Summer Reading Finishes Strong with Record-Breaking Stuffed Animal Sleepover
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GOLETA, CA, July 31, 2024 – The 2024 Summer Reading Program, Adventure Begins at Your Library, came to a close on Saturday, July 27th at the Goleta & Santa Ynez Valley Libraries after seven fun-filled weeks of programs, performances, and lots of great books. The program could not happen without the help of our amazing volunteers. This year’s team included 80 teen and adult volunteers, more than any other year. Volunteers were responsible for listening to youth participants report on their reading, awarding prizes, and assisting with behind-the-scenes work on a variety of library programs.
This year’s program saw excellent community participation from all ages across the library’s branches, as children, teens, and adults delighted in events and worked hard to earn prizes set at various reading milestones. Since the program’s launch in mid-June, more than 1,500 children in grades K-6 and over 160 teens in grades 7-12 signed up and received reading logs, and adults read over 700 books for a chance to be entered into weekly drawings. Grand prize drawings will take place this week for treasures such as skateboards, gift cards, book packs, and much more! The lucky winners will be notified by the first week of August.
To celebrate this fantastic reading, the much-anticipated Stuffed Animal Sleepover returned to Goleta Valley Library for a summer campout themed overnight adventure! A record-breaking 400 stuffies were dropped off by enthusiastic kids, who had been informed by Children’s Librarian Kaeley Christensen during end-of-school-year class visits that the only participation requirement was that their stuffie couldn’t be too big for them to carry into the library.
“It was truly magical to see the excitement on the children’s faces as they dropped off and picked up their stuffed animals for this event. Making a connection like this with the library will stay with them their whole lives, and I am honored to help make this happen,” said Kaeley Christensen.
Other highlights from the Summer Reading Program included the return of beloved annual performers such as magician Shawn McMaster and puppeteer Luce Puppet Company, as well as new creative events like the “Adventures in Geology” Dibblee map workshop at Solvang Library and the Camp Out Craft Day at Buellton Library. With programs for a wide range of interests as well as materials on a myriad of topics, the library aimed to offer an adventure to each and every one of its patrons this summer.
Congratulations on all your amazing reading and thank you for spending the summer with us!
To learn more about the Goleta and Santa Ynez Valley Libraries and check out all the great things happening year-round, visit www.GoletaValleyLibrary.org.
The Goleta & Santa Ynez Valley Libraries would like to thank the generous sponsors of the 2024 Summer Reading Program: Albertson’s, Anna’s Bakery, Birkholms Bakery & Cafe, Blenders in the Grass, The Book Loft, Brick Barn Winery, The California Nature Art Museum, Casa Cassara Winery & Vineyard, Chipotle, Chomp!, The Coffee House by Chomp, Community Clayworks, The Elverhoj Museum of History & Art, Enjoy Bagels & Sweets, The Friends of the Goleta Valley Library, The Friends of the Library of Santa Ynez Valley, Goleta Train Depot, Golf N Stuff, Habit Burger Grill, Ice in Paradise, Ingeborg’s Danish Chocolates, Isla Vista Food Co-op, Islands Restaurant, Kona Ice, Kyle’s Kitchen, Lighthouse Coffee, Los Arroyos, Maritime Museum, Mother Hubbard’s Restaurant, MOXI Museum, Mystic Merchant, New Frontiers Natural Marketplace & Deli, Ocean Nails & Spa, Old Town Coffee, Paragon Academy Goleta, Powell Peralta, Queen Cup Coffee, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Santa Barbara Blueberries, Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum & Parks-Janeway Carriage House, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Solvang Bakery, Solvang Flavors, Solvang Theaterfest, South Coast Deli, South Coast Montessori, Starbucks Coffee, Stuart C. Gildred Family YMCA, Timbers, Vega Vineyards, and Woodstock’s Pizza.