Rafael A. Osuba on the 4th annual International Children's Day Festival! Ft. Autumn Smith- Real Ticket, Real Fans

In this episode, we sit down with Rafael A. Osuba, a Puerto Rican cuotural producer, visual aritst, story teller, author, editor, mentor, and founder of the El Quixote Festival. We discuss the upcoming International Children’s Day celebration, featuring authors, presenters, and books that highlight bilingual and minority voices for children and adults alike. Rafael shares why representation in literature matters, explaining how books can help children feel safe, seen, and heard while also opening the door to understanding new cultures and experiences. Tune in for an inspiring conversation about the power of storytelling, diversity, and community. After we discuss the International Childrens Day Festival, we also get an inside scoop from Autumn Smith about the Real Tickets, Real Fans act!

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Creators and Guests

Host

Sophs Magnanini

Public Affairs Director (2025-2026)

Producer

Autumn Smith

Writer and producer for Oak City Move

What is Oak City Move?

A radio program and podcast from WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2 celebrating those who enact positive changes in the Raleigh community.

00:00
Sophs Magnanini
Oak City Move is a podcast on WKNC 88.1 FM HD1 Raleigh where we highlight people and organizations creating positive change in the Triangle and beyond. Oak City Move can be heard on air every Other Monday on 88.1 FM HD1 Raleigh or online at wknc.org Listen for episodes and more information, go to our blog at blog.wknc.org or follow us on SoundCloud at wknc. Hello 88.1 WKNC Raleigh. The song you just heard was Sweaty linen by surf ninja3 and I'm Sophia Magnanini, your host and you're listening to Oak City Move. Today we're joined by a very special guest, Rafael A. Osuba, a Puerto Rican cultural producer, visual artist, storyteller, author, editor, mentor and the founder of the El Quixote Festival, now in its 11th season.

00:59
Sophs Magnanini
He is also known as the ed as the owner and editor of Artist Studio Project Publishing llc, known asP Books, an independent multicultural publisher dedicated to bilingual culture, cultural and community centered books. For more than three decades, Raphael has been working to create spaces where Latino voices, children, artists, authors and communities of color can be seen, heard, published and celebrated. His work includes public readings, bilingual programs, literary gatherings, book fairs, children's events and opportunities for young people to participate as readers, performers, storytellers and cultural leaders. Among the many events and programs organized by Artist Studio Project Publishing is the annual International Children's Day Festival, now in its fourth year. This year's festival, the fourth Annual International Children's Day Festival will take place on Saturday, May 30, 2026 at the City of Raleigh Museum in collaboration with the Friends of the City of Raleigh Museum.

02:00
Sophs Magnanini
The festival is a joyful, family centered celebration of children, books, culture, language, creativity and community. It brings together local and regional award winning authors, artists, performers, families and community partners for a joyful day of live readings, children's books, cultural programming and artistic experiences. A central part of Raphael's work is making sure children are not only audience members, but active participants in the creative life of the community. Through the International Children's Day and other festival programs, helps create meaningful public spaces where children and family can see themselves reflected in stories, language, art and culture. Most recently, the National Museum of the American Latino at the Smithsonian collected more than 50 pieces from Raphael's body of work and his books are also a part of the Museum's active collection.

02:55
Sophs Magnanini
Raphael now lives in Raleigh with his wife and best friend and muse of more than 35 years, Michelle. So first off, I just want to thank you so much for coming and taking the time out of your day to speak with us and the listeners. And if you just kind of wanted to start off by talking about the International Children's Day as well as some background on yourself and your career and how you've helped inspire and promote Latino and other minority voices over your career,.

03:29
Rafael A. Osuba
Sure. Well, first of all, thank you very much for the invite. It's always really nice for me to be able to share our story and share the work that we do. I've been a cultural producer for the last 35 plus years here in North Carolina, originally from upstate New York, a little small town called Beacon, New York and then before that Puerto Rico, little island in the Caribbean. Most of the work that I do to try to share my culture and to give a voice to, like you said, people in the community, marginalized communities of color. And we try to share stories that will highlight our community members so that way people get to know us a little bit more. Right.

04:20
Rafael A. Osuba
And we have found that through these type of cultural events, we can come to better understand each other and understand that we're in this together as a community. And you know, the more that we can work together and get to know one another, the better community we have. So the fourth annual International Children's Day is an event that was created in collaboration or is created in collaboration with the City of Raleigh Museum. I have been working with the City of Raleigh Museum for the last 10 plus years and creating different types of co cultural events that are tied to my El Quixote Festival. The El Quixote Festival is a festival that starts in September and goes all the way officially to April marks the birth of Cervantes the writer of Don Quixote de la Mancha.

05:22
Rafael A. Osuba
His birthday is September 29th and it runs all the way through April 23rd, which is when we commemorate the death of not only Shakespeare, but also of Cervantes. In most recent years the festival has been extended till June. And one of the things that we do is for the last four years we've closed the festival with this wonderful event, the International Children's Day. And how did that come about? It came about with our long relationship with collaborating with the City of Raleigh Museum. And we wanted to create something that was very diverse, that celebrated children and gave folks from all walks of life a place and a space to be able to express themselves and to find that child within. Right.

06:17
Rafael A. Osuba
We all have a child that lives within us and we want to be able to create these spaces so that our community can find themselves. We also, because a lot of the work that we do, not only with the festival, but with the publishing company, we work with libraries. The books that we publish through Artist Studio Project Publishing, they form part of local public and school libraries. That's our goal, that our stories are in public spaces and museums in public libraries and schools. As a matter of fact, I'm on a month long tour with another great nonprofit called Wake up and Read with Wake County Public Schools. And for a month I'll be visiting schools throughout Wake county and reading from our stories. But we know that with this event it kicks off the summer reading program in the local libraries.

07:26
Rafael A. Osuba
So we collaborate with, with Wake County Public Libraries and then also with the City of Raleigh Museum. And let me just take this moment to really thank the City of Raleigh Museum because most people probably don't even realize that here in the heart of Raleigh we have the City of Raleigh Museum. They just celebrated their, you know, their third decade in here in Raleigh and they're located in downtown, in the downtown area. 220 Fayetteville St. Most people, when they think of the City of Raleigh Museum or the museum in Raleigh, they think of the History museum or the Museum of Science or another museum, the Art museum maybe. But the City of Raleigh Museum is a museum that belongs to the city. They do a fantastic job in engaging communities. They do a fantastic job in telling the stories of Raleigh.

08:26
Rafael A. Osuba
And it's been a pleasure to collaborate with them each year for over a decade now in sharing stories and providing spaces for our community to get to know one another and to express themselves. So yeah, the fourth Annual Children's Day or International Children's Day is a day that's full of reading and books and presentations. Every year for the last four years, we've inv. Great friend, master puppeteer Jetto Therese Pipkins. And he comes out and he brings all his fantastic puppets and the kids really love that their story time. And, and this year we're going to be launching a brand new book from our publishing company with a brand new author, local author by the name of Luke Vandergriff. And we're excited about that because his book is about a little boy from Bolivia that wants to, he wants to play music.

09:35
Rafael A. Osuba
And you know, they come from humble beginnings or you know, they're very poor. And so what he does creatively is this little boy, Pepito, he decides that he's going to Create his instruments out of recycled material trash. And that's what he does. And it's a wonderful, inspiring story that Luke tells really well. And Luke is not only a storyteller, but he's also a musician. And this story he will tell utilizing instruments that he has built himself by hand of trash that you find every day that are thrown away, bottles and cans and furniture and you name it, he creates these string instruments and these windpipe instruments and. And just about everything. A flute that you know, and. And just up an amazing amount of instruments that he utilizes recycled materials.

10:34
Rafael A. Osuba
The other thing is that the master puppeteer, Jaghetto, he also creates his masterpieces, and I call them masterpieces because they're incredible puppets out of recycled materials trash, things that people throw away. So we try to provide these spaces for people to look at creativity and the arts and storytelling in a new, different way. And we try to invite local authors and illustrators to come so. So that our community gets to know them and at the same time they realize that, you know, you don't really have to go very far to find an artist or an author. And many times they look just like you. Right. And we try to invite the youth and children to participate. We been very fortunate that we've published some young authors and they come and they read from their books.

11:35
Rafael A. Osuba
And that's really nice because then our community gets to see someone that looks like them, that talks like them in their language, you know, possibly their own age, read to them. And yeah, it's a lot of fun.

11:51
Sophs Magnanini
No, that's awesome. And I love how just even from reading and books, all this different art comes from it, like you're saying storytelling, art, dance, music. And so it's really awesome that you are inviting all these different people and presenters to really help extent of that. That's, that's really amazing. Also, like you were saying, it's so important for younger children to see people like them, that they're like, oh, this isn't something that I can't do. Like, I can do. It really helps inspire and open up the creativity for these kids. So that's really awesome. I know you said so. The El Quixote Festival has been going on for 11 years. Correct. And so what?

12:40
Rafael A. Osuba
Yes, we'll be wrapping up our 11th year with this event on May.

12:45
Sophs Magnanini
Perfect. And so since the International Children's Day has only been going on for four years, tell us how, what inspired the creation or to add that to the end of the festival as a little kind of like finishing off point.

13:01
Rafael A. Osuba
Well, yeah, so traditionally the last weekend in May, the first week in June or second week in June, it changes, is the what we consider or what is celebrated, which is the International Children's Day. So we always try to find something in our events that we plan that will connect with the community. And because, you know, around the world they celebrate, and here in the United States, they celebrate International Children's day around the 1st or the 2nd of month in June, we thought that would be a fantastic way to connect with the community and provide programming surrounding this festival. And our festival changes year to year depending on schedules and what, you know, what day of the month, the. The event falls that year. Right.

13:59
Rafael A. Osuba
So we try to keep it as close to either the last weekend in May or the first or second weekend in June so that we're real close to that celebration of the International Children's Day.

14:13
Sophs Magnanini
That's awesome. It's really just awesome that you guys added that on. So then it's. Children can really be included way more and see all these different new things that can inspire them once again. How do you believe that bilingual books help children feel more connected to their culture and identity or help others learn about new cultures and identities?

14:38
Rafael A. Osuba
Well, that's a great question. And like most of the work that I have been doing here in the last 30 plus years in North Carolina has come from a wish of trying to make our community scene right, give them a voice, let them be seen in a positive light. A lot of times when we talk about individuals that come from another place that are maybe not originally from North Carolina, whether they come from another part of the United States or if they come from a different country, you know that portion of being labeled as other, as different can be very difficult for children and for families. The harsh reality is that we all live here, right? We work here, we drive on the same roads, we shop at the same stores, and our children may go to the same schools.

15:39
Rafael A. Osuba
It's very important for our community that continues to grow, especially Raleigh and Wake county that has exploded since the 1990s to really start to reflect those individuals that are in our community. And I believe that if we give spaces and places for the community as a whole to express themselves and to share their culture and share their stories, then we are going to live in a better community. Right? And for me, it has always been about living in a better community. I chose to move to Raleigh to set my roots here to raise my children. My wife and I are empty nesters now, but I've always believed that if you want to live in a great community, then you need to be an active participant.

16:36
Rafael A. Osuba
And so that's what I have been doing, my wife and my children have been doing for the last 30 plus years. I think that when a child walks into a library, whether it be a school library or whether it be a public library, for them to be able to pick up a book and see the characters inside that book, to look like them or talk like them, or to have shared traditions or stories, what that does is it allows someone to be seen, and we all want to be seen, and we all want to have a voice. And for me, that's why we started Artist Studio Project Publishing is because we wanted to give a voice and we wanted representation. Because, you know, that's what our community is, right? You walk outside the door and you know, we.

17:31
Rafael A. Osuba
We have a multitude of different ethnicities and races and gender, and people come from all walks of life. And I believe that when you walk into a library or into a school or a bookshop, that children should have the ability to be able to see themselves and not just children, because we publish other things other than children's books. I myself specialize and work on children's books, but we publish books about art and about, you know, educational themes and. And poetry and short stories and memoirs. And our goal is just to. Just to give authors and writers and illustrators and storytellers a voice and give them a place where they can share what they have inside. So bilingual stories do that. They give that voice. They give an opportunity for those individuals that are sharing the story, a place where they can share their culture.

18:39
Rafael A. Osuba
But it does another thing too. What it does is it gives an opportunity for someone that doesn't know about that culture or doesn't understand, you know, somebody that comes from India or someone that comes from Puerto Rico or someone that comes from China or wherever. It gives them an opportunity to learn a little bit more. And I find that when children or adults learn a little bit more, look a little closer to their neighbors and learn a little bit more, then they. It gives an opportunity for empathy. It gives an opportunity to. To understand that we're more alike than we are different. And we all have the same dreams and thoughts, and we want the same thing for our children and. And we just want to live in a good place. And I think that's what we try to do anyways.

19:26
Sophs Magnanini
No, that's amazing because especially like you were saying, it's so important for them to see themselves in These books as well as. Just know that they have these resources that can help open up so many new doors. Because from my experience, I went to a more predominantly white elementary and middle school, but then I. I went to, I don't know if you've heard, Athens Drive High School, where.

19:55
Rafael A. Osuba
Yeah, that's where my children are.

19:56
Sophs Magnanini
Oh, my gosh. That's awesome. When did they graduate?

19:59
Rafael A. Osuba
Oh, it's been a little bit, but now, but. Well, my. My. My. My oldest son, he's 35, and then I have. My second child is 30, and then our youngest is 20. She just turned 26. So I can't. I don't know the years because I'm. Those escape me.

20:17
Sophs Magnanini
But I think my brother, he 26 also, and he went to Athens, so maybe they went. Maybe they knew each other, so that's kind of cool. But it is. It is a, like, so different when you go or see the. Even the libraries, even though Athens Drive is technically a public library as well. But just seeing, like, being in the diverse schools, you can see it kind of reflect, like, in the libraries and stuff, there was so many more bilingual books or different languages than the two past schools I went to, which I feel like is just really important, and especially when kids are around that age, too, that they know that they have other outlets.

21:00
Sophs Magnanini
But the fact that, yeah, you guys are creating all these different children's books, young adult, like, anything for kids to find what they love is really special and really important because it makes them feel so seen. Yeah.

21:15
Rafael A. Osuba
And not only that, it also helps when you can diversify, like yourself. You know, if you are only exposed to one population, when you go away to either college or you go into the workforce, that's going to change. Right. Because our neighbors and our coworkers and the students that we go to the university with, you know, they're going to be different people. They're going to come from different places, they're going to have different, you know, foods that they eat or different traditions, or they may speak with a different accent, or they may, you know, celebrate different things. And if you're. If you're not exposed to that early on, that could be impactful and shocking. Right. So the.

21:59
Rafael A. Osuba
The sooner that we can give access to individuals and children, the fact that, you know, the world is very diverse and it's getting smaller as we speak. Right. And people are coming in to Wake county or to, you know, the United States. You know, they're coming from all over the place. And with them, they bring their dreams, they bring their culture. They bring their food, they bring their traditions, they bring their language. And the more that we can expose our children and ourselves to that, the richer we're going to be as a community. And I think that's really what we're trying to do is to let folks know that Wake county is a wonderful place to live. And it's growing every day. Our festival, we travel the full state of North Carolina and beyond.

22:48
Rafael A. Osuba
I mean, we've taken the festival to China, we've taken the festival to Spain. We launched the festival this year in Puerto Rico with a brand new book that we toured that we collaborated with the Department of Education on this book. And so, yeah, we try to, to create programming and things that will give us opportunity to get to know folks, but to share our stories. And just getting back to the International Children's Day, you know, the City of Raleigh Museum, they understand this. They have been fantastic to work with because over the year, I mean, we started working together originally trying to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Right. That's how I started working with them. We, we started doing an event called Dia de los Muertos, which is one of our biggest events that we do at the City of Raleigh Museum.

23:47
Rafael A. Osuba
And then we started doing our events for the festival start at the City of Raleigh Museum with our cultural experience and that's usually the third Sunday of September and that we. And then we kick off our festival right there and then we end our festival at the City of Raleigh Museum. So for me, they hold a, a special place because not just for my community, when I talk about my community, I'm talking about the Latino community, but they're very active in providing spaces for all communities. Every, every. Every community that you can think of. And that's what makes the City of Raleigh Museum so special.

24:32
Sophs Magnanini
Especially like you were saying earlier, how not too many people might not know about the City of Raleigh Museum. I mean, I've only gone a couple times in my lifetime and I've only been, or I've been a Raleigh resident for my whole life. But it's so important to have those safe spaces and just spaces where people can feel safe and be themselves and also learn about others and meet others.

24:57
Rafael A. Osuba
Yeah. And I think the other thing that it does, the fact that our events are at the City of Raleigh Museum, it really does. One more thing legitimizes the fact that this is an important event, Right. Because it's not done just anywhere. It's, it's. It's done in a museum that celebrates The. The. The city of Raleigh, right? So that's the wonderful thing. Most of the events that we do with the festival are in public spaces. So we collaborate with museums, we collaborate with schools, with universities, with parks and rec, you know, municipalities. And we do this purposely because in. And specifically libraries. Speaking of libraries, this event that we have, the fourth annual International Children's Day, we invite the Wake County Public Libraries to participate in our event. So we take the library out of the brick and mortar, right?

26:02
Rafael A. Osuba
And we bring them to the people, right? So that way that the library can meet the people where they are, meet children where they are. And this gives them an opportunity to invite families to the libraries. And it astonishes me. I'm always so amazed to learn that our community underutilizes one of the best resources that we have, which are libraries. Through public libraries, they offer so much to our community. Everything that you can think of, everything that you can think of, you can find programming, you can find help, you can find a book, you can find. It's. It's more than just a place that carries books. It. The. The. The what they can help you do in the library makes the difference.

26:52
Rafael A. Osuba
And it's one of those things that's open to all of us that we can all take advantage of, but it's so under utilized, especially from communities of color and marginalized communities. They just don't utilize the libraries. And there's a lot of reasons for that, right? There's. They don't feel welcome sometimes. They. They don. They think that they have to pay a membership, you know, if they come from somewhere else. And most people don't know that. With, With a simple thing as a library card you have. You can check out over 99 books at one time, right? It's amazing. You think about. You walk into a building, it's got millions and millions of books, and you can walk in and check out with. With a little plastic card, you know, up to 99 books.

27:38
Rafael A. Osuba
Or like I try to tell children, with as many books as you can carry, right? That is for free. For free. That is amazing, right? It's amazing resource. And they have computers and they teach folks how to, you know, how to log on and how to create an email and how to. There's so many resources that a library can offer. And that's another reason why we invite them and that we collaborate with them with this International Children's Day, because what the festival tries to do is it. It. Yes. It's about books. Yes. It's about giving authors a place to, to share what they have created, but it's also about building community and providing resources to that community so that in. In a very diverse way.

28:29
Sophs Magnanini
Right.

28:29
Rafael A. Osuba
When you, when you hear International Children's Day, then the focus is right there. Right? It's. It's about children. And what we say is that this festival is open to everyone because we all have that child inside from whether you're, you know, just born up to 103 years old, 104 years old. And we do have. I have a friend of ours that comes out and she just turned 103 years old. So we have folks that come out to our events at the City of Raleigh Museum that, yes, are over 100 years old. So we hit all the marks, you know, every gender, every race, ethnicity, religion, and then also age.

29:15
Sophs Magnanini
Oh, that's amazing because especially like you were saying earlier about libraries being underutilized, especially I feel like in the modern day, where technology is such a big part of everyone's lives, especially kids now, they have like, tablets and stuff. It kind of. Yeah, libraries kind of get forgotten at some points. And I feel like there's probably a lot of kids that really haven't been to a library before, maybe besides the one that's in their school. And so putting them, putting those ideas into their heads and introducing them to the wonders and all these different things that they can do with just simply going to the library is really important and really awesome.

29:57
Rafael A. Osuba
Yeah. And I think one of the things is, for me, libraries are special because they were my sanctuary. I was bullied as a child and I found my sanctuary or I found my safe place in a quiet library. It was the school library, but it gave me a place to. To hide and to learn and to escape. You know, I escaped to different worlds and to different places through books, through illustrations. And that's one of the reasons why I wanted to be an illustrator, I wanted to be an artist, was so that way I could create my own spaces in my own places because they allowed me the ability to travel the world, travel places beyond the world. And there's something so nice about sitting in a quiet place and just going anywhere. And that's what books can do.

30:50
Rafael A. Osuba
And so the International Children's Day is a literary event. But what we're looking to try to do is it's right before the school ends. It's right around the same time the school ends. And it's right. I mean, our event usually takes place Saturday and Sunday. The Day after is when Wake County Public Libraries kick off their summer programming. And so we want to give folks an opportunity to learn about that programming, but we also want to give folks the opportunity to learn about how, getting, how they can get a, a library card and, and how they can go to a library and just check out books. And the wonderful thing about what we do is that our books are inside Wake County Public Libraries and other libraries around the state and, and beyond. Right.

31:44
Rafael A. Osuba
We have, our books can be found in up to 14 countries. And for us that's important because you know, we want someone to walk into a library with a library card and be able at no charge, be able to check out a book and then learn a little bit more about who we are, what we do and hear a little bit more about our stories. And, and our books are bilingual so they're able to, you know, to read it in their own language. And that's very important. And so yes, the International Children's Day at the City of Raleigh Museum will be May, the May 30th. We kick things off at 10 o' clock in the morning and we go all the way to 3:30. And throughout the day we'll be able to hear from and see from award winning authors.

32:35
Rafael A. Osuba
They'll bring their books so you can purchase them, you can get them signed and leave with the magic is what I say. And then we have a couple of presentations. We have the master puppeteer Jaghetto that's going to be with us bringing all his friends, all the wonderful puppets. And then we'll be launching a brand new children's book with author, brand new author Luke Vandergriff. And he's going to be sharing his story through music and storytelling. And he's a first time author so we're excited about sharing his story and as well. So. And we have folks that are coming from all over. We have folks that are coming from the eastern part of North Carolina all the way, you know, past Charlotte and then Winston Salem and Greensboro all the way up near the Appalachian Mountains.

33:26
Rafael A. Osuba
So we have folks that are coming to share their stories and in different languages too, right? Not, not just English and Spanish, we have a few other languages as well.

33:37
Sophs Magnanini
Well, that's just amazing. And I know that is going to be such an amazing event and just everything that you guys do. What would you say as we finish up? What would you say to someone considering to attend for the first time?

33:53
Rafael A. Osuba
Well, I would say to someone first of all thanks again for allowing us to share story. What I would tell folks is that downtown Raleigh has a tremendous amount of parking. So don't think, oh, I'm going to go downtown and there's no parking. There is a tremendous amount of parking downtown. If you go to our website I am Quijote.com or if you just punch in 4th Annual International Children's Day, you'll find our page and on there's a link that will let you know where you can find parking. So parking is never going to be an issue. Okay. And it's very cheap to park downtown in the parking decks. If you're coming, come prepared to have a great day filled with storytelling, magic, arts and craft.

34:45
Rafael A. Osuba
We will have arts and craft for all the children that's being provided by the City of Raleigh Museum and also by Wake County Public Libraries. We're going to have balloons for the children. We're going to Luke Vanderbilt is going to be bringing all his nice balloons and do animal balloons and headgear and all that crazy stuff that he does with his wonderful and then we're going to have puppeteers, right? Jetto is going to be sharing all his friends. And for me the kind of the cool thing is we're going to have lots of books. We're going to have authors, local authors that can sign their books for you. You can hear directly from them, you can ask them questions. A lot of times we go into a library, we go to a bookstore, but we don't get to see the author.

35:34
Rafael A. Osuba
Here you're going to be able to meet award winning authors, some that are, you know, are very seasoned and some that are very young and they bring a lot of excitement, they bring a lot of talent and we have a lot for everyone. So don't think that this is just for little children because we have stuff for teenagers and young adults and you know, we might find something for you as well as an adult. So there's a lot to do and yeah, it's going to be a great time.

36:03
Rafael A. Osuba
So I invite you to come out and we're going to have a lot of cool volunteers and you'll get to see a little bit about if you've never been to the City of Raleigh Museum, they have a cool exhibit that's up and it's been running and there's a brand new exhibit that they're working on in the lobby I'm hoping that they'll have. Good thing about the City of Raleigh Museum is that they have exhibits that are up now and they have a lot of information about other events that are happening in the community. So if you've never been to the City of Raleigh Museum, it's a great place to come and learn a little bit more and meet their great volunteers. So yeah, if people are coming out to this event for the first time, just come bring the kids.

36:45
Rafael A. Osuba
Don't worry about the kids being noisy. We're used to that. This is a children's event, so don't worry about that. We'll have some snacks and there's a lot of places around the downtown area that you can get them a bite to eat if they need to and then you can come back and enjoy the rest of the festivities. I want to thank you for allowing us to the time to express ourselves and talk about this wonderful event.

37:11
Sophs Magnanini
Of course, of course. No, it's so important and amazing just what you guys do and these festivals that you put on and just bringing the community together and helping inspire kids, adults, all ages, all races, all genders. So that's just amazing. Thank you for coming to talk with us before we kind of end it up. Is there also if you wanted to kind of say any websites or links or anything where I don't know if people are maybe interested in volunteering as well for the event?

37:47
Rafael A. Osuba
Yes. So the City of Raleigh Museum always is looking for volunteers and the Friends of the City of Raleigh Museum, which is the nonprofit that, that does a lot of the promoting and does a lot of the event planning for the City of Raleigh Museum, are always looking for volunteers. So you can always visit the City of Raleigh Museum website through the raleigh.gov or you can go to their social media page which is Friends of the City of Raleigh Museum. You can also visit our website@im quijote.com or you can find all of our books and our programming through Artist Studio Project Publishing. And if you're interested, you can reach out directly to the Friends of the City of Raleigh Museum or the City of Raleigh Museum themselves.

38:42
Rafael A. Osuba
And there's always opportunities for volunteering or learning a little bit more about what they do and what we do.

38:50
Sophs Magnanini
Thank you so much for everything and I really. Everyone, everyone listening, all listeners should go definitely. And check out the International Children's Day because it sounds like it's going to be amazing. Just also thank you guys for everything you do the whole of like putting together all these festivals to bring the communities together. It's just amazing. And also bringing them together through the power of writing and books. And art is just thank you so.

39:21
Rafael A. Osuba
Much for the opportunity to come onto your show. And yes, come on now. I hope to see you there as well. And yeah, come on out. We'll have a blast. And it's all free, right? It's, it's for all ages, all families. Bring the family, you know, bring the neighbors, bring whoever. Invite everyone. Everyone's welcome everyone.

39:45
Sophs Magnanini
As we come up on the end of our chat, I just want to thank you all again for listening, as well as Raphael for telling us about this amazing International Children's Day event as well as the whole El Quixote Festival, just along with that amazing interview that we just heard from Rafael. I also we have a quick story from our amazing content creator Autumn Smith, where they discuss a press conference held by NC Senator Jay Shorty at the Poorhouse for the Real TICKET, Real Fans act, where the legislation seeks to deter the fraud and scalping of TICKET sales in North Carolina. So I'll give it away to Autumn.

40:29
Autumn Smith
Thank you for listening to WKNC 88.1. My name is Autumn Smith and this past Wednesday I attended the Poor House in Raleigh as North Carolina State Senator Jay Chaudhry, joined by legislators, musicians and venue owners, addressed the Real TICKET, Real Fans Act.

40:44
Jay Chuadhry
We're here to speak about an issue that is robbing North Carolina families. Not at venues like this, but before. Before they even step through the front door, they find a website that looks official. It has the artist's name in the URL, it uses the venue's logos, it says official right there on the page. They buy the TICKET, they pay three or four times at face value, and then they show up at the front door and discover that those TICKET don't even exist.

41:18
Autumn Smith
This is a proposed bill that seeks to take action against TICKET scalpers and botting, as well as fraudulent websites which sell TICKET for fake or occupied seats. The legislation will impose harsh fines on resellers impersonating venues selling fake or occupied TICKET, and using bots or other means to buy and resell TICKET at a higher price. It also requires disclosure of TICKET resale as well as an accessible link to the original seller's website. As more music venues and sporting events pop up across the Triangle, it can be hard for many North Carolinians to keep up with new scams and automated systems that look to upcharge or flat out steal money from excited fans. But it's not just the fans who are affected. Heather Lagarde, owner of the Haw River Ballroom in Saxophon, opened up about how TICKET scams affect artists and venues alike.

42:04
Heather Lagarde
So we have these shows happen. And what happens as a venue and as a musician is you come into a venue, we've got the weeping people outside who want to come in so much and can't get in. We have really reduced bar sales which hits your venues very hard because you don't have your full capacity. And the bands have really reduced merch sales which they rely on so much for their bottom line. So economically just wanted you to understand the inside of it from the business perspective, but from the human band loving person of music perspective, it's a heartbreak.

42:35
Autumn Smith
A sold out show is not always equivalent to a successful night for a music venue. The newly proposed bill is expected to restore fans and venue owners trust in the TICKET sales process and strengthen event sales as a vital part of North Carolina's economy.

42:48
Jay Chuadhry
Fans are planning their summer, they're planning. Their fall shows, they're buying TICKET. North Carolina consumers deserve these projections now. Before another year of preventable harm.

43:00
Autumn Smith
This is Autumn Smith signing off. You're listening to WKNC 88.1.

43:06
Sophs Magnanini
Just another big thank you to Autumn for that amazing clip. It's so cool hearing the people themselves discuss the situation. So thank you again, Autumn, and thank you all for listening. I just want to thank Raphael, Autumn, everyone, listeners, once again, I am your host, Sofia Magnanini. And if you're interested in listening to this episode again or to past episodes of the show, you can go to wknc.org podcast and make sure to tune into our show every other Monday on WKNC 88.1 FM Raleigh. Have a great day all.