Table of Contents
On a cloudy Saturday afternoon, about 20 children and parents scattered inside and outside the Winchester Public Library. On the main lawn, three kids whipped hula hoops around while on the sidewalk atop a hill, another tried to shake ping pong balls out of a tissue box while parents socialized and watched from the side. Other kids sat on benches eating ice cream while some built Legos inside.
“What are you going to do first, play games or get ice cream,” one adult asked as a child ran past them.
“Books!” the child responded.
Families were on hand Aug. 22 to celebrate the end of the Winchester Public Library’s summer reading program. The event is held to celebrate the kids’ hard work and give them an opportunity to turn in raffle tickets for prizes, said Brittany DeLorme, the library’s head of children’s services.
The lawn games event catered to kids from ages 4 through rising sixth graders, which allows both younger and older kids to participate, she added. The kids could play games like a ring toss, Lego building and hula hooping, and a food truck served ice cream in the parking lot.
“It’s a fun way to keep their minds and bodies moving while they’re here turning their tickets in and maybe checking out more books,” DeLorme said.
The summer reading program had 24 different challenges which included tasks like reading five books, drawing a picture of a book character and attending a library program.
The goal of it is to keep kids coming into the library, support their reading and find a book for everyone, DeLorme said.
The library had about 70 other events from June through August like storytimes, sewing classes and bracelet making to hit different interests. There are typically about 90 events for the summer, but due to construction there were less this year.
Parents spoke positively about the event, along with the summer reading program, and said they came to the event so their kids could interact with other kids, participate in an off-screen activity and eat ice cream. Most had been to some of the library’s events before and said they plan to continue coming to them.
“The community you get from sharing this resource with others in the community is invaluable,” said
Winchester resident Kim Gulgliotta, who attended with her 9-year-old daughter, Aurelia.
The two came to celebrate and turn in raffle tickets. For Aurelia, it’s the “summer of Harry Potter,” Gulgiotta said.
The kids’ favorite books covered several different genres from graphic novels to fantasy to cartoons. Like Aurelia — who said her favorite part of the library is that it looks a bit like Hogwarts — other kids decided to read Harry Potter this summer, too. DeLorme said each year the kids get more options for genres, styles and reading levels.
Whether it was outside or inside the library, kids enjoyed hula hoops, Frisbees and activities at the end of the library’s summer reading program celebration on Aug. 22. WINCHESTER NEWS STAFF PHOTOS/CRYSTAL YORMICK
Sarah Ryan, a Winchester resident who recently moved from Philadelphia, said the library has been a place of comfort and engagement for her kids and helped with her family’s transition to a new place.
“Every library’s got a different layout, but the programming is the same,” she said.
Ryan said she’d like to have more seasonal events like Saturday’s or a winter carnival to have something to look forward to. A few other parents and kids said their favorite library event so far was last year’s foam party.
For next year’s programming and summer reading program, DeLorme said the goal is to keep up interest levels, but switch up programming so it’s not the same every year. The summer challenges provide some structure for participants, but the main aim is for patrons to read what brings them joy, she said.
“It’s a great privilege to hand these books to these kids,” DeLorme said. “[You] see their eyes light up when they find something they love.”
Crystal Yormick is a 2026 graduate of Boston University, where she studied journalism. She is currently freelancing for local news outlets.
