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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
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Mon, Dec 08 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Tue, Dec 09 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Wed, Dec 10 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Thu, Dec 11 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Fri, Dec 12 10:00AM to 6:00PM
Sat, Dec 13 10:00AM to 5:00PM
Sun, Dec 14 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

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Mon, Dec 08, 10:30am - 11:30am
Zoom Program 1
Registration is now closed

Mon, Dec 08, 4:00pm - 5:30pm
Teen Meeting Room

Tue, Dec 09, 10:30am - 11:30am
Zoom Program 1
Registration is now closed

Tue, Dec 09, 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Small Business & Nonprofit Resource Center Space A

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

Wed, Dec 10, 10:30am - 11:30am
Zoom Program 1

Wed, Dec 10, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Children's Library Programming Room

Wed, Dec 10, 5:30pm - 6:30pm
Zoom Program 1

Wed, Dec 10, 5:30pm - 6:30pm
Meeting Room 2AB

Wed, Dec 10, 6:00pm - 7:30pm
Children's Library Programming Room

Wed, Dec 10, 6:00pm - 7:30pm
TechZone

Thu, Dec 11, 10:30am - 11:30am
Children's Library Programming Room

Thu, Dec 11, 10:30am - 12:00pm
Small Business & Nonprofit Resource Center Space A

Thu, Dec 11, 12:30pm - 3:00pm
Small Business & Nonprofit Resource Center Space A

Thu, Dec 11, 3:30pm - 4:30pm
Teen Meeting Room

Thu, Dec 11, 6:15pm - 8:00pm
Auditorium

Cancelled
Fri, Dec 12, 10:30am - 11:30am

Sat, Dec 13, 10:10am - 3:30pm
TechZone

Sat, Dec 13, 11:00am - 12:00pm

Sat, Dec 13, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Children's Library Programming Room

Mon, Dec 15, 10:30am - 11:30am
Zoom Program 1

Mon, Dec 15, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
TechZone

Mon, Dec 15, 4:00pm - 6:00pm
Teen Meeting Room

Tue, Dec 16, 10:30am - 11:30am
Zoom Program 1

Tue, Dec 16, 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Small Business & Nonprofit Resource Center Space A

Wed, Dec 17, 10:30am - 11:30am
Children's Library Programming Room
This event is full

Wed, Dec 17, 10:30am - 11:30am
Zoom Program 1

Wed, Dec 17, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Children's Library Programming Room

Wed, Dec 17, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Computer Lab 1,Computer Lab 2,TechZone

Wed, Dec 17, 5:00pm - 6:00pm
Children's Library Programming Room

Wed, Dec 17, 5:30pm - 6:30pm
Meeting Room 2AB

Wed, Dec 17, 6:00pm - 7:30pm
Meeting Room 1

Thu, Dec 18, 10:30am - 11:30am
Children's Library Programming Room

Thu, Dec 18, 10:30am - 12:00pm
Small Business & Nonprofit Resource Center Space A

Thu, Dec 18, 12:30pm - 3:00pm
Small Business & Nonprofit Resource Center Space A

Thu, Dec 18, 3:30pm - 5:00pm
Teen Meeting Room

Thu, Dec 18, 6:15pm - 8:00pm
Auditorium

Cancelled
Fri, Dec 19, 10:30am - 11:30am

Mon, Dec 22, 3:00pm - 5:00pm
Teen Meeting Room

Tue, Dec 23, 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Small Business & Nonprofit Resource Center Space A

Mon, Dec 29, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
TechZone

Mon, Dec 29, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
115 E. Market St., Akron, OH 44308

Tue, Dec 30, 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Small Business & Nonprofit Resource Center Space A

Sat, Jan 03, 12:00pm - 3:00pm
Quiet Study Room 1

Sat, Jan 03, 2:00pm - 4:45pm
Auditorium

Mon, Jan 05, 10:30am - 11:30am
Children's Library Educator Lab,Children's Library Programming Room

Mon, Jan 05, 1:00pm - 1:30pm
Zoom Program 1
Registration opens Monday, December 15 2025 at 10:00am

Mon, Jan 05, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Computer Lab 1,Computer Lab 2,TechZone
Registration opens Monday, December 15 2025 at 10:00am

Tue, Jan 06, 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Small Business & Nonprofit Resource Center Space A

Wed, Jan 07, 10:30am - 11:30am
Small Business & Nonprofit Resource Center Space A

Wed, Jan 07, 10:30am - 11:30am
Children's Library Programming Room

Wed, Jan 07, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Children's Library Programming Room

Wed, Jan 07, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
TechZone
Registration opens Wednesday, December 17 2025 at 10:00am

Wed, Jan 07, 5:30pm - 6:30pm
Meeting Room 2AB

Wed, Jan 07, 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Teen Meeting Room