By Madison Butkus
Hometown Weekly Reporter
On a beautiful August day in Westwood, Vinny the Bubble Guy made a splash at the Westwood Public Library (WPL). Families gathered on the library lawn to celebrate the end of summer and the conclusion of their summer reading challenges.
Despite the warmer temperatures, the crowd packed the lawn, bringing blankets, sun protection, and smiles. Vinny kicked off the event with a brief introduction, asking the eager audience how excited they were to pop some bubbles.
At the end of his intro, Vinny joked, “Who wishes this guy would be quiet and show us some bubbles? Yeah, I agree. That hurt my feelings a little, but I agree. Let’s get started!” He organized the children into age groups, starting with those aged five through twelve, and then the younger ones, including three-year-olds, two-year-olds, and infants.
Each group had their turn to run around and pop the giant bubbles created by Vinny's DIY bubble wand and a little help from the wind. As the bubbles floated through the air, Vinny made playful noises and offered encouraging words to the children trying to catch them.
After the children had their turn, Vinny invited the adults to join the fun. “I have been doing this for a long time, and as you can imagine, a lot of things change and hopefully improve. There is one age group I completely forgot about in the early years. We’re going to rectify that now. Please no photography or video recording at this point. Adults, it’s your turn! Anyone who wants to come up and pop some bubbles, come on up! There’s no judgment here!”
Many children cheered on their guardians to join in, eager to pop more bubbles alongside them. Vinny assured the children they would get more chances to pop bubbles as he called up attendees by their birth month, starting with January and ending with December.
The event was a joyful way to close out summer, with everyone having a blast and burning off energy. For more information about upcoming events at the WPL, visit their website at www.westwoodlibrary.org.
