STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
Throw “shhhhhh” out the window.
The Community Library is inviting adults and children alike to rock the library from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25.
The Children’s Library, currently under construction will turn into a dance club with the public invited to stomp their feet and twist and shout.
There’ll be a Kids Dance from 5 to 6 p.m. and a Salsa Hour from 6 to 7 p.m. DJ Diva will spin the latest for the Community Dance Party from 7 to 9 p.m.
But there’ll be more to the evening than dancing.
Local authors Charlie Brandt, Judith Freeman, Mariel Hemingway and Nick Neely will host rounds of literary trivia, serving up prizes to the best guessers from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Lecture Hall.
Partygoers will be able to leave their mark for future generations by writing messages on unfinished floors and walls in the Young Adult library and hangout space now known as The Link.
Downstairs, regional history-themed games will be played in the new Programs Studio space.
There also will be a photo booth on hand, along with the Bloom Bookmobile, which will open its doors for kids to explore.
Finally, a Hemingway-themed raffle will offer its lucky winners three packages:
- A gift certificate to dine at the Hemingway Table at Michel’s Christiana, stay in the Hemingway Suite at the Sun Valley Lodge, visit the Hemingway House and shoot a round at the Sun Valley Gun Club—all things America’s most famous author would have enjoyed.
- A full-day guided fishing tour from Silver Creek Outfitters and dinner at the Pioneer Saloon.
- A season ski pass from Sun Valley Resort.
A silent auction will also be held for a literary cocktail party hosted at a private residence.
Food and drink will be available for purchase from food trucks parked on Fourth Street between Spruce and Walnut streets. Among them: Smoke Over Baldy, Taqueria El Pastor and Sawtooth Brewery.
The LitHop is designed to give people a chance to see and learn about the library’s ongoing renovation, said Carter Hedberg, the library’s director of Philanthropy.
The Renew Your Library! Campaign began in 2014 with focus groups offering ideas for what they wanted in their library. To date $9 million has been raised to renovate the library and its grounds, and the library hopes to raise the remaining $1.5 million by the end of the year.
The new Lecture Hall opened in July and the Children’s Library and The Link are scheduled to open this fall.
Construction will progress in phases through 2019. It is the first major renovation in 20 years for the library, which moved to its current location in 1976.
For information, visit www.comlib.org.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Community Library’s motto is “Be Mind Full.”