N

Event scheduled for July 13

The Coffee County Manchester Public Library is officially gearing up for its annual Summer Reading Carnival, an event that serves as the grand finale for its Summer Reading Program.

Youth Services Librarian Daphanie Gragg said it has been a busy summer so far with more than 600 registered participants.

“We extended it from five weeks to eight weeks and instead of two or three things per week we are having something at 10 a.m. every day and on Mondays we are having two events and on some Saturdays we are having events,” she said. “We have had a very jam-packed adventure filled summer reading program.”

Gragg said some highlights of the program, which encourage area youth to keep up their reading during summer vacation, include a tour of the fire department with 128 participants as well as visits to area farms for “Adventure Agriquests.”

“We have been going to farms around the community, learning about homesteading and different things and teaching the kids good plants that you can eat and plants to stay away from and insects and butterflies,” she said. “We have been raising and hatching butterflies all summer long with the Master Gardeners group and they are learning the life cycles of butterflies.”

Gragg said she continues to receive positive feedback from parents regarding the program.

“They are loving it,” she said. “It gives their kids something to do, it encourages reading and having a healthy relationship with the library, coming in and having fun.”

Reasonability is another aspect of the Summer Reading Program.

“They each get a bracelet when they sign up and in order to get participation slips they have to keep up with their bracelet all summer long or else they don’t get a participation slip,” Gragg said. “They can buy a replacement for a dollar and that just teaches them to keep up with their stuff and things like that.”

When it comes to the carnival, which will be from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday, July 13 at the Ada Wright Center, 328 N. Woodland St., Manchester, Gragg said she still needs additional businesses to participate by setting up free booth and a game for the children to play. A notable figure in the Manchester community is also still needed to volunteer for the carnival dunk tank as well.

The carnival is for participants of the Summer Reading Program, and all logging and participation needs to be turned in to the library by Wednesday, July 10. Paperwork will then be finalized over the following two days and the library will be closed to the public Saturday, July 13 for the carnival.

For more information, contact youthservices@coffeecountylibrary.org or 931-723-5143 EXT. 7