The theme for the summer reading program at the Belpre Branch of the Washington County Public Library is Color Our World, which focuses on color-themed prizes. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

PARKERSBURG — Local libraries kickstarted the summer Saturday with community-focused events to get everyone excited for summer reading.

The Parkersburg & Wood County Public Library hosted Library Fest at the main branch on Emerson Avenue, starting up the Summer Library Club with food trucks, live music, crafting vendors and book sales.

Library Social Media and Outreach Specialist Morgan Ashcraft stated this is the second year of the event.

“We’re just so happy about the community engagement that we have received and we had such a good turnout today,” said Ashcraft.

The festival included nonprofits and local craft vendors like Merrows Treasure Cove and the Wood County Women’s Rights Alliance. Qdoba was serving up fresh tortilla chips with queso, and guests could stop by Jimmy Avocado’s food truck for lunch.

The Belpre Branch of the Washington County Public Library held an event for its summer reading program kickoff on Saturday. Guests could enjoy the bubble blaster which covered the parking lot in bubbles. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

“We love reading, and we’re a library, but we have other things in the library and we want to make sure that people know all of the things that we do,” said Ashcraft.

“For the summer program, we have events for teens, kids and adults and every time a kid comes to the library for the Summer Library Program, they get a book,” she said.

To encourage the community to continue participating, Ashcraft said they host “passive” events which don’t require routine attendance or signup commitments.

Guests had the opportunity to learn about rhythm and the art of drumming and African dance with drummer Lawrence Green.

“We always post our events every week on our Facebook and Instagram and our website,” said Ashcraft. “Every week at 10 a.m. on Sundays we have a post that goes out and tells what events are going on that week.”

Kids could get their faces painted at the Happy Face Paints booth during Library Fest Saturday at the Parkersburg & Wood County Public Library. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

Across the river, the Belpre branch of the Washington County Public Library held its summer reading kickoff on Saturday. The event began with a bubble blaster in the parking lot for kids to play in.

“We try to do a party every year because the school lets out and it’s right before June,” said library Manager Casey Copeland. “The kids are ready to go and the weather is usually a little warmer than it is today.”

The Belpre Branch Library’s summer reading theme is Color Our World. As kids read, they earn colored popsicle sticks to fill the rainbow.

“Our summer reading program starts on Monday, and the kids have chances to win prizes all summer,” said Copeland. “We have summer reading for all ages from tiny bits all the way up to adults.”

The event was focused on getting information out to the community for kids and adults to sign up. Each year, roughly 100 people who join the reading program.

African drum and dance instructor Lawrence Green plays the drums in the Parkersburg & Wood County Public Library arboretum at the Library Fest on Saturday. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

The kids program goes from June until August but the adult program wraps up before the start of August.

Amber Phipps can be reached at aphipps@newsandsentinel.com

The Parkersburg & Wood County Public Library’s bookmobile contains a variety of books for residents to check-out. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

The Parkersburg & Wood County Public Library’s bookmobile is a renovated transit bus filled with shelves of books for all ages. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

Morgan Ashcraft, left, and Charley Jacobsen were passing out information on upcoming events and programs at the Parkersburg & Wood County Public Library during Library Fest on Saturday. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

Jimmy Avocado’s food truck was available during Library Fest for guests to grab a bite to eat while browsing the local vendors and businesses Saturday at the Parkersburg & Wood County Public Library. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

Julia Monroe, left, and Dan Shumen sold handcrafted earrings made from clay and wooden jewelry boxes at their booth Merrows Treasure Cove Saturday at the Parkersburg & Wood County Public Library’s Library Fest. (Photo by Amber Phipps)