Ready, Set, READ!

As summer draws near, youth service librarians are busy planning events and activities to get children pumped to read.  This year’s summer reading theme is sports-related and will feature several entertainers to emphasize the necessity of exercising your body AND your mind.  Kids are naturals when it comes to running and playing.  They are also very competitive and love the challenge of team sports or breaking their own personal records. There is no doubt that physical activity is important to stay healthy and there is also no doubt that reading is the best exercise for your mind.  When winding down after a long hot day of play, there is nothing better than a good book. 

Every summer, students who neglect to read are on a “downhill slide” that can set them back a grade-level in reading skills when school resumes in the fall.   Ashe Library wants to encourage families to spend time reading this summer.  The official summer reading sign-ups for programs will begin at 3:00 p.m. on May 24.   While logging-in hours that are spent reading, children can earn prizes and also participate in some very cool things.  Dinosaurs will “invade” the library this summer!  There are a variety of programs, that feature “How-to-Do” classes on a number of topics from cooking to kayaking.  Flo’s Magic Circus will entertain with magic and comedy.  Mad Science returns as well as, live animals, and constellation observations.  There are always lots of arts and crafts activities to inspire your creativity throughout the summer.  Be sure the library is your “go-to place” for summer fun.  Get your motor running and get ready, set to READ!

Dates to remember in May:

The library will be CLOSED for Regional Training Day on May 13 and for Memorial Day on May 30.

 Children’s Programs

• Tot Time is every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. for 2 and 3 year-olds with stories, songs, and crafts
• Story Time is every Thursday at 10:30 a.m. and offers stories, songs and crafts for 4-5 year-olds.
• Come out for a special combined Tot Time & Story Time Celebration: The Teddy Bear’s Picnic.  Bring your favorite stuffed animal and a picnic lunch to this special, fun-filled celebration of reading at 10:30 a.m. on May 12.
• The Lego Club meets on May 19 at 4:00 p.m. for grades K-5 with a new challenge each month.
• Enjoy the spring weather and our Story Walk at Ashe County Park.  New titles each month.

Teen Programs

• Geek out at 4:00 p.m. every Tuesday with Otaku’s United, an Anime/Manga Club
• Challenge your friends (and enemies) in the Teen Monopoly Tournament at 4:00 p.m. on May 3.
• Come out for the Teen Mural Reception and give the new mural a proper welcome at 12:30 p.m. on May 28.  

Adult Programs

•  For all your tech troubles, book and appointment with our friendly reference librarians.  Call 336.846.2041 x227
• Yoga Club meets in the library’s downstairs meeting room at 5:30 p.m. on Mondays.
• Brouhaha Book Club meets at 5:30 p.m. on May 30 in Boondocks Restaurant for “Books, Beer and Bookworm Babble.”  Come and find out what everyone has been reading lately!
• The Coloring “Book” Club celebrates reading (and coloring) as a group experience at 5:00 p.m. on May 31. Relax with adult coloring books while listening and discussing a different short story audiobook each month.
• The Deep Focus Film Club meets at 5:00 on May 26 for a feature showing and discussion of a Coen Bros. film, Raising Arizona.

 All Ages

• The Read Around the Clock Book Club meets at 5:00 on May 5 to discuss any book with the number “five” in the title.  A special Skype visit from best-selling author, Julie Lawson Timmer, author of Five Days Left, is scheduled.
• Get Crafty and learn to “Crochet Your Way Through the ABCs” at 10:00 a.m. on May 14. You can make an alligator, a bear, a cat, ...you get the idea. Project materials are provided.
• The Community Drum Circle meets at 5:30 p.m. on May 10 and 24.  Join the celebration of drums, while exploring the soul and spirit of music!
• Mountain Music Slow Jam will meet from 5:30-7:00 p.m. on May  7 and 21 in the downstairs meeting room (after-hours access through side door on lower parking lot).  Get together with other musicians and jam.  Songs are explained as to timing, breaks, etc… and played in slow time.  Designed for beginners, all skill levels are welcome.
• Stop in at 10:00 a.m. on May 18 for a Resume Workshop.  Improve your “job-search” odds with a polished, professional-looking resume that is sure to impress potential employers.
• Share some original and favorite poems over coffee at 2:00 p.m. on May 19 at the library’s Poetry Cafe.
• Learn the basics of website construction while actually building your own free, personal website at 2:00 p.m. on May 25.

Special Events:

• Visit the library at 4:00 on May 4 for a special program: May the “Fourth” Be with You. Bring your younglings, and together you will learn to know The Force like never before.
• Library staff will be at Ashe County Farmers Market from 9:00 a.m. until noon on May 7, to distribute Read, Share, and Return copies of the  Annual Community Read Book: What I Came to Tell You. Stop by and get a copy while supplies last.
• The Community Read Kick-off will take place at 3:00 p.m. on May 7 in Ashe Civic Center with an original production of Tales from the Bamboo Forest.  An evening showing (same day) of the play is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.  Admission is FREE!
• Stop by the library during the afternoon on May 14 to hear “Recovery Stories” and see a new art display: the “Hello My Name is …. Project.”
• Summer Reading Sign-ups begin promptly at 3:00 p.m. on May 24.
• Celebrate the Ashe County Community Read at Bamboo-Palooza all day on May 28.  See website for a detailed schedule of events.