Summer Reading 2022 - Oceans of Possibilities

With this year's Summer Reading starting yesterday, we're thinking of the fun we had last year. We loved coming up with programs that fit the theme of "Oceans of Possibilities," especially our Aquatic Adoption event.

It was great seeing the kids get excited to adopt their plush animals from our "tank" in our Third Street hallway and come up with names. Margaret, who worked on the window display, got a ton of compliments over the summer!

We had a couple opportunities during the program to clean up our city beach for all ages. Giving back to our community is something we try to focus on throughout each year. And with the theme of last year, we knew we had to show the importance of keeping our waters and beaches clean. The lake is the highlight of our community and one of the big reasons people make their home here or keep coming back year to year.

Another thing that's big with our patron are art programs. Last year, we had projects for all ages including: DIY beach signs, ocean mobiles, wine glass candle holders, and beach glass with Linda Ogram (who will be back for this year's summer reading).

A couple of our most popular programs were the ones we did with Wet Pets-N-Pals. First they did an animal show down at M.O.M., showcasing snakes, iguanas, lizards, and more. The crowd loved getting to interact with the different reptiles. Later on in July, Dave showed us around his store, which boasts over 50 types of fish, reptiles, and more. Attendees also got the chance to win a $50 gift card to the shop at the end of the program. Dave will be back here at the library this year to discuss proper aquatic pet care. He may even bring more of his animals with him!

And for our finale, we hosted a carnival down at M.O.M. We had games provided to us by the Boy Scouts, face painting, and everyone even got the opportunity to dunk our director, Lindsay, in the dunk tank by winning tickets at the games.

We hope to see everyone at our programs this year! There are a lot more exciting programs through the summer, so be sure to check our website calendar. If you haven't already, you can stop into any of our branches to pick up a physical copy of the summer calendar.