Books were read. Goldfish were won. Crafts were sold, and more than a few students watched a performance of “Beauty and the Beast” on Saturday during Literacy on the Lawn at Troup High School.

The Troup High Theatre Department hosted the first ever Literacy on the Lawn on Saturday, in hopes of bringing out local elementary school students for books and fun.

“Literacy is a really big part of theater,” said Grace Braswell, a junior who helped organize the event. “We have all these elementary students come, and they can watch the shows, and they read the books like ‘Junie B. Jones.’ [Shows like] ‘Beauty and the Beast’ are all about books and reading, and we just want to bring everything to life.”

Braswell said that the event was a way to give back to children in the community, while giving away books and — hopefully — improving literacy. The event also featured plenty of fun activities, including a zombie run, a car and truck show, a talent show, a dog show, food trucks and festival games.

“I was really excited for the kid’s games and to just see the kids have fun out there,” said Michael Proffitt, another THS junior who helped organize the event.

Parents were also able to check out a variety of local vendors and yard sales hosted at the event.

“I was really excited about all of the vendors coming with all of the arts and crafts,” Braswell said. “I think it is really cool for everyone in the community to come and share what they have.”

As regular performers in theater productions at THS, Braswell and Proffitt said that they feel like they learn and grow through performances, and on Saturday, they aimed to bring some of that to attendees at Literacy on the Lawn.

“My personal goal when I did this was for kids to have books and things to read and things to do and just constantly have their minds working and learning and exploring,” Braswell said. “When you are so young, you have to be exposed to all of this art and culture, so that you expand your mind and grow up to be really successful.”

Braswell said that she was satisfied with the number of people who attended the event, but she hopes to see even more students and parents at Literacy on the Lawn next year.

“We are definitely continuing this next year, and we are hoping to grow and get out in the community and get as much publicity as we possibly can,” Braswell said. “I’m really, really excited about this event, and we hope to make it annual.”