Randolph libraries' Summer Reading initiative will "Color Our World"

Jeghetto (Tarish Pipkins) performs with
one of his sculptural puppets.

ASHEBORO – Get ready for a colorful, creative summer experience at Randolph County’s public libraries with a over 200  interactive performances, hands-on activities, storytimes and more, as this year’s Summer Reading initiative invites the community to “Color Our World.”

Summer Reading offers children and teens a no-pressure way to stay engaged with reading and learning while out of school, so they can avoid “summer slide” in the fall. Adults also can enjoy speakers, book clubs and projects that engage their creativity.

To find out about all the activities, as well as reading rewards, go to www.randolphlibrary.org/summer, or visit your local library.

Kickoff events will take place at Asheboro, Liberty and Randleman in early June. Archdale will host a Summer Reading Kickoff at 4 p.m. Friday, June 6, featuring hands-on activities and chalk art, and at 6 p.m., a performance by folk-country-rock band Corey Hunt and with Wise.

Liberty and Asheboro will hold their inaugural events on Saturday, June 7. Asheboro will offer art for all ages in a Messy Summer Reading Kickoff outside the library from 10-11:30 a.m., with rock painting, chalk designs and more, while Down to Earth Aerials performs. Liberty will team up with the Liberty Arts Guild for outdoor art stations, enabling participants to create art with working artists, from 1-3 p.m. 

Appearing in June at all libraries is Jeghetto’s Workshop. Jeghetto, a.k.a. Tarish Pipkins, is an artist and self-taught master builder and puppeteer whose puppets are one-of-a-kind moving sculptures crafted with passion and precision. Learn how Jeghetto builds and manipulates his puppets in a very interactive show.

In July, CLAWS Inc., a Chapel Hill-based, volunteer-run animal rescue, will bring animal ambassadors to six libraries. Meet an African Corvid (an intelligent bird in the crow family) and other creatures. Learn about their habits and habitats, and how to safely cohabitate with wildlife.

More animals abound as the NC Zoo visits Archdale, Asheboro, Franklinville, Ramseur and Seagrove with their furry (or slithery!) friends; Wild Tails NC brings more animals to Asheboro, Franklinville, Liberty, Ramseur and Seagrove; and Ellie’s Exotic Road Show reaches Liberty and Randleman. 

The always amazing Sigmon Theatrical returns with two performances, Color Circus at Asheboro, and The Magic School Bus Live! at Randleman. Also coming to Randleman are popular children’s performers Steve Somers and Mark Daniel.

Asheboro will reverberate with the family-friendly rock ’n’ roll of Big Bang Boom! and the energetic poetics of Shepherd Shakespeare. Amazing illusions and spectacular showmanship will appear in Archdale, Asheboro and Liberty in the form of Rockstar Magic, and the Starlab inflatable planetarium blows up in Archdale, Asheboro and Liberty.  

Meanwhile, ongoing storytimes, arts and craft activities, movies and more will take place almost every day.

For more information, visit your local library or contact the Asheboro library Children’s Room at 336-318-6804.

Appearances by Jeghetto’s Workshop and CLAWS, Inc. are sponsored by the Friends of the Library. The project receives support from the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.