Thank you, Blount County and all who participated in naming our Blount County Public Library mascot. We are pleased to introduce you all to Harper, the flying squirrel. Participants chose between the names Harper, Iris, and Reed/Reid/Read (Read).
Harper was inspired by the A.K. Harper Memorial Library Building. Iris is one of the Tennessee State flowers, and well, Read is what we hope everyone loves to do. With the votes cast, the final tally was 42.8% Harper, 24.2% Iris, and 33% Read.
You can see Harper’s final design from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on June 8 at our seventh annual Mini Con. Mini Con will be in connection with the Blount County Friends of the Library’s quarterly book sale, which will give you the chance to come shop in the library’s basement along with the more than 20 local vendors who are selling comic books, collectibles, both original and fan art, and much more. The vendor Famous Players Vault will also be setting up a Take a Card, Leave a Card wall where you can bring in a trading card and exchange it with something else.
Events will take place throughout the day both inside the library and outside in the Learning Lab parking lot where the Friends of the Library will have face painting, food trucks and other outdoor fun. For a full list of events, please visit our website, under the “What’s Happening” tab for a link to our Mini Con page.
But wait, there is more. A lot more.
This year’s Summer Reading theme is “Adventure Begins at Your Library!” We are bringing outdoor adventures indoors by transforming our Children’s Department into Camp Cryptid. Our adventure begins with the introduction of our new Mascot and camper, Harper!
Throughout the summer, Harper invites families to drop in for fun events at Camp Cryptid, where campsites, a forest, and allegedly a bigfoot or two will welcome all campers. For any Summer Reading questions, visit our Summer Reading page on our website under the “What’s Happening” tab.
Harper has adventures for teens and adults too, including some world travel with an International Food Night on June 26 for teens, featuring food from local restaurants like Yassin’s Falafel House and Los Amigos, and an Around the World Tea Party — with a variety of global teas — for adults.
It wouldn’t be Summer Reading without the reading, though. Patrons of all ages can read to win cool prizes. Kids will get the chance to create their own adventuring kits by collecting prizes throughout the weeks.
After they pick up their bag, they can fill it with things like nature journals, sunglasses and flashlights to earn points from reading. Families can also pick up a shared passport to take on community adventures for the chance to win a grand prize at the end of the summer.
While this summer will bring particularly special adventures to the library, every day is its own adventure when you delve into our awesome collection. You’ll also be supporting all of our adventures throughout the year when you shop with the Friends of the Library, either at their bookstore, at a book sale or on eBay. All proceeds from these sales benefit the library, especially our programming for all ages.
Whether you’re taking to the sea with Jim from “Treasure Island,” trekking through Mordor with Frodo, or just heading outside to the Greenway or into the mountains with one of our hiking backpacks (available for check out), we hope you visit the library to begin your own adventures this summer.
The Public Relations Team and Chelsea Tarwater, the Youth Services Manager, look forward to seeing you at the Blount County Public Library soon!
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