Batter Up! Library hosts baseball-themed family fun event

Take a swing at some baseball-themed reading, singing and playing during “Batter Up,” a free family fun event from 10-11 a.m. Tuesday, July 30, at the Asheboro Public Library.

The event is part of Every Child Ready to Read®, the library’s early childhood literacy effort. It’s aimed at children age 0-5 and their parents/caregivers, but older siblings are welcome, too.

Call 318-6804 or visit the Asheboro library to sign up.

During the event, librarians will provide parents/caregivers with tips about how incorporate five key activities — talking, singing, reading, writing, playing — as they read and interact with their children. Employing these techniques has been shown to build pre-literacy skills that help ensure children will be ready learn to read when they begin school.

Every Child Ready to Read®, developed by the Association for Library Services to Children and the Public Library Association, is based on research about language, early literacy skills and how children learn. The techniques give parents and caregivers simple but powerful ways to help kids develop the language and other skills they need to learn to read.

The library’s ‘Every Child’ initiative was supported by grant funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the federal Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street in Asheboro.

It’s time for Lego Mania 2013 at the Asheboro library

The Asheboro Public Library’s raucous and immensely popular Lego Mania competition returns for its fifth year at 2 p.m. Thursday, August 1.

Teens and younger kids ages 8-18 are invited to create ingenious Lego structures for fun and prizes. The event is free but registration is required; call 318-6803 to sign up.

Participants will be divided into teams and age-appropriate groups to compete for prizes to be awarded by community judges.

Lego Mania is sponsored by the Friends of the Library and is part of Beneath the Surface, the library’s Teen Summer Reading Program. For more information about the library’s Summer Reading programs and a complete schedule of events, visit www.randolphlibrary.org/summer.    

The library is located at 201 Worth Street in Asheboro.

Friends of the Library to host murder mystery dinner theatre

Help figure out who offed tyrannical billionaire Simon Starkweather as the Friends of the Randolph Public Library host Murder’s in the Heir, a fun, comedic, audience participation murder mystery dinner theatre at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, August 17, at Pinewood Country Club.

Tickets are $50 per person and can be purchased at the Asheboro Public Library or at Brightside Gallery, and cover the cost of dinner and the show. A cash bar will be available for beer and wine.

The event is a fundraiser for the Friends of the Library.

Where there’s a will there’s a relative, as the saying goes, and when Starkweather’s eccentric heirs learn they may be disinherited, the old man is not long for this world.

It falls to Starkweather’s grandson, Simon III, and a detective to solve the mystery. But the play’s unique ending actually uses secret ballots collected from the audience at intermission to determine the killer.

Characters such as Starkweather, Simon III, detective Mike Davis, befuddled niece Fiona, playboy Jordan, Southern belle Paula, attorney Lois van Zandt and various servants will be played by Asheboro City, Randolph County and home school students under the direction of English teacher Devan Ward.

Sponsors of the event include Asheboro Elastics, Chick-fil-A, Carolina Custom Finishing, Randolph Oil, Dr. James Rich, Electra Finish Inc., Cynthia Pierce, Brightside Gallery, Pugh Funeral Home, Commonwealth Hosiery, Burge Flower Shop and Timken.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street in Asheboro. Brightside Gallery is located at 170 Worth Street.

Friends of Library, Cooperative Extension to offer ‘Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less’

Figuring out the basics of living a healthier life can be tricky. With all of the information out there, it’s tough to determine the good from the bad.

Now, in partnership with Randolph County Cooperative Extension, the Friends of the Randolph Public Library will present Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less, a 15-week program designed as a weight management program that uses strategies proven to work. Randolph County Cooperative Extensions’ Family and Consumer Sciences agent Katie Rangel will be the instructor for this class.

The classes will be offered at the Asheboro Public Library starting at 1 p.m. Thursday, August 15. There is a $20 fee for the course and registration is limited.

For more information or to sign up, call Katie Rangel at Cooperative Extension, 318-6000, or Kyle Thomas at the Asheboro library, 318-6808.

Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less is a weight management program developed by the N.C. Cooperative Extension and the NC Division of Public Health.

It employs lessons that inform, empower and motivate participants to live mindfully as they make choices about eating and physical activity. The program provides opportunities for participants to track their progress and keep a journal of healthy eating and physical activity behaviors.

Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less is part of the Eat Smart, Move More…NC movement to increase opportunities for healthy eating and physical activity wherever North Carolinians live, learn, earn, play and pray.

Find out more at www.EatSmartMoveMoreNC.com.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street in Asheboro.

Big Bang Boom to bring rock ‘n’ roll for kids to Randolph libraries

Kid-approved, parent-friendly rock ‘n’ rollers Big Bang Boom will anchor the second half of “Dig Into Reading,” the Randolph County Public Library’s Summer Reading Program, with performances at six libraries during July and early August.

The Greensboro-based trio’s live show is high-energy, and both children and parents will find it hard to stay in their seats. From calling kids onstage for the “Spongebob Chorus” to the “Parents vs. Kids Hokey Pokey Challenge,” Big Bang Boom  makes certain that there is no sitting down for their fun and energetic shows.

The band kicks off its performances with shows in Randleman and Asheboro on July 18. The shows are free, and all kids and their families/caregivers are invited.

The full schedule is as follows:

·        Archdale, 10:30 a.m. Friday, August 2 (at Archdale Parks and Rec);

·        Asheboro, 4 p.m. Thursday, July 18;

·        Franklinville, 3 p.m. Thursday, July 25;

·        Liberty, 3 p.m. Tuesday, July 23;

·        Randleman, 10:30 a.m. Thursday, July 18;

·        Seagrove, 3 p.m. Wednesday, July 24.

Established in 2007, Big Bang Boom consists of veteran area musicians – and dads – Chuck Folds, Steve Willard and Eddie Walker. They write songs with a pop sensibility by cleverly mixing alternative, hip-hop, pop, country, and other genres to create music that parents and children can relate to and enjoy.

For more information about the band, visit bigbangboom.weebly.com.

The library’s Summer Reading program is ongoing with weekly events and storytimes at each library. It’s primarily sponsored by the Friends of the Library with support from the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, through the Randolph Arts Guild. Many local businesses and organizations help out also.

For complete details and a full schedule, visit www.randolphlibrary.org/summer.

Library locations can be found at http://www.randolphlibrary.org/locationhrcontact.htm