The StoryWalks, located next to Lt. Cabral Field behind the Joseph Case Jr. High School, have books aligning the route for attendees to view. (Photo courtesy Swansea Free Public Library) 
One the many events that the Swansea Free Public Library offers is its Storytimes with Youth Services Librarian Carol Gafford. Pictured above is Gafford’s Watermelon Storytime. (Photo courtesy Swansea Free Public Library)
SWANSEA — Town Administrator Mallory Aronstein and Library Director Eileen Dyer are pleased to share ongoing summer programming opportunities hosted by the Swansea Free Public Library and its community partners.
“During the summer months, we strive to offer numerous programming opportunities that appeal to all of our residents,” Director Dyer said. “We thank our community partners for assisting us in planning and hosting these programs and events, and encourage residents to take advantage of all that we have to offer this summer.”
Through collaboration with several local organizations, the library has expanded programming opportunities this summer to include a Swansea Village Concert Series, StoryWalk and more.
The Swansea Village Concert Series, presented by the library and Christ Church of Swansea, is a free community concert series with local musicians performing outside Christ Church, 57 Main St., in rain or shine.
The next concert, Atwater Donnelly, will take place on Friday, July 23, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Concerts are also planned for Aug. 6, 13 and 20. The concerts are sponsored by the Friends of the Swansea Library with grants provided by the Swansea Cultural Council.
In addition to the concert series, the library has also partnered with the Swansea Recreation Summer Camp to conduct weekly StoryWalks that are open to all residents. The StoryWalk was created in 2019 by Troop 303 Life Scout Mason Pelletier as part of his Eagle Project. Since then, the StoryWalks, located next to Lt. Cabral Field behind the Joseph Case Jr. High School, are conducted on Monday mornings and updated every week to feature a new guided nature walk, scavenger hunt and story. Attendees can expect to participate in the StoryWalk rain or shine, except in the case of severe weather, for roughly 40 minutes throughout the spring, summer and fall seasons.
The library is also conducting a Tail Scavenger Hunt for children this summer that coincides with its summer reading program. The hunt consists of six animal tails hidden within the library that each contain a secret word. Once kids complete the hunt, the secret words they collected will create a riddle. Once the riddle is completed, kids can receive a treat bag from the librarian.
Also, as part of the Tails and Tales Summer Reading Program, five of the libraries in the SouthCoast Six library system ꟷ Berkley, Dighton, Rehoboth, Somerset and Swansea ꟷ have created a Passport Book activity for those participating in the summer reading program to find an animal tail located inside or outside each of the libraries. Once participants have located the fish tail at Berkley, the hippo tail at Dighton, the giraffe tail at the Blanding library in Rehoboth, the alligator tail in Somerset and the tiger tail in Swansea they will receive a sticker from each respective library. Once all stickers have been collected in the passport, participants can receive a prize from their town’s library.
In addition to children programming, the library also offers adult book clubs, a genealogy club, a knitters’ group, crafters’ groups and more. To view more programming opportunities offered by the Swansea Free Public Library, click here.
“The Swansea Free Public Library offers phenomenal summer programming for our residents, and I’m pleased to see the library as a bustling meeting place and the excellent attendance it’s community events have had thus far,” Town Administrator Aronstein said.
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