The Children’s Services of the Public Library is hosting an Easter program. This event represents a return to in-person activities as COVID-19 restrictions loosen and more Ontarians receive vaccinations.
People of all ages are invited to play Easter-themed games such as Feed the Rabbit and an adapted version of Snakes and Ladders. There will also be crafts, activity sheets and a collection of Easter books available to borrow.
The event will take place on Easter Saturday, April 16, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the James L. McIntyre Centennial branch.
This is the second program to be held in person after holding dinosaur activities this March break. These activities are designed to be flexible for different patron's comfort levels.
“Something like the Easter program, I think it's definitely a good one to try this sort of in-person come-and-go [program],” said children’s librarian Meredith Bone.
“I think this is a good program to do that with, because we can set out crafts, we can set out games, activities, all of that and then people can do what they feel they want to and are comfortable with And they're not tied to a specific [schedule].”
The library intends on taking note of how well received the program is and then adapting future events accordingly.
Meanwhile, Bone is also planning upcoming outdoor and online events. “Next month is Star Wars Day, May the Fourth be with you. And so, we have quite a few things going on for that day.”
She will be publishing a Star Wars-themed storytime episode on the library’s YouTube channel featuring Baby Yoda and the Mandalorian.
“Then, on the Saturday before Star Wars Day, so April the 30th, we're going to try something different as we ease back into programming,” said Bone. “We're going to do a Star Wars Day outdoor family adventure. It is called Mission Rogue Squadron and it's going to be something that can be done either walking or biking… (although we will move it in here if it rains).”
According to Bone, planning Mission Rogue Squadron involved organizing with several community partners, including the Algoma Art Gallery and the Ermatinger Clergue Site.
“Families can go around together and solve clues to try and find out which Rebel Alliance outpost The Empire is planning to attack.”
The whole experience is supposed to take between 30 to 60 minutes.
During the pandemic, Children’s Services premiered a Surprise Reads program, which will be continuing as the library opens up.
This program lets kids sign up to receive three books a month, tailored for their interests and reading levels.
“They come in once a month and pick up this little package for themselves… It’s so much fun for the kids… because it's like getting a little Christmas present each month and discovering a new book that they had never thought to read before.”
But unlike some organizations, neither branch of the library totally closed down throughout the months of lockdown.
“We've been working kind of off-and-on in the building the whole time.
“Sometimes it would be limited maybe to 50 per cent [of the workload] in the building and 50 per cent will be working from home,” said Bone.
She noted, that working hybridly “was challenging, and we're super glad that we've been able to work through that.”
However, “it's definitely been a huge challenge for what's normally very much an interactive, in-person job. So I won't miss it.
“I'm glad to be back in the building and I'm glad that our patrons —through [lockdown] — have been so supportive of this. They've been borrowing material, they've been taking part in our online programs, they've been giving us great feedback.”