By Lauren Schiavone
Hometown Weekly Staff
To celebrate the community reading over 100,000 minutes this summer (more than twice the goal), an end-of-summer celebration took place at Jameson Fields in Sherborn last Friday afternoon. The outdoor soirée included the magic of Scott Martell, who put on a show for Sherborn’s voracious readers. Thanks to the Friends of the Sherborn Library, kids and families recognized their summer reading successes in preparation for a new school year.
Library staff organized pizza and beverages by the baseball field as families set up picnic blankets on the lawn, finding a great spot for the magic show.
In the meantime, kids decorated rocks with paint pens, adding inspirational messages and silly drawings to go in the family garden — or as a gift to a parent as a paperweight. A Sherborn firefighter even stopped by with a truck for children to take photos and climb around.
Finally, the children assembled by Martell, finding close seats and waiting for the magic to begin. Youth Services Librarian Maureen Hayes quickly announced the winners of the summer reading raffle. “Over 250,000 minutes were read,” she enthused. “That’s about 4,266 hours. Over 250 people did all of that reading. Well done!”
The raffle winners were awarded gift cards, toys such as fidget cubes and splash pads, and even a scooter.
Scott Martell introduced himself with plenty of jokes and a ton of energy, which was reciprocated by enthusiastic children. Martell encouraged the audience to help him with his magic, bringing volunteers onstage for his disappearing scarf trick, magic coloring book trick, and much more. Martell’s comedy and willingness to include young audience members in his performance was enjoyed just as much as the magic itself.
Adults and children in attendance had plenty of time to socialize. Children, wowed by Martell’s magic, participated and and volunteered in the show. They also shared their love of reading, pinpointing their common interests and swapping book recommendations on topics ranging from dinosaurs and Pokémon. It was a very fitting end to the summer reading success.
More information on Sherborn Library programming can be found at sherbornlibrary.org.
