The Henry County Library kicks off its Summer Reading Program with a day of free activities, a show and refreshments for the whole family.
Happy Faces Entertainment of Kansas City will put on an interactive show, which youth services librarian Ryan Muilller said she found as a result of a lucky Google search.
It was also lucky, she said, that the performer, comedian Dennis Porter, had an opening on the day of the kickoff, June 3, starting at 10 am.
The 30-minute show, “Super Friends to the Rescue,” illustrates this year’s Reading Program theme, “All Together Now.”
“The performance is about how everyone has a super power,” Ryan said, “and when we come together, we make more than the sum of the parts.”
The kick-off party, which is free, goes through 1 p.m. Activities include a 150-foot inflatable obstacle course for all ages, which has obstacles to jump over, crawl under, or go through, Ryan said.
“You run it as fast as you can, and can challenge your friends’ time,” she said.
There will also be a bubble place with a bubble machine, where kids can play and dance in the bubbles, and sidewalk chalk for those whose interests lie in the visual arts.
The June 3 Kick-off will include a sign-up for the Summer Reading Program, which goes through July 29. For every 60 minutes that children in 0-5th grades read, or are read to, they will be entered in a drawing to win prizes. Older students read 130 minutes for each entry.
Participants keep track of how many minutes they read on BeanStack, (henrycolib.beanstack.com).
A calendars of activities throughout the summer will be given out at the Kick-Off -- story time on Tuesdays, teen events on Thursdays, and family events on weekends.
The library is partnering again this year with the Henry County Historical Society Children’s Corner to bring a free puppet show to Clinton during Olde Glory Days. This year’s show, on July1, is by StoneLion Puppets of Kansas City, and is the story of a friendship between a caterpillar and a lady-bug. There will be two performances, at 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 1, 2023, at the Henry County Museum Annex. The Missouri Arts Council co-sponsors the puppet show.
The Summer Reading End-of-the-Program Party is August 5, when there will be drawings for bigger prizes. You do not have to be present to win, Ryan said.
The program and events are free. The library will be putting up decorations illustrating the “All Together Now” theme, Ryan said, which promotes kindness, friendship and unity.
Last year, more than 200 readers signed up at the kickoff for the Summer Reading Program, with a total of 400 participating, Ryan said.
“We’re hoping for at least 400,” she said. “This is a big event. It keeps us going all year.”
The Henry County Library in Clinton is located at 123 E. Green St., Clinton, Mo. 64735, on the corner of Second Street (Business 13) and Green, two blocks east of the Square.
