OCC Festival Turns Light on Illiteracy : Education: Group hopes to get the message out in a non-intimidating atmosphere that the time to read is now.

Flo Rees, a mother of four adult children, started to learn how to read only three years ago. Twenty-five years ago she dropped out of high school to avoid the problem, but now, through a Newport Beach program, she is learning to conquer illiteracy.

Rees, who has dyslexia, was one of about 200 people who attended a community festival at Orange Coast College on Saturday to help focus attention on illiteracy. The first-time event was sponsored by several organizations and businesses that make up the Orange County Communications Network for Literacy and was organized to highlight an issue that literacy advocates say has not been getting enough attention.

“It’s become more and more evident in Orange County, especially with its diverse ethnic population, that we need to get the message out to start reading now,” said Jennifer Wade, 21, a district representative for the Public Relations Student Society of America, one of the groups that helped stage the event.

Organizers said there are millions of people nationwide who are unable to read. In Orange County, about 6,134 citizens participate in the communication network literacy program alone, volunteers said.

Since many non-readers are reluctant to discuss their problem, festival organizers designed the festival in a way that would not intimidate the people they wanted to attend. There were balloons, cartoonists, information booths, books for sale, games and relays.

“We wanted to create a relaxed atmosphere where people could come by booths and pick up information without being noticed if they don’t know how to read,” said Diane Tropila, a festival spokeswoman.

Rees and other adults who are learning to read were on hand to talk to any adult non-readers who were still in the closet about their disability. Rees said that when she dropped out of school, she had nowhere to go for help.

Tropila said Orange County Communications Network for Literacy hopes to raise $134,000 over the next few months for its public awareness campaign, which will include getting a toll-free referral number for non-readers.