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The Coffee County Manchester Public Library is seeking volunteers and support for its annual Summer Reading Program carnival. The event serves as a celebration to cap off the library’s youth summer reading program, which has been growing in recent years.

Open to children of all ages, the Summer Reading Program invites children to set their own reading goal for the summer, while enjoying a variety of fun events scheduled at the library located at 1005 Hillsboro Blvd. in Manchester.

Youth Services Librarian Daphanie Gragg said she has been employed at the library for about two years, and when she first started was told to expect between 125 to 150 kids for the summer reading program, but ended up with 413 participants that first year.

“I do a lot of promotions and networking so that brought a lot of people in and then last year we had 624 kids sign up and we had siblings and parents that joined in in all of that and the different festivities,” Gragg said.

When it came to the inaugural Summer Reading Carnival last year, Gragg said more than 700 people participated in the event hosted in the former Southern Family Market parking lot.

The Summer Reading program will officially kickoff Saturday, May 25 this year, and will run for eight weeks, making it three weeks longer than last year’s program to help with the growing interest in the program.

In addition to programming on Wednesdays, this year those will be on both Wednesday and Friday and there will also be several Summer Reading events scheduled for Saturdays throughout the summer.

“Then on Tuesdays I have teamed up with local gardeners and farmers as well around the community and we are having Adventure Agricquest,” Gragg said. “The parents will drive their kids to the location after RSVPing, we will meet you there and then it is basically a field trip with the library.”

It all comes to a conclusion with the annual carnival, and Gragg needs the support of local businesses and nonprofits to get involved to make the event a success.

“I want as many businesses or individuals that can come, set up a tent, you will bring your own table your own tent your own chair and your own game,” she said. “Just have fun with the community and show everybody that we are all in it together. We are a village and it takes a village.”

There are no vendor fees to participate, but donations are welcomed and appreciated.

Operating on a tight budget, Gragg said she primarily relies on fundraising and community donations to have the youth programming that is available at the library. Last year, the library was able to give away $16,000 in prizes for its Summer Reading program, exceeding every other library in the state, Gragg said.

The theme of the Summer Reading program this year will be “Adventure Begins at the Library,” so adventure games are also welcomed.

There will also be a dunk tank for the second installment of the carnival, and volunteers are still needed to sign up for a turn in the tank.

For more information about the Summer Reading program at the Coffee County Manchester Public Library or how to get involved, contact Daphanie Gragg at 931-723-5143 or email youthservices@coffeecountylibrary.org.