Sea of events at Sampson libraries

Jun. 11—An abundance of activities are upcoming and already underway for parents and children alike around Sampson County, thanks to the 2022 Sampson-Clinton Public Libraries Summer Reading Program.

The theme this year is "Oceans of Possibilities" and there'll be no dull moments at surrounding local libraries throughout this Summer as part of this program. There will be bingo, storytime, festivals, contest, challenges, STEM actives and much much more.

The events began with the launch of the Summer Reading Challenge which officially started on June 6. The Summer Reading Challenge is open to preschoolers through rising high school seniors.

Challenge participants will log their reading from June 6 to Aug. 1 and will earn the opportunity to win prizes once they meet certain reading goals. To register for the Summer Reading Challenge visit a local library branch.

Registration can also be done online by visit www.facebook.com/SCPLinfo to find the registration link.

Another of their ocean-themed summer fun events already happened this past Wednesday. Family and friends from around the community were invited to join the JC Holliday Public Library in Clinton for bingo. The event was titled Seaside Bingo which served as a cooperative celebration alongside "World Ocean Day" held on June 8.

While Seaside Bingo has come and gone, the activities are ongoing and will be all summer.

The next major event is set for this Saturday, June 11, (today) at the Clinton City Market, located at 215 Lisbon St. in Clinton. The event is the Summer Reading Festival, where attendees can enjoy food trucks, an aquarium station, games, a storywalk, family STEM challenge and more.

The festival starts at 9 a.m. and runs until 12 p.m., admission and stations are free. Plus County Goodness Food Truck and The Dairy Queen Ice Cream Truck are planned to be on site for the event.

Following the festival the fun keeps rolling on that coming Monday. That day marks the start of the Summer Reading pop-in events which are happening around the county.

The Bookmark Design Contest, where guest will design ocean themed bookmarks, kicks off the Pop-in Events and runs Monday, June 13, through Thursday, June 16. Library locations change each day for the event. The Bookmark Design Contest will be in Newton Grove, Garland, Clinton and then Roseboro.

Board Game Fun Day is next and is set for Monday, June 20, until Thursday, June 23. Locations are as followed Roseboro, Newton Grove, Clinton then Garland.

The Lego Challenge concludes the Pop-in Events and starts Tuesday, June 28, and runs until the start of July that Friday, July 1. The challenge host spots are Newton Grove, Clinton, Roseboro and ends in Garland.

Interested parties can stop by their local library at anytime during those dates for some "Pop-in Fun."

While the pop-in events are going on, two separate events are planned to go down.

The first being "Library at the Sea" which is scheduled to take place Thursday, June 16, at the Newton Grove Fire and Rescue, located at 313 Weeksdale St.

The event is from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., during that time entertainment will be provided by storyteller Donna Washington and a take home ocean themed craft will be handed out afterwards.

This project was supported by the NC Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, visit NCArts.org for more information.

The other event is a STEM related activity called "Save the Sea". It's set for Monday, June 27, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Location is the Garland Fire and Rescue at 375 West 2nd St. in Garland.

The fun keeps going into mid July as the local libraries each play host to Storytime Splash Day in which attendants can come an enjoy ocean themed story readings.

Dates and locations are Tuesday, July 12, at Bryan Memorial in Newton Grove, Wednesday, July 13, at JC Holliday in Clinton, Thursday, July 14, at Roseboro Public Library in Roseboro and Friday, July 15, at Miriam Lamb Memorial in Garland.

Library hours change

Also of note is that library hours from now until Sept. 30 will be different, these hours are on a trial basis. JC Holliday will be open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and two Saturdays per month from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Bryan Memorial, Miriam Lamb Memorial and Roseboro Public Library will each have the same operating hours. Hours are Monday, Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. then 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. then 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and one Saturday per month from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Each are closed on Wednesdays.

Reach Michael B. Hardison at 910-249-4231. Follow us on Twitter at @SamsponInd, like us on Facebook, and check out our Instagram at @thesampsonindependent.