Annual summer reading kickoff carnival set for this weekend at Emmet O’Neal Library
The Emmet O’Neal Library and the Junior Women’s Committee of 100 will host their annual Summer Reading Kickoff Carnival on Sunday, May 22.
The first activity of the afternoon will be the Thomas Hughes Brinkley Memorial Fun Run, set to kick off at 3 p.m. Families can complete the one-mile course, which begins and ends at the library, on foot or on bicycles, skates, and scooters. Strollers are welcome.
The kickoff carnival will immediately follow the Thomas Hughes Brinkley Memorial Fun Run at 3:30 p.m. There will be game booths, concessions, free train rides, Miss Dot’s pre-ordered dinners, professional face painting and balloon art, The Claw game, a rock-climbing wall, inflatables, a DJ, a dunking booth, a cooling shower from the Mountain Brook Fire Department ladder truck, and more.
The purchase of a $25 carnival combo wristband includes a T-shirt, access to booth games, one ice cream, one Pucker Powder, one drink, and one try at The Claw. Combo bands are now available for purchase at the Emmet O’Neal Library Children’s Department. Patrons can also buy combo bands and individual food and game tickets at the carnival. The JWC will also hold a raffle at the event. Tickets will be available for $5 each. Participants can win art, jewelry, sunglasses, gift cards, and other prizes. Badger Sportswear will be on site selling Badger Sportswear Arm Sleeves for $10 each, with all proceeds to benefit the library.
Children can sign up at the carnival for the library’s summer reading program, “On Your Mark, Get Set, Read!” Patrons will be able to participate either through an app or on paper. Students entering into third—sixth grade will also be able to register for the online challenge program, Xtreme Reads. Summer programs and story times begin on Tuesday, May 31.
You can already join in the summer reading excitement by becoming an Emmet O’Neal Book Buddy. A $100 donation purchases a book for the children’s department, including a nameplate in the front to honor a special person of your choice, and goes to support the library’s children’s programs and services. Donations are due by May 31.
The Junior Women’s Committee of 100, or the JWC, is a group of women from the Mountain Brook Community who support the Emmet O’Neal Library children’s department by organizing and soliciting sponsorship for the summer reading kickoff carnival and by contributing over 400 volunteer hours each year.
Special thanks go to Carnival Chairs Adria Graham and Leigh Anne Nomberg, Fun Run Chair Emily Bynum, JWC President Bronwyne Chapman, and Vice President Grace Kipp. The children’s department is able to provide excellent programs, services, and resources to the community thanks in large part to the efforts of the JWC.
-Submitted by Emmet O’Neal Library