Hundreds of families gathered at the John C. Hart Memorial Library Friday for its annual Summer Reading Kickoff Party, celebrating the start of summer vacation and encouraging children to keep reading while school is out.
Held on the final day of Lakeland and Yorktown schools, the event — with 1,800 people — featured a Bubble Bus dance party, Myron the Magnificent's magic show, lawn games, crafts, a photo booth, ice cream, and visits from Pete the Cat, Sonic the Hedgehog, a T-Rex and Leonardo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Teen and adult volunteers helped run the festivities while families signed up for the library's Summer Reading Game.
This year marks the program's first use of the Beanstack app, allowing participants to track their reading, complete challenges, earn virtual badges and redeem prizes.
Library Director Yvonne Cech said the kickoff celebration has been a tradition for more than a decade, timed to coincide with the last day of school and get children excited about reading throughout the summer.
"Reading is a skill, and like any other skill, it needs to be practiced," Cech said. "We want them to keep reading so when they go back to school in the fall, they haven't lost any of their skill."
Registration for the 2026 Summer Reading Game is available at yorktownlibrary.org
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