Library hosts events, competitions for kids & adults until end of July

They say reading books can open doors to other worlds.

But this year, in Community Library of Sedona’s case, they can open doors to national parks.

In partnership with Arizona’s America250 Commission, who designed a bingo sheet to go with the Summer Reading Program, this year’s events will include several raffles.

“You get one bingo, for four of the activities — listed on the sheet when you register — which are all Arizona-based, history-based, to celebrate our 250th anniversary,” library Assistant Director Tasha Spuches said. “You win five tickets, which look different than the book tickets, and you can use all five tickets to try to win an annual national park pass.”

Some activities are reading-based and some are miscellaneous history-based activities. Examples include touring an Arizona historic site, learning about Code Talkers, reading about Arizona State Parks & Trails, reading a book set in Arizona and reading about American Indian tribes in within Arizona.

The book tickets are for the more general reading challenge, which isn’t themed and can be used for completingany book.
The raffles are for adult Summer Reading Program participants. Registration can be any time, but the program goes only through Saturday, July 18, so tickets need to be in by then.

Along the desk at both CLS locations are cardboard boxes with slits and money amounts and businesses on the front of each. Every time a reader finishes a book, they can speak with one of the librarians, get a slip and put it in the box for the raffle.

Children’s Program

The children’s 2026 Summer Reading Program, which has the dinosaur theme of “Unearth a Story” across the nation, is based on the minutes of time spent reading instead of the number of books read.

The program, which began on May 20, has up to 200 local kids registered as of Thursday, May 28, Youth Services Manager Vivian Kraus said.

“This is their reading log,” she said, gesturing to a sheet with rows of little green eggs printed on it. “So, for every 20 minutes, they get to put on a sticker. Every 10 stickers — or every 10 eggs that have stickers on them — they will get one ticket that they fill out.”

The tickets are for prizes lined up in the children’s section of the library, which include things like Lego sets and puzzles, and will be drawn for during the Summer Reading Celebration at the library on Tuesday, Aug. 4.

The reading log is geared mainly toward children 12 and younger. Teens and tweens can track books read online through the Beanstack app.

“We try to get some teen prizes just to make it more exciting for them to keep reading,” Kraus said.

The last day to record reading is Saturday, July 18,and logs are due Saturday, July 25.

Events

Throughout the summer, the library has many free events.

“We always do a mini art show where kids interpret the theme of ‘Unearth a Story,’” Kraus said. “Last year’s theme was ‘Color Our World.’”

The mini art show, which is for all ages, will be on display throughout July and paintings are due by Tuesday, June 30.

On Wednesday, June 24, the library will host an art workshop for the show from 2 to 5 p.m.

“That’s really fun, because there’s all different age categories, so it’s not just kiddos, there’s adults, too,” Spuches said. “We even let staff do it, because we all have so much fun coming out and hanging with patrons.”

Next to the adult prize cardboard boxes is a white board with tallies.

“We’re also doing a competition for every time you read a book — staff or patron — it’s ‘who’s going to win this?’” Spuches said. “And so far this year, we’re crushing it as staff.”

As of May 28, the staff had well over 40, and the patrons had about 20. Spuches said it looked similar in the beginning last year, too, but patrons ended up beating the staff by a large margin.

Visit communitylibrarysedona.org for a full calendar of summer events. All library events are free.

Ongoing construction for library renovations is scheduled to go through September in the corner near the computers and the library entrance that leads to the Friends of the Library Commons, i.e., the outdoor courtyard.

“I don’t believe the construction will impact the program, but there is always a possibility,” library Director Judy Poe wrote in a recent email.

Calendar

Community Library Sedona, at 3250 White Bear Road, is hosting free events through the summer. Highlights from children’s librarian Vivian Kraus include:

• Family Ukulele week, from 2 to 3 p.m. Monday, June 8, through Friday, June 12. Learn to play with the whole family.
• Biz Kids Entrepreneurship, marketing and business creating workshops, from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on Tuesdays, June 9, 16 and 23, followed by market day on Saturday, July 11, from 1 to 4 p.m.
• STEAM days with Prescott-based Yavapai Exploration and Science on Tuesday, June 23, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. and Wednesday, July 8, at the same time.
• Quilting with Red Rock Quilters from 1 to 3 p.m., an all ages quilting workshop in the library’s lobby.
• A full calendar is provided when signing up for the Summer Reading Program and available online.