Summer Fun Planned by Friends of the Tewksbury Public Library

Reading, road race, murder mystery dinner, concert series

The Friends of the Tewksbury Public Library met last night, with a lot of summer and fall plans on the agenda. Some takeaways.

The library is fully back. In Q123, the library’s circulation and room use bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, with almost 21,000 visitors. The focus now is adding more in-person programming to create a balance between virtual and live.

There is a fun, packable tote bag with the Friends logo available for $10. You can purchase one at the front desk with cash or a check. Proceeds help pay for programming.

The Friends were nominated for the Q2 23 $10,000 Impact Award from Tewksbury’s 100 People Who Care giving circle. Officers will represent the Friends at the award event on Wednesday, June 21 at Wamesit Lanes. Any Tewksbury resident may join the 100 Who Care group and be eligible to vote and nominate. Learn more about the organization.

The Summer Concerts @ the Library series is back, and with it, summer concert raffle sales. Three volunteers are needed per event to sell tickets before the show starts, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. for July shows and from 5:15 to 6 p.m. in August. 

If you’re interested, you can sign up here. There is also a need to have some folks as backups in case of volunteer cancellations. Please email the Friends if you are willing to be on-call. This is a great opportunity for high school students to rack up some volunteer hours.

Schedule:
7/10 American Who (The Who)
7/17 4EverFab (The Beatles)
7/24 The Island Castaways Band (Jimmy Buffett)
8/14 The Reminisants (oldies cover band)
8/21 BackTrack (all-female oldies cover band)
8/28 TBD

In her director’s report, Diane Giarrusso shared summer plans for all age groups. Flyers with more detailed information for the teen (grades 6-12) and children’s (preschool and grades K-5) plans can be downloaded below, and the adult flyer will be available shortly. 

Summer reading programs will run from June 20 through Aug. 11. There will be a fun, all-ages kick-off event next Friday, June 16, from 12:30 – 2:30 p.m. at Livingston Park. 

“We’ve partnered with the Tewksbury Police Department this year,” said Giarrusso. “There will be crafts, bubbles, registration opportunities and the dunk tank.”

She is looking for volunteers to be dunked. If you’re at least 5’5” — the step to get out of the dunk tank is high and can be difficult for anyone shorter — and willing to get wet, contact teen librarian Emily Leggat.

The children’s program will be only on paper, and there are prizes for preschool and school-aged kids. Adult programs will be on Beanstack, with a paper version for those who prefer to tally their reading the old-fashioned way.

In addition, there will be a staff summer reading challenge running from June 12 to Aug. 11.

Residents can meet the Friends and many other community groups at the upcoming Community Roundtable event, hosted by Community Outreach Librarian Robert Hayes. That will be held in the large meeting room on June 12 from 6:30 – 8 p.m. All residents are welcome.

Upcoming fundraisers & volunteer opportunities:

Cafe Sicilia dine-out: On Thursday, June 15 from 5 – 8 p.m., a percentage of Cafe Sicilia’s sales will go to the Friends. The Cafe is also donating a $100 restaurant gift card that will be raffled off. 

2024 calendar: Many residents submitted amazing photos of Tewksbury, which the Friends compiled into a 2024 wall calendar. They’re expected shortly and will be available at the Applefest.

Murder mystery dinner: Planned for Sept. 16. The Friends are in need of a caterer to set up, serve and clear a buffet dinner. Bonus for a staff member who is certified to serve alcohol. There will also be a need for volunteers to set up, register attendees, act in the murder mystery and help with clean up.

5K family fun run/walk: Pencil in Oct. 14 for the Library’s first 5K family fun run and walk, presented with help from the Corning Foundation. Anyone with experience running a road race who may be able to assist in getting this off the ground, please contact the Friends. 

Night with a medium: Pre-covid, the Friends ran a very successful psychic reading event. They’re looking to bring it back in early 2024.

Finally, the Friends will not meet in July and August. The group will reconvene in person on Sept. 6. However, if you become a Friend, you will receive email updates to stay in the loop for upcoming events.

Download Children’s and Teens’ Summer Reading Programs