Looking for something fun to do this summer? The Mad River Valley Libraries are hosting their annual Summer Reading Program. This year’s theme: Adventure!
The Summer Reading Program is hosted annually by the Valley Libraries. It is a month’s worth of events and activities planned and hosted by the children’s librarians of the Joslin Memorial and Warren Library, Amanda Gates and Anna Church, and the Director of the Moretown Memorial Library, Cory Stephenson.
The kickoff to this year’s program will be held at the June 29th farmers market in the Mad River Green. The event will allow kids and families to make a sort of passport to collect stamps from around the Valley. “We’ll be setting up a scavenger hunt around the Mad River Valley for the summer where kids can go and find the different spots and get through clues, and then stamp their booklets, and there will be a prize if you’re able to complete the whole event.” comments Cory Stephenson.
Stephenson also highlights some of the other events taking place between June 29th and August 3rd. “We also brought in the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum on July 13th to do a wildlife animal presentation.” she adds. This event has taken place in years past with the museum bringing in some special guests like turtles, owls, and hawks to greet the audience.
A new event this year “Clowning By Kintz” is held July 28th by a local Waitfield couple. They will host a workshop followed by a performance as an event for all ages.
Other events hosted include a series of “Crafternoons” hosted at each of the Valley’s libraries as a quieter activity for families. As well as ponding, an activity that focuses on learning about the wildlife we can find in our lakes and ponds, and a family hike.
The program is focused on school age children, Stephenson describes it as a, “way to promote continued reading and exploration of literacy in the summer when schools are not in session.” and recommends it to families with kids aged 0-18.
However, the Summer Reading Program isn’t the only thing that these libraries have to offer this summer. The valley’s libraries are an underused resource to high school students. All of the libraries offer a quiet space to study or hang out in the AC. They also offer apps such as Libby or the Palace Project to check out audiobooks for free. Even if reading isn’t how you want to spend your summer, the Libraries offer outdoor equipment that can be checked out and a day-use state park pass that allows up to 8 people to access any state park for free.
As far as what the Harwood library has to offer, Librarian Genevieve Knight comments “For the summer I always recommend audiobooks. We have our Sora catalog, [and] also there’s SYNC for young adult books and they offer free audiobooks.” If you prefer hardcopy, “You can take out summer books here if you have a clean account,” which means that any overdue books need to be returned before checking out summer books. Genevieve leaves us with “And it’s a great opportunity to visit your local libraries!”
From programs for families to sports equipment, audiobooks, park passes, and of course books, there is no shortage of things to do this summer with our valley libraries!
