Andie Balenger | Daily Press Joel Tacey throws a comedy magic wand into the crowd of laughing children during his magic comedy show at Escanaba Library on Wednesday night. Tacey’s show, which educated students on the importance of reading, was part of the annual Friends of the Library ice cream social event. The Ice Cream Party kicks off the library’s summer season of events.

ESCANABA — The annual Friends of the Library ice cream social event kicked off the summer season at the Escanaba Public Library, located at 400 Ludington St., on Wednesday evening. Friends of the Library, a non-profit organization established in 1988, has organized the event for several years, encouraging members of the community to get involved in the activities and programs of their local library.

“It’s one of the many things the Friends of the Library do”, Carolyn Stacey, director of the Escanaba Public Library, said. “They fund all the public programs we have. They exist to improve and support library services.

Wednesday night’s festivities began with a magical comedy show by Joel Tacey, also known as “The Michigan Family Comedian” at 4:30 p.m., Tacey performed a surfer-themed show, guiding the kids through a series of ocean books while performing little magic tricks. In one of Tacey’s tricks he shot “bioluminescent” lights out of participants’ ears and shoes. These bioluminescent lights were representative of what deep-sea anglerfish use as a guide when living in the ocean.

When the show ended, families and community members gathered on the library’s North Lawn for ice cream, cake, and musical entertainment by the Escanaba City Band. The Friends of the Library also held a book sale during the event, with everything being sold for one dollar.

This social ice cream was the first since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

“This is a community event. We haven’t done that since COVID, so it will be interesting to see who comes out,” Stacey said.

The library’s annual ice cream party serves as an introduction to the children’s summer reading program and events, which run until the start of the new school year. This program encourages children to read throughout the summer months by encouraging good reading habits, offering a variety of prizes that correlate with the amount of books read. Registration for this year’s program, titled “Oceans of Possibilities” begins Monday, June 13.

“The summer reading program has been a tradition for a long time,” Stacey said. “It’s a way to just encourage kids to keep reading through the summer and avoid that ‘summer slide’ that educators talk about.”

In addition to the incentive reading, several special events are also linked to the summer reading program. “Lunch with the Munch Bunch” will be organized every Tuesday until July 19 from June 14. Bringing a packed lunch, the children will have a meal together on the children’s room terrace at 11:30 a.m. Books will be read in the story room after the children have finished eating.

Children seven years and older are welcome to participate “Adventures in Crafting with Pasqua Warstler” Tuesday, June 28 and Tuesday, July 19 at 2 p.m. Jamie Kozloski’s “Exotic Animal Rescue” will also take place on Wednesday, August 3 at 3:00 p.m. in the council chambers.

Also back this summer is the pandemic-borne virus “Live on the lawn… at lunch!” summer musical series. Beginning June 9, performances will take place on the Library’s North Lawn every second Thursday at 11:45 a.m. through August 18. The show on June 9 will be presented by “Wake Up for the Birds” a vocal duo based in Wisconsin.

“Since we couldn’t hold public programs for a long time last summer, we wanted to provide people with a comfortable option to come back to the library and do something fun,” Stacey said. “It’s a good thing to bring the whole family.”

Participants from “Live on the lawn… at lunch!” are encouraged to bring picnic blankets, lawn chairs and a lunch to enjoy while listening to the performers. For the June and July events of this musical series, various food trucks will provide listeners with freshly cooked meals. Bobaloon’s will be at the June 9 event.

New to the Escanaba Public Library this summer is a summer reading program for teens ages 13-17. Registration for the program began on June 8, with those interested obtaining a bingo card from the library. Teenagers will receive a small prize for each “BINGO” they create throughout the summer, with all completed bingo cards being entered into a draw for three separate grand prizes: $50 gift cards to Canterbury Bookstore, Willow Creek Cinemas 8 and Sherlock and Key Escape Room.

“We’re just making sure there’s a little something for everyone this summer at the library,” Stacey said.

Teenagers from the region are also invited to attend the “Retrogaming Hangout” June 18 at 12 p.m. The event will take place in the town council chambers, with a Nintendo 64 and a GameCube available for the teenagers. Pizzas and drinks will also be provided during the event.

The library hosts a Lego Club event every second Saturday of the month. Children bring their own Legos, or get a set from the library if they don’t have any, and develop new creations as a group. The children’s creations are then rewarded at the end of the encounters, which are always new Lego kits.

“Lego Club is very popular with children and families,” Stacey said. “This coming Saturday (June 11) is the club’s third anniversary, so we’ll be having a block party to celebrate.”

More suited to adults, author talks are returning to the library this summer. While an author conference was held on June 2, with authors JL Hyde and Ryan Hansen signing copies of the most recent publications, David Hardin will be presenting at the next event on June 16. Hardin traveled to Michigan to discuss his book. “fire hydrant”, a memoir on providing water to the people of Flint during the water crisis. Eugène Milhizer will present his work, “Dissecting the Anatomy of a Murder”, August 9.

“A lot of people here are keenly interested in ‘Anatomy of a Murder,’ so it’s going to be something people can watch,” Stacey said.

In addition to renting books, the library also has a few miscellaneous items that it lends to the public. The Delta Astronomical Society has donated a telescope that can be rented, and even reserved, by the public. In 2019, several fishing rods were donated to the library which can also be rented.

“We have just received a donation of five new perches from the Bay de Noc Great Lakes Fisherman Club”, Stacey said. “So now we have 10 people to check.”

The Escanaba Public Library is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. The library is open on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and closed on Sunday. All library events are free and open to the public.