STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
Dance through the decades with The Beverly Lovers, take a spin through a Kids’ Adventure Zone, check out seven decades of vintage ski style and win prizes in a Hunt Through History when The Community Library celebrates its 70th anniversary.
The Library will celebrate its birthday as part of its annual Book Around the Block! Party from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 20. Festivities will be held at The Library, on the Library’s Donaldson Robb Family Lawn, in the Wood River Museum of History and Culture at the Gold Mine Thrift and Consign stores and on 4th and Walnut Streets.
There’ll be free bites, and a chance to create a Wildflower and Watercolors mosaic under the guidance of Wood River Valley artists Leslie Rego, Barbara Kline and Will Caldwell.
“For 70 years, the Library has grown with and because of this incredible community,” said Carter Hedberg, director of philanthropy at The Community Library. “This event is a thank-you to everyone who supports our mission, believes in libraries and helps us imagine what a library can be.”
Some of the highlights:
FREE BITES: There’ll be birthday cake contributed by Sun Valley Resort, as well as free ice cream from Mountain High Creamery, pizza bites from Smoky Mountain Pizza, tacos from Taqueria al Pastor and lemonade from On the Hop, along with beer and wine available for purchase.
FASHION THROUGH THE DECADES
The Wood River Museum will roll out an exhibit featuring seven decades of vintage ski style. There, you can also search for clues in historic images to win prizes.
TAKE HOME SOME FREE BOOKS
The Library will offer free books that have been culled from its stacks, as well as 70th Anniversary totes while supplies last. While there, pick up a list of 70 Things to Do at the Library and 70 Books to Read from the Decades.
MAKE A PARTY HAT
Tour The Library’s new Bookmobile, make a party hat and get your library card if you don’t have one.
KIDS’ ADVENTURE
The Children’s Museum of the Magic Valley is bring its interactive fun activities to the party.
STREET DANCE
Dance to the retro sounds of The Beverly Lovers, aka David Janeski and Aly Wepplo and their two-part harmonies that will have you grooving to the Golden Oldies.
SPIN FOR LUCK
Spin for a chance to win up to 50 percent off during your one Gold Mine find at Gold Mine Thrift. And, while there, get decked out in vintage clothing and props and step into a Time Warp Photo Booth taking you back to 1955.
CHECK OUT THE MAGIC
Luis Alberto Lecanda will stroll the streets offering up some magic tricks.
The Community Library had its genesis in 1955 after 17 women agreed to pony up a dollar each and books from their personal collections to get it started. They opened the Gold Mine Thrift Store in a log cabin across from where Despo’s is and emptied out their closets. The first library was built in 1957 on the site of the present-day Gold Mine Thrift Store.
The Library has grown beyond a collection of books to become a community gathering place where lecturers offer up ideas, musicians come together for jam session, children learn about tarantulas and make solar pizza ovens and adults research subjects via The Library’s computers, learn English as a Second Language and hold private meetings.
The Library is privately funded and privately governed. Thus, it receives no dedicated tax dollars, instead relying on donations and net income from its Gold Mine Thrift and Gold Mine Consign stores.
Anyone from any place in the world can get a free Library card.
“This celebration is a joyful reflection of what The Library is all about: access, creativity, curiosity and community,” said Hedberg.