A Thankful Teen Thanksgiving at the Library

            The Calhoun County Library held a Thanksgiving Feast for Teen Night last week and gave them a lesson in table etiquette and manners.

Sometimes, when you sit down at a table full of delicious food, the first thing you want to do is dig in! However, on Tuesday, November 19, our teens had to wait and follow a certain protocol using table manners. As they entered “la biblioteca ristorante,” they were greeted by two hostesses.  We decided that we would complete the meal with light piano music to really set the scene. Before their meal, these teens learned the details of the table setting including which fork was the salad fork, which fork was the dinner fork, and where the dessert utensils were placed. They learned a few guidelines like how to properly cut meat, where to put your napkin, what the bread plate is for, and why you have two glasses. Along with that information, they learned not to put their elbows on the table, not to chew with their mouths open, and how to politely ask someone to pass items on the table. During the meal, the teens learned how to have appropriate conversations, such as what they would like to do after completing school and what their hobbies include, as if they were preparing to speak to a date’s parents. Some of these conversations were ones that the teens came up with themselves and some were suggestions that they pulled from a conversation starter cup.

 The teens were seated at a beautifully set table and had a great Thanksgiving feast full of yummy food, great conversations, and interesting facts. We don’t want to make anyone hungry, but we had some excellent mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, rolls, Chick-fil-A chicken nuggets, and more. To top off their meals, teens enjoyed pecan, lemon, cherry, or apple pies. We realized that we all have much to be thankful for, especially our wonderful community of St. Matthews!

If you or someone you know are between the ages of 12 - 17, we would love to have you for the December Teen Nights! On Tuesday, December 3, 2024, we will be making Christmas ornaments. These will be from 5 PM - 6:30 PM.

In the meantime, we hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and starts to get in the holiday spirit! We hope to see you at Cookies with Santa on Tuesday, December 17, 2024!

Santa is Coming to the Library

            The holiday season is among us and the Calhoun County Library is getting ready to hold its annual Christmas celebration event: Cookies with Santa and Porkchop Productions!

In order for everyone to see Santa, we have decided to have this event a little bit earlier this year. Join us on Tuesday, December 17, 2024 for Cookies with Santa at the library from 3:30 PM – 6:30 PM. with Porkchop performing at 5:00. There will be plenty of delicious cookies and warm hot chocolate to go around for all ages.

We will also have two very special guests to make this event perfect. Come take pictures with Santa! He will be here to bounce you on his knee, listen to what you want for Christmas (even though he already knows), and get a smiling picture to share with all your friends and family. The second special guest is a Calhoun County favorite: Porkchop Productions! They will be here to perform a holiday play for everyone at 5 PM so you do not want to be late! You do not need to reserve a spot for this play, but you might want to get here early to have the best seats in the house.

We look forward to seeing everyone at Cookies with Santa. Make sure to dress nice for your pictures, get a great snack, and see a funny performance by a wonderful group of people!

Teen Night Life Lessons

            The Calhoun County Library had the pleasure of engaging teens during the last two Teen Nights with Vincent Sanders and Lee Hollingsworth for lots of fun and learning!

Accidents involving drinking and driving are a leading cause of death in teenagers in the state of South Carolina. In order to teach the teenagers of our county about the dangers of drinking and driving, we invited Vincent Sanders from Tri County Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse to visit our teens during  National Red Ribbon Week. Teen Night, held on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, was an important, educational one about prevention. Vincent brought drunk goggles, which simulate an experience when you are under the influence of any substance. Once the teens placed these goggles on their heads, everything got distorted and their depth perception and movements were impaired. Attempting to walk or perform simple tasks were met with little success. While the teenagers thought it was funny seeing their friends almost run into objects and fall over, they understood how harmful this could be outside of a game. The really exciting party occurred when everyone went out into the parking lot and attempted to drive an adapted go-cart through a series of traffic cones while wearing the goggles. They truly got to experience attempting to maneuver a vehicle through cones while impaired, and they realized the impact that alcohol or drugs can have. This was a life lesson that will hopefully stay  with them. Thanks to Vincent Sanders for impacting our teens.

After learning about the influence of drugs and alcohol, teens joined us on November 5 to learn about taking care of their cars. Lee Hollingsworth from Hutto’s Transmission came to us to teach Calhoun County teens important tips involved with maintaining a car. Do you know how to change a tire, check the oil, and jump the battery? Calhoun County Library teens do! Teens who may just be starting out driving need to know how to do these tasks and even teens who have been driving for a while need a refresher. Lee gave our attendees proper instructions and then they had an opportunity to perform these hands-on experiences to make sure that they were doing it correctly. They learned how to use a lug wrench, how to plug a tire, how to jumpstart a battery, how to change a tire, and how to put air into a tire. Lee also gave the teens a peek into  how to install custom lights and speakers in their cars. Our teens learned a lot about car care and road safety; in fact, maybe some adults could have learned a lot, too!

These last two Teen Night’s held crucial information for our soon to be young adults of our county. With Vincent Sanders and Lee Hollingworth’s help, we were able to give them the information they needed in a fun way. Big shout out to Vincent and Lee for volunteering their time and knowledge to help our teens. We appreciate you!

If you are between the ages of 12 and 17, please join us for the next Teen Night on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, from 5 PM – 6:30 PM. This event is free to attend and on the 1^st and 3^rd Tuesdays of the month. We love having fun with the Calhoun County teenagers as we give them a break from school and a chance to not only have fun with friends but also learn important lessons in life with us!

Boo Bash! BLOWOUT!

            Complete with our giant spider web and black widow out front, the Calhoun County Library held its annual Boo Bash last week and it was a great time for everyone!

            On Thursday, October 31, 2024, from 5 PM - 7 PM, we held our Halloween event. We had games galore, including the fan-favorite Monster Mash where kids ranged from confused, scared, or even disgusted when they reached behind a curtain to touch items like witches’ fingers, vampire’s hearts, monster’s eyeballs, or mummy’s skin. Don’t worry, nothing was too bad for our brave little trick-or-treaters and all of it came out of our kitchen! What makes it so scary is the fact that kids were sticking their hands into an unknown substance without seeing it and the library might just have had a friendly ghost who wanted to grab their hands!

            After visiting the Monster Mash, everyone had a great time playing games, winning prizes, getting candy, and snacking on fresh spun cotton candy from Twisted Sugar. Almost 800 people- yes, 800- visited the library in those two hours and we loved seeing every one of them. There were so many cute and interesting costumes. Some of our favorites might have been sharks, movie characters, animals, and puns! Everyone knows that the library loves some good puns. Even our library staff dressed up as some. We literally had staff members dressed as cinnamon sugar, pumpkin pie, and ginger - the Spice Girls. We had an old bat, which is what Batgirl turns into as she ages, too!

            We had the best time seeing all the costumes, playing games, and eating cotton candy with trick-or-treaters of all ages. We really do live in a special place, Calhoun County, and we love serving our community. Next Up: Cookies with Santa and Porkchop Productions on December 17, 2024. So, be on the lookout for that information coming soon!