Empowering individuals to build a stronger community
I drove down the mountain on the cold gray morning of Prepper’s Fest, later than intended, preferring the warmth of my home. Main Street was blocked off with activity in full swing. As I pulled into the library parking lot, intrepid volunteers greeted me to unload my packed car for the day’s activities.
We pulled out tents, tables, and printed handouts and began setting up for a day of book sales. At the front of the lot, I attached new printed banners on our borrowed ”Information Tent”, while the other volunteers busily laid out books, stored in the library book barns, placing them under the other “Book Sales Tent” at the rear of the lot. The bright yellow balloons were carefully transferred from Food Country in plastic bags, sheltered in the car. The gusts of wind challenged their placement at the tents, an intended ray of sunshine in a decidedly gray day. They too, preferred tucking in under the tent, not soaring high to draw people to our activity.
The “Information Tent” had a few reluctant balloons holding fast. As I paused on setting up handouts, a gust of wind lifted the tent, and dumped it on the side of one of our helper’s car. A long pause, quick assessment, the car was okay but not so the tent. Its wimpy metal frame was no test for New Castle gusts. The tent failed our Prepper’s Fest test. Pack it up and now return to the warmth of home? Naw.
We moved it further back in the lot closer to the other tent, in hopes that the wind was a little tamer. The Book Sales Tent was successfully ballasted by bungie cords to tables laden with books. It was not going anywhere! And people came. Not masses but they kept flowing in and around our tents, book barns, and library. They showed up solo and with families.
They had delicious looking skewers of cooked meat and bags of kettle corn. One young man in new camo gear from head to toe filled a book bag to its max and stated that he travels from Martinsville every year for Prepper’s fest. We gladly gave him area maps with hiking trails supplied by the Tourism Commission. Book sales remained steady as did the gray clouds and wind gusts.
The library is fortunate to have this steady, growing community support. Today we provided a service people have learned to expect. People return to feed their reading passion, find entertainment for their kids or have something to pass on to a friend. They donate items they enjoyed and help restock the shelves for the next family. In kind this revenue allows the library to extend what it can offer to the community. It is a successful cycle in our small community. It is a way the library can be prepared for the future needs of our community. Really, not a bad day, after all!
Jennifer Lovejoy, Library Volunteer
Dates to remember:
- Annual Meeting and program by Diana Christopulos, author and journalist. Refreshments will be served and everyone is invited. Old Brick Hotel. May 18 from 6:30 – 8 p.m.
- Bake Sale at Memorial Day Celebration, Porch of Old Brick Hotel. May 29 from 10-11 a.m.
- Ongoing programs:
- Photography Contest: Spring in Craig County. Deadline, May 15, email photos to craiglibrary@tds.net.
- Books and Baseball, through August. Register to win tickets in the library when you check out a book.
- Book Sales are every day. Just ask the librarian to let you browse the Book Barns for bargains!
