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16th Annual Family Reading Festival

Celebrating the Week of the Young Child

2023-04-22 10:00:00 2023-04-22 15:00:00 America/New_York 16th Annual Family Reading Festival Fun for the entire family! Hands-on activities, free books, balloon twisting, Outback Ray, and of course, musician Jim Gill! Performers are sponsored by the Lucy & Emily Beasley Charitable Trust. Main Library -

Saturday, April 22
10:00am - 3:00pm

Add to Calendar 2023-04-22 10:00:00 2023-04-22 15:00:00 America/New_York 16th Annual Family Reading Festival Fun for the entire family! Hands-on activities, free books, balloon twisting, Outback Ray, and of course, musician Jim Gill! Performers are sponsored by the Lucy & Emily Beasley Charitable Trust. Main Library -

Fun for the entire family! Hands-on activities, free books, balloon twisting, Outback Ray, and of course, musician Jim Gill! Performers are sponsored by the Lucy & Emily Beasley Charitable Trust.

Get ready to sing, clap, dance and spin along during this visit by award-winning musician and author Jim Gill.

Jim Gill’s distinctive music play creates the spirit of a family room in the concert hall and is an invitation to children, parents and grandparents to sing and play together!

Jim Gill is a musician and author with unique credentials among children's artists. Jim is a child development specialist, completing his graduate studies in child development at the Erikson Institute of Chicago with a special emphasis on the study of play. For this reason, each of Jim's recordings and books is created as an opportunity for playful interactions between a child and a caring adult. Anyone who has experienced one of Jim's family concerts knows that rather than performing for the children and parents, Jim leads them to sing and play together.

Jim has released ten award-winning CDs of music play for young children that are favorites in family rooms, classrooms and playrooms. Jim is also the author of two children's books, "A Soup Opera" and "May There Always Be Sunshine."

Performers are sponsored by the Lucy & Emily Beasley Charitable Trust.

10:45 am - He's Back! Musician Jim Gill's Sing-a-thon of Celebrated Songs

11:45 am - Outback Ray and his amazing animal friends. See captive-born exotic animals up close and personal!

1:00 pm - Jim Gill - afternoon matinee performance

Local community organizations will share hands-on activities and information about services for families.

Each child in attendance will take home a free book sponsored in part by Children & Books.



Week of the Young Child: Join us for a fun-filled week, April 17-21, celebrating early learning, young children, their teachers, families, and communities. Visit our online calendar to discover more events and activities encouraging movement and healthy lifestyles through music, food, and art.

Main Library

Phone: 330.643.9000
Branch manager
Michael Bianchi

Hours
Mon, Apr 15 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Tue, Apr 16 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Wed, Apr 17 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Thu, Apr 18 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Fri, Apr 19 10:00AM to 6:00PM
Sat, Apr 20 10:00AM to 5:00PM
Sun, Apr 21 1:00PM to 5:00PM

About the branch

Main Library, located in the heart of downtown Akron, combines compelling public space with meaningful and relevant public library services for all members of our community. Since opening in 2004, the downtown library welcomes more than one million visitors each year.

Subject divisions include: Business, Government & Science, Culture & AV, Magazines & Newspapers, Special Collections (local history & genealogy), TechZone@Main, Teen, and a 12,000 square feet Children's Library.

Special services available at Main Library include: a Patent & Trademark Resource Center; U.S. Passport and Notary services; a Microbusiness Center; a Maker Space; a resource lab for early childhood educators; and regularly scheduled computer training classes. Also available at Main Library are more than 125 public access computers, color photocopiers/printers, laminating, scanning, faxing, and free Wi-Fi.

Specialized spaces include a 425-seat auditorium, public meeting rooms, and a used bookstore. An interior glass block walkway leads to a 600-space parking garage owned by the City of Akron. An outdoor amphitheater and landscaped park complete the complex.

Upcoming Events

Fri, Apr 19, 10:00am - 6:00pm

Sat, Apr 20, 8:30am - 11:30am
Special Collections

Sat, Apr 20, 10:00am - 5:00pm

Sat, Apr 20, 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Auditorium

Sun, Apr 21, 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Auditorium,Meeting Room 3

Mon, Apr 22, 10:30am - 11:00am
Children's Library Programming Room

Tue, Apr 23, 2:00pm - 3:30pm
Computer Lab 1
This event is full

Wed, Apr 24, 10:30am - 12:30pm
Meeting Room 2AB

Wed, Apr 24, 10:30am - 11:00am
Children's Library Programming Room
This event is full

Wed, Apr 24, 2:00pm - 2:30pm
Children's Library Programming Room
This event is full

Thu, Apr 25, 10:00am - 12:00pm
Quiet Study Room 1

Thu, Apr 25, 10:30am - 11:00am
Children's Library Programming Room

Thu, Apr 25, 11:30am - 1:00pm
Meeting Room 1

Thu, Apr 25, 12:00pm - 4:00pm
Quiet Study Room 1

Thu, Apr 25, 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Meeting Room 2AB,Meeting Room 3,Atrium,Auditorium

Thu, Apr 25, 1:00pm - 7:00pm
Microbusiness Center

Thu, Apr 25, 2:00pm - 3:30pm
Computer Lab 1
This event is full

Thu, Apr 25, 3:00pm - 4:00pm
Teen Meeting Room

Thu, Apr 25, 6:15pm - 8:00pm
Auditorium

Sat, Apr 27, 2:00pm - 3:30pm
Meeting Room 2AB

Mon, Apr 29, 10:30am - 11:00am
Children's Library Programming Room

Tue, Apr 30, 2:00pm - 3:30pm
Computer Lab 1
This event is full

Wed, May 01, 10:30am - 11:00am
Children's Library Programming Room
This event is full

Wed, May 01, 2:00pm - 2:30pm
Children's Library Programming Room
This event is full

Thu, May 02, 10:30am - 11:00am
Children's Library Programming Room

Thu, May 02, 1:00pm - 7:00pm
Microbusiness Center

Thu, May 02, 2:00pm - 3:30pm
Computer Lab 1

Thu, May 02, 3:00pm - 4:15pm
Teen Meeting Room

Thu, May 02, 6:15pm - 8:00pm
Auditorium

Fri, May 03, 7:30pm - 10:00pm
Auditorium

Sat, May 04, 7:30pm - 10:00pm
Auditorium

Mon, May 06, 10:30am - 11:30am
Children's Library Programming Room
This event is full

Tue, May 07, 1:00pm - 2:00pm
TechZone

Tue, May 07, 2:00pm - 3:30pm
Computer Lab 1
This event is full

Wed, May 08, 10:30am - 11:00am
Children's Library Programming Room
This event is full

Wed, May 08, 2:00pm - 2:30pm
Children's Library Programming Room
This event is full

Wed, May 08, 6:00pm - 7:30pm
This event is full

Wed, May 08, 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Atrium

Thu, May 09, 10:30am - 11:00am
Children's Library Programming Room

Thu, May 09, 1:00pm - 2:00pm
TechZone

Thu, May 09, 1:00pm - 7:00pm
Microbusiness Center

Thu, May 09, 6:15pm - 8:00pm

Fri, May 10, 7:00pm - 8:30pm
Atrium,Auditorium

Sat, May 11, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Children's Library Programming Room

Sat, May 11, 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Atrium,Auditorium,Garden Trio Corridor,Meeting Room 1,Meeting Room 2AB,Meeting Room 3

Mon, May 13, 10:30am - 11:30am
Children's Library Programming Room
This event is full

Wed, May 15, 10:30am - 11:00am
Children's Library Programming Room
This event is full

Wed, May 15, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Zoom

Wed, May 15, 2:00pm - 2:30pm
Children's Library Programming Room
This event is full

Wed, May 15, 6:00pm - 7:30pm
Teen Meeting Room

Thu, May 16, 10:30am - 11:00am
Children's Library Programming Room

Thu, May 16, 1:00pm - 2:00pm
TechZone
Registration opens Thursday, April 25 2024 at 12:00am

Thu, May 16, 1:00pm - 7:00pm
Microbusiness Center

Thu, May 16, 6:15pm - 8:00pm
Auditorium

Sat, May 18, 10:00am - 1:30pm
Atrium,Auditorium,Meeting Room 1,Meeting Room 2AB,Meeting Room 3

Sat, May 18, 4:00pm - 6:00pm
Atrium,Auditorium