All good things must come to an end, and on Tuesday morning children gathered at the park on Edward’s Island to celebrate the end of the Elizabethton/Carter County Public Library’s Summer Reading Program.
To commemorate the occasion, the summer readers received a special visit from Roan Mountain State Park Seasonal Interpretive Rangers William Miller and Kyle Whitson. The two SIRs talked to the children about staying safe while enjoying the outdoors. Whitson talked to the children about what they should do if they encounter a bear in the wild while Miller spoke to them about the 10 essential items they should remember to put in their backpacks when they go for a hike.
Tuesday’s event served as the end of the Summer Reading Program for children in grades Kindergarten through 3rd grade. Today will be the end of the Summer Reading Program for children in Pre-K or younger.
Children attending the grand finale celebration each received a special goody bag from the library and a free book. The bags also contained coupons and certificates from local businesses, said Children’s Librarian Ashlee Williams. Pizza Hut supplied coupons for free pizza, LoneStar donated a certificate for a free kids meal, Elizabethton’s Franklin Pool supplied certificates for a free admission to the pool, Hands-On Museum donated coupons granting $1 off a child’s admission, Captain D’s supplied coupons for a free kids meal, and retail bookstore chains Books-A-Million and Barnes & Noble each donated certificates the children can redeem for a free book.
Williams expressed her thanks to the local businesses for their support of the Summer Reading Program and for their generous gifts to the children.
All in all, Williams said more than 400 children registered to take part in the Summer Reading Program, which she said is about average.
“We saw a lot of new families this year with the Summer Feeding Program,” Williams said, adding many of those families also took part in the Summer Reading Program.
In addition to the support from local businesses and community partners, Williams said this year the program saw a number of volunteers as well.
“We had about 12 Tennessee Promise students come in and help out this Summer to get their hours in,” Williams said.