Kick off summer fun with Mahomet Public Library on May 28

Let’s be real: summer is the most wonderful time of the year.

The Mahomet Public Library agrees.

“Summer is kind of like Christmas for library,” Howard said.

Numbers across the board light up for the circulation, people coming in and out of the building and events. 

“It’s the time of the year that kids can read anything they want to read,” Howard added. “They can follow their passions and their interests. And they can win prizes for reading as part of the summer reading program.”

Usually, though, patrons might take their car or bike to the library, but on May 28 from 9 to 10 a.m., the Mahomet Public Library is hoping community members will go on an adventure to kick off the 2022 summer season.

What is dubbed as “Run to the Library,” an annual event that raises funds for the organization, is more of a walking event this year, stretching two miles along Mahomet’s community bike path from the Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve to the Mahomet Public Library’s door where prizes will be awarded to those who spy treasures along the way.

Along the route, families will find six special stops themed around favorite children’s books such as Goodnight Moon, Harry Potter and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  Each stop will host a red bucket full of stickers.  Each child who finds and collects all six stickers will receive a free children’s book upon arrival at the library.

In between stops, participants will also find gnomes, dinosaurs and stars hanging from trees, hidden under bushes or out in the open.

This run is the first of its kind and was the brainchild of library director John Howard.  

“I raised five kids and I thought we could try a new kind of run/walk with activities along the way” said Howard.  “Nearly every family has played I-Spy on car trips and this seemed a natural way to make a run/walk more fun.” 

Recently, Howard set up about 500 feet of the event for kids to try out. 

“They were very disappointed that it only had that much to do. So I feel like that was a really great proof of concept for me,” he said. 

Registration for the I-Spy Fun Run/Walk is $10/person or $40 per family and includes an event t-shirt.  This portion of the event is a fundraiser for the Friends of the Library and the Mahomet Rotary Club. 

Register for the run at https://mahometpubliclibrary.org/RuntotheLibrary.

At the end of the event, the library will host a Summer Kickoff event with inflatables, carnival games, music, and hot dogs and Ice Daddy’s shaved ice. The event is free and open to all until 2 p.m. 

For Howard, though, the biggest gift of all this summer is seeing families return to the library time and time again. Of course the library will host story time and playdates, while also encouraging children to read through the Summer Reading Program. Registration for Summer Reading will also be available at the library on May 28.