Summer Reading Continues at the St. Bernard Parish Library

Mike Anderson.

We are more than halfway into the St. Bernard Parish Library’s 2023 All Together Now summer reading program.

Our programs have been drawing ALL kinds of fun-loving families and we still have more great events planned for the upcoming week for ALL of us to enjoy!

Prescription Joy.

When Covid caused the library to cancel all of its in-person activities in 2020, we were fortunate enough to be able to stay connected with our summer readers through virtual programming. It was a challenge for us to adapt to an online format, but there was a group who stepped up and offered the library some hysterically funny, yet so very timely and important videos on lots of healthy habits we all had to adhere to during the pandemic—free of charge. That group was Prescription Joy, a healthcare clowning non-profit. Prescription Joy’s Becca Chapman and Alex Smith really came through with their zany videos featuring healthy practices. In addition to that, this hilarious team offers up the best medicine at healthcare facilities throughout the area. They bring their clowning skills, humor, and caring spirits to hospitals and medical facilities throughout the area. We are especially proud to finally have them make an in-person visit with the library’s summer reading families on Tuesday, June 27th at 11 a.m. Get ready to laugh until it hurts during this wacky show.

Prescription Joy.

Liz Bragdon will make her final visit to the library for her last Aerial Arts workshop. Registration is required and spots are limited. Liz will hold two sessions at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. This Summer with the Arts Teen/Tween event is geared for participants ages 9 and up. The Aerial Arts sessions are very hands-on with participants using the silks that will have them feeling like they are floating—think Cirque Du Soleil meets yoga. Information on the event as well as clothing guidelines are available by calling the library at 504-279-0448.

Mike Anderson.

Closing out the week will be our family Summer with the Arts program featuring award-winning musician, author, and educator Mike Anderson, also known as, the Dulcimer Guy. Audience members of all ages are invited to take part in this free musical event featuring the musical talents of the Dulcimer Guy. Mike has performed all over the world ranging from his regular appearance at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum to Taiwan. Although Mike hails from Illinois, he is claimed by libraries throughout Louisiana as one of their own! His frequent visits to our state are testimony to both his popularity and his dedication to his talents. Bring your toe-tapping shoes with you for this lively program! The show time is 3 p.m. on Friday, June 30th. 

All of the library’s Summer with the Arts events have been made possible thanks to funding received from generous grants and donations. The library has been awarded a Louisiana Project Grant funded by the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council, as administered by the St. Tammany Commission on Cultural Affairs. Funding has also been provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. St. Bernard Parish residents, Arlette and Wayne Nunez, longtime supporters of the library’s youth activities, have also shown their support by making an annual donation that is matched by Shell Oil’s Gifting Program. The St. Bernard Parish Library is deeply honored to receive these much-needed funds. These grants and gifts make it possible for the library to offer this type of programming free of charge, close to home, in a safe environment for everyone to enjoy.

Summer readers are reminded to bring in their completed activity sheets so that they can be entered in the library’s Grand Finale and Teen/Tween Prize Drawings set for July 7th and 8th, respectively. Those completing their activity sheets by the July 6th deadline will have their names entered into the library’s prize drawings and receive coupons for delicious rewards compliments of our local McDonalds and the Valluzzo Companies. Additional prizes sponsors include Audubon Institute, Coffee House, Crave, Facials by Skin Diva, Gulf Coast Bank, Home Depot, Infinity Science Center, Kiwanis of St. Bernard-Arabi, Louisiana State Energy Office, Mudbug’s Snow Balls, National WWII Museum, New Orleans Paddlewheels, P.J.’s Coffee, Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, Simply Marvelous Nutrition, Splash Express Car Wash, St. Bernard Parish Fire Department, and Wow’s Café & Wingery. Our annual summer reading event is also supported by a number of local businesses. Without their continued generosity, our program would not be the success it is. 

 Everyone is invited to take part in the library’s annual summer reading program. For more information, please stop by the library or call us at 504-279-0448. Updates and programs can be found on our website at mysbpl.org and also on our Facebook pages.

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