Show spreads magical Pixie Dust in Lafayette Library

Leslie Noel and her non-profit Peter Pan Foundation sprinkled magical pixie dust to a packed hall of the young and the old at Lafayette Library, Sunday, November 13. It was a one hour show called Wish upon a star: Celebrate Reading.

The team has been performing since 2007 in children’s hospitals and their aim is to cheer up the sick as well as inspire the young.

At the library, her message for children was to read books, play with imagination and be a character from the book. Princes, princesses Bella, Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel, Tinker Bell, more and of course Peter Pan, a lanky young boy played out the theme of spreading happiness and creating magic as Leslie played the piano.  

Five-year-old Louis Finocchio who stayed glued to the show with his three-year-old sister Lyla said, “I remained so quiet and spoke only when I had to go pee-pee.” His mother Teresa was very happy that her children enjoyed it. “The cast is so talented.”

Another mother Valerie Annatone said she loved it and her three-year-old daughter Juliette danced throughout to the music. “We are going to watch them perform the next time for sure.”

Amneh Ahmed, a lawyer and a stay-at-home mom of Ahmed and Noor, ages 3 and 5, said, “It was good to get so much education and fun.” Such free events are important for the community.

This show combined reading, listening, imagination, seeing. We come to the library almost 4 days a week. This was fun as books came alive in front of our eyes.

Little Noor said she loved Belle the best and reads about her a lot.

Leslie said that in 2006, she lost a young boy from her troupe and decided to form this group. "He died in an accident."

She is an award winning singer and artist and found herself in a life-changing situation when she went through a severe illness. Charming and talented, this self-taught pianist spread the message of reading books, enacting characters and ended the show by asking, “Who are you going to be today?”