Winners announced in Fairfield Public Library’s summer reading program

FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield Public Library just wrapped up its summer reading program, which culminated in a couple of youngsters winning some big ticket merchandise.

This was the second summer reading program for Fairfield Library Director Alecs Mickunas, who said he was happy the library was able to increase the value of its prizes this year.

“Last year, the average value of our prizes was $30, and this year it’s closer to $60,” he said.

A few of the prizes were several times that amount, like the prizes that went to the top reader and the top volunteer. This year’s top reader was Josephine Sanders, daughter of Sara Sanders and Eric Caplan, who was awarded a Google Chromebook.

“Josephine read for almost 100 hours over those two months,” Mickunas said. “She hasn’t even started kindergarten yet. She’s already read 1,000 books, which she just completed less than a year ago.”

A new prize category this year was for “Youth Volunteer MVP,” which went to a volunteer between the ages of 10-16 who contributed the most to the summer reading program. This year’s winner was Christian Rojo, who won a Google Chromebook.

Mickunas said the best part of seeing Rojo honored for his volunteering is to see him continue to visit the library even after the summer reading program has ended. Rojo has found a good use for his new laptop, too. He obtained a button-maker from Fairfield Goodwill, and is using the laptop to make button designs for it.

The library had a budget of more than $7,000 for the summer reading program, some of which went toward prizes but a lot of it going toward the performers who were hired for the various events throughout June and July. Mickunas said one lesson he learned from this year’s program that he’ll keep in mind for next year is that Fairfield residents love local talent.

“I was surprised that some of our outside performers didn’t draw as well as our local community members,” he said. “Next year, I’m going to continue to focus on getting local presenters, and I’d like to expand the kids’ concerts to include a mix of local and outside musicians.”

Mickunas said he was especially pleased with the two “themed” events that were part of the program. One of those was “Pokemon Day” on June 24, and the other was “Hobbit Day” on July 8. For the Pokemon Day, the library staff hid Pokemon stuffed animals throughout the library to create a scavenger hunt for the kids. Local volunteers put together Pokemon-themed crafts as well.

“A number of our volunteers that day were children, some as young as 10,” Mickunas said.

The library hosted a Pokemon video game on its Nintendo Switch console projected onto a screen in the meeting room. Also in the meeting room was a Pokemon card game tournament refereed by Sam Garchik. More than 30 children participated in the tournament, and the prize for the winner was a $25 gift card to Wanderer’s Haul, a board game shop in Fairfield.

For Hobbit Day, the library’s activities were all about fantasy. It showed the film “Raya and the Last Dragon,” and had craft tables for making magic wands. Bountiful Bakery provided rainbow cupcakes. A “Magic: The Gathering” card tournament was held, facilitated by local artist and educator Amarnath Stimson.

One of the highlights that day was a costume contest. A couple of families had every member of their family in costume, and those were the families of Brendan and Madeline Thomas, and Michelle and Johan Svenson. The winner of the costume contest was their child Sol, who dressed as a “mermaid wizard.”

Two other events stood out as great successes, Mickunas said. The library’s “tinkering workshop” on July 19 featured Sam Garchik and Dave Thebodo bringing their own tools for kids to use, giving them a chance to take apart machines and put them back together. The other event was the Super Smash Bros. tournament on July 26, which featured more than 40 kids and members of Fairfield High School’s esports team.

“It was wonderful to see the older kids work with and encourage the younger kids,” Mickunas said. “I’ve been considering the library as a site for the middle school esports team to practice, with the high-schoolers mentoring them.”

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com