will continue to update it. We recommend checking back in as well as following the FOLD Kids socials and signing up for the kids eNews at thefoldcanada.org/kids.

The following boards have board-wide passes for their teachers:

  • Halton District School Board
  • Waterloo Region District School Board
  • Durham District School Board
  • Upper Grand District School Board
  • Peel District School Board
  • Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board
  • York Catholic District School Board

If your board isn’t listed, please contact your board representative and/or check your board message board to see if there are any updates. Email us if you have any questions.

Do I need a Student Access Login (SAL) if I'll be showing the virtual events in class?

If you’re planning to show the events in class, you will not need an SAL, but when you register as an educator who will be showing the events in class, one will automatically be created for you. SALs are helpful if a student is away or if they are planning to watch events on their own device.

How many codes do I get if I don't know how many students I'll have?

Register for the tickets you MIGHT need and adjust your ticket amount once you know your class numbers. If the block of tickets is claimed and you need more tickets later, we will not be able to add more tickets, but if you adjust your tickets later, it’s possible that someone else may be able to use your leftovers.

If I'm interested in one event, do I still need a full pass? Are individual event registrations available?

Unfortunately, access to individual events is not available. However, festival passes are set at a reasonable rate, providing access to just over 20 incredible events and supplemental resources. We’re confident that educators we be able to find several events for you and/or your class to enjoy.

How do I log into the Virtual Clubhouse to view a virtual event?

You can log into the Virtual Clubhouse by going to our website or by visiting foldkids2024.vfairs.com (registration opens September 25). We recommend logging into the Virtual Clubhouse as soon as you register. You’ll be prompted to create a password using your email. Please do this for your SAL as well so that you can share the code and the password with any student who needs it.

How can I watch events on the Virtual Clubhouse?

The Virtual Clubhouse will open on November 1 to give educators time to get themselves acquainted with the space before the virtual festival begins on November 5.

To view events, head to the Auditorium, click the screen and you’ll be led to the schedule. There you can find the bonus events available on November 1 and can click “Play” to view them.

On the day of a live event taking place between November 5-7, you’ll see the “Join” button appear 3 mins before the event’s start time. Events can be found based on the date and time they appear on the schedule.

Completed events appear at the bottom of the date they were live if there are more live events to come. Replay of these events are made available a few hours after they’ve gone live.

If I can't attend the virtual event live, will I be able to access the videos afterward?

All FOLD Kids Book Fest events will be made available virtually within a few hours of being presented live. All videos will be available until December 9 for regular passholders and June 30 for school board passholders.


What security precautions are in place to make sure students are safe online?

The FOLD is taking every precaution to keep all guests safe. SAL’s give students restricted access on the platform. They will never appear on video. While they can pose questions in Zoom, they cannot participate in the chat or on the leaderboard. All questions will be monitored by a designated FOLD team member. Any concerns with student use will result in the suspension of that code and a follow up with the teacher associated with the account.

Our Virtual Safe Space Policy will be posted on the platform and shared with teachers prior to the event. In the unfortunate event that inappropriate behaviour does occur, FOLD staff will act swiftly, in consultation with the teacher and school board.