The Panevėžys Elena Mezginaitė Public Library always offers a variety of activities for its
visitors, and June was no exception. For the second time, a bicycle ride “Librarian and
readers on a bicycle” was organized for World Bike Day. Librarians and their readers put
together an interesting program, visiting the sports arena, the cycling track, the sports
museum, the apple tree park, the orchard of fruit trees, and other objects. At the end of the
ride, the cyclists discussed the ride and shared their impressions over coffee.
Midsummer is one of the most mysterious and joyful festivals in Europe, marking the longest
day and shortest night. Panevėžys celebrated the festival this year in Skaistakalnis Park. In
the park, the visitors could see, hear, and try a lot on a rainy and cold evening, without fear of
bad weather. The Panevėžys Elena Mezginaitė Public Library also participated in the event,
ingeniously joining in the lively program of the festival.
Young Panevėžys residents were very active in the bookmark printing workshop, coloring
almost 100 bookmarks in a few hours. Another attraction was to put together one of the six
“Herbs Puzzle” – marigold, dandelion, thyme, nettle, chamomile, or linden blossom. The task
proved to be more challenging than expected. The workshop “The magic of plant stamps”
with the library’s friend, volunteer, and artist Diana Masiuliene attracted a lot of attention,
where 220 colorful plant stamp cards were produced during the evening.
For many years, the Panevėžys Elena Mezginaitė Public Library has been inviting children
aged 7-12 years to summer camps organized by its five branches. The organizers of the
camps offer children various educational and creative programs, project activities, meetings
with interesting people, trips to the city’s companies, active entertainment, and excursions.
This year, campers had the opportunity to interact with a variety of animals – puppies, rabbits,
horses, and zoo inhabitants – and to touch, stroke, hand-feed, and pet them. Children eagerly
awaited meetings with book authors, animators, artists, and actors. Famous people discussed
books and the work of writers with the campers, taught them the secrets of acting, and the
rules of mobile photography, made clay, and introduced them to old crafts such as woollen
weaving and spinning.
Visiting art centers, exhibitions, and museums, children were not only observers but also
active participants. Modern art and science centers offer a wide range of interactive
educational activities for visitors, and the campers were encouraged to try out various
activities.
The children moved around a lot and there was plenty of physical activity during the camp.
Ball games, trampolines, outdoor games, playroom activities, and soap foam bathing enriched
the campers’ leisure time and got them moving.
The camps not only gave the children new skills and knowledge, but also made new friends,
had a lot of fun and experiences. Panevėžys Elena Mezginaitė Public Library is happy to
contribute to the enrichment of children’s summer and is already planning next year’s camp
programs.
Text by Anžela Vasiliauskienė
Photo by Library staff
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