Celebrating the Community

            Calhoun County held Community Day last Saturday to celebrate every member of our community along with all of the commonalities that we share. The St. Matthews community members depend on each other to form relationships in order to meet common needs. During the event, the Calhoun County Library revealed the new bookmobile with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

            Our Community Day took place on Saturday, September 24 at the corner of Bridge Street and Richland Avenue. Calhoun County had a day of free fun to celebrate the community as a whole. There were fun games for all ages including giant checkers and Jenga, cornhole, a dunking booth, a fire station bounce house, and a slip & slide under the ladder fire truck spray. Community members also enjoyed free grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, cotton candy made on the spot, and ice cream from our local ice cream truck. A local DJ provided upbeat music that even had our vendors moving and grooving doing line dances and singing!

            In addition, Calhoun County Library gave away free books while providing opportunities to check out books, sign up for a library card, and register for Code Red, a community-wide alert system. At 12 PM, we had a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate our brand new bookmobile! Library director, Kristen Simensen gave a little history on our bookmobile outreach program, and one of our generous funders, Mr. Lanier Walling, representing the Dee and Joy Buyck Carpenter Trust, cut the ribbon signaling that our bookmobile is ready for reading! Being able to provide this outreach service to our community enables us to reach children and community members that otherwise may not have access to our library. Our bookmobile is already scheduled to visit local daycare centers and the Council on Aging. Look for us out on the road!

            “We had a wonderful time being part of Community Day along with many local residents that came to enjoy great food, music, and fun,” said Wendy Arends, Programs and Outreach Coordinator for the Calhoun County Library. “What a fantastic opportunity to showcase our Bookmobile to the patrons of our county.”

            This event was organized by the St. Matthews Fire Department and Police Department. Thanks to everyone who came out and celebrated our bookmobile and our community with us!

            We would also like to thank our generous donors for their support. The bookmobile is made possible with help from Calhoun County, the Dee and Joy Buyck Carpenter Trust, and by a Library Services and Technology Act grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the South Carolina State Library.