What’s Happening at OCLAC

Summer reading kicks off May 31 at Olney Community Library & Arts Center

“Oceans of Possibilities,” the Summer Reading Program at Olney Community Library and Arts Center, begins on Tuesday, May 31 and runs through Friday, Aug. 5. The program is free to readers of all ages. Participants fill out a reading log then check out books, with kids logging each book they read and adults logging their pages. The most prolific readers win prizes at the end of the summer, said Library Director Lori Cox. The summer program also features special programs for children on Tuesdays and Thursdays in June, starting with the 43rd Annual Pet Show at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 7. The Tuesday programs, including a magician, a clown and a storyteller, target preschool through fifth graders, Cox said. Thursday programs feature stories, crafts, games and movies. “We want parents to come, bring their kids and stay, enjoying it with their kids.” Children’s Library aide Carol Vorel planned the programming for the summer program. She said “This is a wonderful opportunity to keep up reading skills, be entertained and see great presenters right here in Olney.”

For more information, go to the Olney Community Library and Arts Center page on Facebook.

Put on your dancing shoes, Olney!

Dancers of Olney, your time to shine is coming up Friday, Sept. 23, when the Olney Community Library and Arts Center hosts its second Dancing Stars of Olney fundraiser at the Civic Center. At its May 17 meeting, the library board of trustees opted to convene a committee to work out the details of the dance contest, such as ticket prices, judging, catering and other parameters of the contest. Library director Lori Cox said the event optimally would draw at least six to eight teams or couples. Cox said that money raised from the event would go to library repairs, landscaping and larger remodeling projects.

The Library hosted its first Dancing Stars of Olney in 2019. A crew of five dancers from Tower Extrusions, including Mayor Rue Rogers, won the contest with a dance number to a mashup of several disco, hip-hop and oldies songs. “We would like couples and crews,” Cox said at the meeting. “We had both and I think it worked real well,” trustee Phil Jeske II said.