Horses, goat visit Hoag Library to help kick off summer reading challenge

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Jeffrey Echevarria, 10, of Albion rides a horse today during a kickoff celebration for the summer reading program at Hoag Library.

The library will have events and activities Monday through Friday to promote the reading challenge, which ends Aug. 11.

Children who read up to 15 hours this summer will be eligible for prizes.

Jules Henchen, 6, of Carlton and Owen Merritt, 7, of Waterport pet a goat outside the library. Serenity Acres brought the animals to the library today. The Albion Lions Club also served hotdogs for free.

Hoag and the other public libraries in Orleans County are part of a statewide summer reading challenge with a theme, “All Together Now.”

There will storytimes at the Hoag in the afternoons led by Elizabeth Tuttle, the children’s librarian. Once a week a community member will also lead a storytime. Joyce Riley, the village’s deputy mayor, will do the first one at 11 a.m. on Thursday. The other storytimes from community members will be at 11 a.m. on Wednesdays.

There will be many other activities, including yoga, water wars, crafts, movies, a DPW construction equipment program, birdhouse building with Jim Babcock, and visits from the Zoomobile.

Click here to see the calendar of events at the Hoag for the summer reading program.

Lee-Whedon Memorial Library in Medina will have a kickoff celebration on Friday of its summer reading program with a petting zoo from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will also be cotton candy, games and ice cream from Twisted Treats (available at your own expense).

Dona Scharping, left, of Serenity Acres chats with Betty Sue Miller, the Hoag library director, while waiting for the next child to take a ride on the horse.