Summer Reading Programs/Events 2024
Manheim Community Library
Register For an event/program Here
All Summer:
Manheim Business Scavenger Hunt – Starts June 1st and Ends August 10th – hours based on each business
All Ages
Explore Manheim and support local businesses by participating in the Manheim Community Scavenger Hunt. Many small and local businesses are participating and will have a unique stamp for you as you visit each place. The Manheim Community Library is your starting place! Pick up your sheet here and riddle out the rest with your family this summer!
Summer Reading Challenge – any time between June 1st and August 10th
All Ages
You can register at any time, please fill out a form to be formally registered.
Come to our Summer Reading Kick-Off Party on June 6th to pick up all your summer reading information as well as join in on the fun! Face Painting, and Balloon animals are a must. Plus, you can get a head start on the Scavenger Hunt while you’re here!
Never Ending Adventures (An Adult Reading Challenge) – starts June 1st and ends August 10th
Adult program ages 20+. Registration is required.
Join in on the fun by signing yourself up for reading and potential prizes this summer! This program is for those 20+ who love to read. It works by you reading and earning raffle tickets. There will be raffle baskets and gift cards that will be up for raffle. Winners are drawn through the summer. So, the sooner you start and get more tickets, the more you can win!
GO (Get Outdoors) Lancaster! – starts June 1st and ends August 10th
All Ages
An outdoor program for families to explore new trails and parks across Lancaster County. There will be etching posts at each trail and you will grab a rub sheet from your local library and take to each trail. Every 4 trails you complete you can redeem a prize with a total prize redemption of 4!
Weekly Programs:
Preschool Story Time in the Community Room – Mondays and Tuesdays @ 10am
Registration is required.
For ages 3-5 where they learn basics with Miss Esther. Engage in play, activities, crafts, and more! Monday and Tuesday are the same program. Please only attend 1 a week to allow available spots for other children. Registration is required. Please register on our online events calendar.
Toddler Time in the Community Room – Fridays @ 10am
Hello, and welcome all between the age of 0-36months(3-year-olds)! This is a time your child/kiddo to bond with you, make new friends, learn to share, and listen to a short story. The basis of this program is play. We do have a lot of toys, but we want your child to walk away from the program ready to start a life of education and adventure! To achieve this, we engage in a bit of conversation and listening with a short, interactive book at the end of the program. We clean up a little early and read our story to wind down from the chaos. We hope you can join us!
Monthly Programs:
Book Club – June 6th, July 11th, August 1st @ 9:30am
Adult program ages 18+. Registration is required.
Join our Adult(18+) Book Club on the 1st Thursday(except for July) each month. Read a book and discuss at the beginning of the following month. We discuss and pick the next book at each meeting.
Unraveling Yarns – 2nd Wednesdays on June 12th, July 10th, August 14th @ 1pm
Adult program ages 18+. Registration is required.
Unraveling Yarns is our local adult knitting and crochet group. They meet once a month on the second Wednesday of every month. Beginners are welcome!
Lego Lab – Thursdays on June 13th, July 11th, August 8th @ 6pm
Registration is required.
Welcome to our new Lego Program for ages 5-9! This program will be a structured challenge for your child to learn and grow with peers that understand their desire for design and creativity. They will be given a myriad of challenges each week to complete. They may still choose to go their own way, and that is OKAY! Once they are content with their final results, we hope to display their work by taking a picture of them with their creation and posting it on the library’s social media pages!
Secret Society of Bookworms – Saturdays on June 15th, July 20th, August 17th @ 10:30am
Middle School age. Registration is required.
Want to meet a group of fellow bookworms and discuss a thrilling read? Join our Secret Society of Bookworms, but SSSSsssshhhhhhhh… we don’t let just anybody in! Only middle schoolers are welcome to this exclusive group. We intend to meet after reading the first novel, the Giver by Lois Lowry. Please register below if you would like to read with us. Don’t you fear, no one will know… unless you tell them.
2024 Summer Reading Special Events:
Summer Reading Kick-Off Party @ 1st Thursday in the Manheim Mini Park – June 6th @ 5-8pm
All Ages!
Join us for our 2024 Summer Reading kick-off party in collaboration with 1st Thursday in Manheim. We will be in the mini park next to the library with our goodies and paper logs. ee you there.
We are also participating with local businesses to create some extra fun on this date. Come out to see what you can explore in Manheim and what new adventure you will embark on this summer! Adventure Awaits!
Ryan “The Bug Man” Bridge Let’s Take an Insect Adventure! – June 7th @ 10am
All Ages. Registration is required.
Ryan “The BugMan” will show the audience 100’s of incredible bugs and insects from around the world. Meanwhile, he’ll be relating some of the crazy-cool adventures that he took while searching for many of those same creatures. Be it land, air or sea… “The BugMan” has experienced a lifetime of travel and unusual experiences that will educate and entertain everyone. Insects are the most important part of the ecosystem and critical to the survival of nearly everything on the Planet!
Mark DeRose Music & Art – June 12th @ 10am
Recommended K-6th. Registration is required.
Mark DeRose Music & Art’s show combines Mark’s love for the visual arts with his love for songwriting. Mark’s songs, artwork, videos and the show’s activities all complement one another in an effort to communicate his message that encourages his young listeners to embrace and enjoy life to its fullest, be creative individuals, and most importantly, confidently be themselves.
Dine Out at The Shack – June 12th @ 10:30am-8pm
All Ages!
Join us for a Dine Out at The Shack and help support the Manheim Community Library in the process! Pick up a voucher at the library to ensure that a portion of what you spend gets to us! You can order anything on their menu. Thank you to the Friends of the Manheim Community Library for organizing this fun community event! We hope to see you there!
Wild Edible Plants w/ Lancaster Park system – June 13th @ 6:30pm
Adult program ages 18+. Registration is required.
An adult program lead by the Lancaster County Park system will discuss plants in the wild that can be safely eaten.
Jesse Rothacker Ectothermic Animal Adventures – June 20th @ 1:30pm
Recommended age 5+. Registration is required.
Being a REPTILE is an adventure! These ectothermic animals are buried alive as babies, they grow up as orphans, and they learn how to survive without teachers or parents! Jesse Rothacker shares his house with over 100 of these cold-blooded creatures. Come laugh and learn with Jesse and his scaley sidekicks, and check out some animal books, too!
Ed Klein Cartooning Made Easy– June 28th @ 1:30pm
Must be K – 12. Only 20 spots available. Registration is required for this event.
Students will be instructed on the basics of cartooning so they can caricature the world around them and create original cartoons as well as draw their favorite cartoon characters. Ed has drawn for The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. Studios, Don Bluth Animation Studios, Hanna Barbera Studios, Hyperion Studios, Filmation Studios, Ross Bagdasarian Productions, Calabash Animation Studios, K.C.M.P. Productions, and numerous independent and commercial studios in New York and throughout the country.
Animal Olympics w/ Lancaster Park system – July 2nd @ 1:30pm
Recommended for preschool/elementary(ages 4-10). Registration is required.
Be a part of the Animal Olympics! Participants will be challenged with the same physical prowess as creatures in the animal kingdom: jumping, running, breath holding and even the sloth crawl. Everyone will be celebrated, and it will all be in the name of fun!
Wonder of Thunder w/ Lancaster Park system – July 10th @ 10am
Recommended for preschool/elementary(ages 4-10). Registration is required.
Summer is full of crazy weather! In this program, we will read the book The Wonder of Thunder by Sharon Purtill and learn that storms are not that scary and actually help the planet! Participants will learn about all the different types of weather, why they happen, and make a rain stick!
Spellbinding Adventure w/ Lancaster Park system – July 13th @ 10am
Recommended for ages 8-14(late Elementary-Middle School). Registration is required.
The Harry Potter series contains some of the greatest, most imaginative adventures in literature. Come participate in a celebration of Harry Potter adventures, learning the ins and outs of owls and creating your own mythical creature.
Cissy & The Man Circus in a Box – July 18th @ 10am
Ages 3-12. Registration is required.
The joy of the circus comes to life when this juggler/clown duo comes barreling through the door. Cissy and The Man delight their audiences with humor, joy and skill. But the hardest part is working together! Will Cissy successfully assist The Man, or will children from the audience need to be recruited?
Library Camp! – July 22nd – July 26th from 9:30am-3pm
For ages 8-10. Registration is required. Only 10 spots!
Join us at the library for a library camp experience! Your kids will get the opportunity to spend 5 days getting to know the library, how it works, and what fun new things they can explore! We will have daily crafts, activities, games, and of course reading time! If this sounds fun to your child this summer, sign up on our events calendar now.
Phredd the One-Man-Ukelele-Band – July 23rd @ 1:30pm – 2:15pm
All Ages. Registration is required.
Ukulele Flailing, Harmonica Wailing, Suitcase Drumming, Kazoo Hum-Humming, Ukulele Bundle of Joy!
For the past 25+ years Phredd has been writing, producing, and performing joyful, happy music for kids and families. Phredd performs 50+ shows every year at schools, churches, libraries, camps & other events.
Self-Care Day – July 24th All Day
Mostly Adults
Give aways of Face Masks and shower steamers, Zentangle with Connie, and more!
Erick Hershey The Amazing, Trailblazing MAGIC Adventure! – July 31st @ 10am
Recommended for ages 4-12. Registration is required.
Join magician, Erick Hershey, on a magical journey across the countryside! Specially designed for the 2024 “Adventure Begins at your Library” summer reading program theme, the show features magical illusions that show how READING can take us on amazing adventures in our imagination! Wonder, laughter, and mystery abound, with plenty of audience participation throughout the show.
Groundwork For Creating a Successful Business – July 29th @ 6:30pm -7:30
Adult program ages 18+
Discussion focusing on idea validation, market discovery, and building groundwork for a new business.
Burrowing Adventures w/ Lancaster Park system – August 8th @ 10am
Recommended for ages 3-5. Registration is required.
Learn about life underground as we talk about the creatures who live in burrows with puppets and pelts, then unleash your inner animal and play in a life-size pretend burrow.
Manheim Geocache Adventure – August 10 – 17
For Families
Join us for a week-long library geo caching & hide and seek adventure around the town of Manheim!