Our community’s slow-but-sure recovery during the pandemic has been fascinating to witness in the library. At the start of the pandemic, our in-person numbers cratered while use of eBooks and eAudiobooks skyrocketed.
During the last three years, those in-person numbers have risen month by month. Now that our foot traffic is nearly back up to pre-pandemic levels, we anticipate a busy summer at the library with programs and events for all ages.
To start off the summer months, we invite everyone to our Family Storytimes in Giorgi Park, every other Friday at 10:30am starting on June 2. These storytimes are a great opportunity to meet friends at the park, have fun and enjoy the show with children’s librarian Miss Charity and our BiblioBike.
In addition to storytimes, families with young children will be interested in our series of Summer Reading family events. This June we will host Sing-a-Story Opera on June 13, magician Mike Della Penna on June 15 and storyteller Diane Ferlatte on June 29, all at 11am.
The library will host Lunch at the Library for the first time since 2019. This federally funded program, administered through the State Library, allows us to provide no-cost lunch for anyone up to age 18 throughout the summer as a bridge between school years. Lunch will be offered every day, except holidays, at noon.
Our grant this year also supports an internship program for teens. We are hiring two teen interns who will oversee our lunch program, earning their food-handling permits and receiving vocational guidance in addition to work experience. We look forward to seeing kids and their parents at lunch starting June 12.
Our Tween Hangouts will continue over the summer on Monday afternoons after a short break. Look for Universal Yums on June 12 and Lego Mazes on June 26, both at 2pm. It is heartwarming to offer this program to our school-age kids in grades 4–6.
Teens and adults have plenty to look forward to as well this summer. This month, look for teen events on Wednesday afternoons at 1pm, including Anime Club, a Northern Lights Paint Party and Metal Stamping.
Adults will enjoy a visit from the Veggie Queen at 2pm on Saturday, June 17, a performance of Nick Rossi and the SRJC jazz combo “Blue” at 3pm on June 20, a Trivia Night at 6pm on June 21, and a Paint Party at 6pm on Wednesday, June 28. The Paint Party requires registration.
For sign-up or for more information on any of these events, please visit our events calendar at events.sonomalibrary.org or call the library at 707.433.3772.
Jon Haupt is the branch manager of the Healdsburg Regional Library, 139 Piper St., open daily.
