A pizza party with Pete the Cat

FAIRFIELD - Pete the Cat and Grumpy Toad helped their excited fans make fun hats and buttons at this year's Valentine's Day Pizza Party held this past Saturday.

Local kids gathered at the Fairfield Public Library for an hour of crafts and fun in anticipation of Valentine's Day. Many were excited for an opportunity to hang out with their favorite storybook character.

Afton Pedrick, the youth services librarian, explained the library hosts special events to both teach children a love of learning but to draw people into the library to explore. Pedrick organized the event and took on the role of Pete the Cat for the afternoon, dressed in blue cat ears and funny glasses.

'The library is focused on education but you also just want people to come to the library and use your space that way they can realize what other resources you have to offer. Some of these programs, while we do have a literature connection and reading connection and we're celebrating a character in children's books, it's just a way to bring people into the library who might not otherwise come and make them aware of the other resources we have to offer,” she said.

The Fairfield Public Library has been hosting a Valentine's Day event for over a decade, Afton explained.

'Over the years it's changed and we've tried to tie it to a literary character each time. We've done Fancy Nancy, we've done Alice In Wonderland but we had trouble trying to get it to be co-ed,” she said.

The decision to go with Pete the Cat seemed to do the trick as both boys and girls excitedly hustled into the library's meeting room to make their very own Pete the Cat hats.

Five-year-old Ace Bar-Shimon busily pasted yellow eyes and drew whiskers onto his blue Pete hat.

'Pete the Cat goes to school,” Ace said about why he likes the character.

Ace's father, Boaz, explained Ace moved to Fairfield from Thailand just a year ago and is excited to celebrate Valentine's Day.

'He's experiencing most holidays for the first time. He's getting a kick out of the whole tradition,” Boaz said.

'We're going to have a party at school,” Ace said, 'I'm going to say, ‘I love you, Mrs. Richards.'”

The Anderson family were equally enthused to be hanging out with Pete the Cat. Anna Anderson brought her three children, Genevieve, Gideon and Lila to the library specifically for the party.

'My kids love Pete the Cat … When they saw the paper in the library when we were checking out and they saw it was Pete the Cat Valentine Party, they were just freaking out,” she said.

Genevieve demonstrated her excitement to be having a party with Pete the Cat as she explained that she likes 'Pete the Cat better than Grumpy Toad.”

But even though she likes Pete, Genevieve said she actually prefers black cats.

'It's my favorite type of cat,” she explained while cutting out her hat.