Event
13th Annual Chocolate Celebration is Thurs., Feb. 13
By the Friends of the Chickasha Public Library
The 13th annual ‘Chocolate Celebration’ fundraiser, sponsored by the Friends of the Chickasha Public Library, is Thurs., Feb. 13, 2025 from 5:00-7:00 pm in the Epworth Church Life Center, 4th and Iowa in Chickasha.
Tickets are available NOW and are $6 for a gift box of six individual servings selected by YOU!
Individuals who purchase tickets in advance of the event will be admitted before those who wait to purchase a ticket at the door.
Tickets may be purchased at the Chickasha Public Library, from the table sponsors, as well as, from the Friends’ Board of Directors.
The Chocolate Celebration is open to the community. Park in the north parking lot and enter through the double doors on the north side of Epworth Church.
To date, 17 individuals, groups, and businesses have volunteered to be table sponsors with each providing at least 200 individual servings of chocolate treats at their tables.
If you would like to be a table sponsor, contact Angie at 405-779-6969 ASAP and let her know so a space can be reserved for you to be a part of this special event.
THANK YOU to the 2025 Table Sponsors: Altrusa Club of Chickasha, American Association of University Women, Bank of Commerce, Ben and Jay’s Pizzeria, Chickasha Area Arts Council, Chickasha Community Theater, Chickasha Kiwanis Club, Chickasha Public Library Board, Epic Charter School, Epworth United Methodist Church, Grady County 4-H, Lucile/Blue Bonnet OHCE, Onin Staffing, PEO Chapter FV, R & B Mowing, Red Rock BHS, and Storytime Moms.
If you would like to help with this annual fundraiser, the Friends welcome donations of items for the Bake Sale. These items do not have to be ‘chocolate’. They will be priced and sold individually as whole cakes, plates of cupcakes, cookies, brownies, candy, etc.
THANK YOU to the 2025 Corporate Sponsors: Platinum – Kiwanis Club of Chickasha; Gold – Arvest Bank; Bob Lowe, Inc.; Century 21/Mosley Insurance Agency; Chickasha Rotary Club; First National Bank & Trust Co.; LaForge Properties LLC; P.E.O. Chapter FV; Standley Systems; Silver – American Association of University Women; Angel, Johnston & Blasingame; Chickasha Optimist Club; Churndashers Quilt Guild; DeHart Air Conditioning; Grand Avenue Dental; Liberty National Bank; Onin Staffing; P.E.O. Chapter CR; P.E.O. Chapter DV; Richard’s Printing; and Rick Johnston State Farm Insurance Agency, Inc.
Questions – contact Angie at 405-779-6969.
Proceeds from the 13th annual Chocolate Celebration 2025 will be used to purchase new interior signage for the Chickasha Public Library.
Summer Reading Program at the Chickasha Public Library
Join Chickasha Public Library’s annual Summer Reading Program from May 22 to July 31. Summer Reading is a program to encourage children to read over the summer, bridge the gap between school years, and develop a love of reading. Children and teens can participate by logging reading minutes, earning prizes, and enjoying summer friendship, love, and togetherness programs and activities, complementing this year’s theme, “All Together Now.” All programs will be at the Chickasha Public Library, located at 527 Iowa, Chickasha. For more information, call the Library at 405-222-6075.
Wee Ones (ages 5 and under) will complete 480 reading minutes and have weekly programs on Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m. for ages 0-3 and 2:00 p.m. for ages 4-5. Kiddos’ Korner (ages 6-11, although all ages are welcome) will complete 960 reading minutes and have programs on Thursdays at 2 p.m. Teen Time (ages 12-17) will complete 1080 reading minutes and have programs on Tuesdays at 2 p.m. Adults will also be able to participate in online Summer Reading challenges through Beanstack.
All participants can pre-register for the program at https://chickashapl.beanstack.com/reader365. Everyone who joins the Summer Reading Program is encouraged to participate digitally through Beanstack, either on the web or via the app. Participants can track the books they have read, log reading minutes, earn badges and prizes, and discover great books. Parents or caregivers can sign up and quickly log both their own and their children’s reading under one primary account. Participants also have the option to track their minutes using a reading log provided by the library. Reading logs can be picked up any time after May 22 at the Chickasha Public Library, located at 527 W. Iowa Ave., Chickasha.
Younger children aged 0-5 will be encouraged to participate in the Wee Ones Wednesday Storytime programs at 10 a.m. or 2 p.m. This program engages young learners in fun pre-literacy activities, stories, and group play. Children aged 6-11 can participate in the Kiddos’ Korner program on Thursdays at 2 p.m. All ages are welcome to the Thursday programs, but it is recommended for ages 6-11. Kiddos’ Korner will include enhanced learning activities and hands on programming that will focus on reading. Teens aged 12-17 can participate in programs during Teen Time Tuesdays, which will be at 2 p.m. Teen Time will focus on reading as a way to encourage teens to interact with people outside of their peer group while providing informational programs that support lifelong learning needs, provide knowledge about, or inspire interest in a variety of subjects.
All youth who complete the Summer Reading challenge by reading the age-appropriate minutes will have a book of their choosing painted on the outside of the library, plus an entry into a final drawing for additional prizes. Further prizes will be awarded throughout the summer at different levels for designated minutes reached, such as a Level 1 prize for Wee Ones earned for 60 minutes completed reading. Prizes will also be awarded for community service, kindness, and program participation. Our youth community service project this summer is the Chickasha Animal Shelter. We will be taking up donations to help our local furry friends from June 1-July 31. All youth who donate supplies at the library will receive a community service badge and an additional entry into the final grand prize drawings.
“All Together Now” is a perfect slogan to bring us all together! No matter our age, socio-economic status, political affiliation, or location, we can all find a book to fit our interests and maybe make some friends in the process. Centered around kindness, friendship, unity, and community togetherness, this year’s theme comes with endless opportunities to share the library. In-person indoor and outdoor activities will be offered all summer long and monthly take-and-make crafts will be available for all ages. Program content changes weekly and take and makes will be available while supplies last.
Research from the American Library Association indicates that summer reading helps children and teens retain and enhance their reading skills over the summer, provides a haven for community readers, and develops reading enthusiasm. Additionally, adult participation encourages caregivers to play a strong role in their child’s literacy development by reading aloud with their child and modeling good reading behavior. Kids read more and enjoy reading more when they can choose what they read. Benefits to readers include encouragement for reading to become a lifelong habit, reluctant readers can be drawn in by the activities, reading over the summer helps children keep their skills up, and the program can generate interest in the library and books. For more information about the benefits of Summer Reading, visit the American Library Association’s information about Summer Reading benefits: https://libguides.ala.org/summer-reading/benefits.
As poet and author Maya Angelou noted, “Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.” Chickasha Public Library joins libraries across the nation to encourage adults, youth, and families to read over the summer.
The Summer Reading Program is free and sponsored by the Chickasha Public Library, the Friends of the Chickasha Public Library, the City of Chickasha, and the Oklahoma Department of Libraries. For more information about Summer Reading, call the Chickasha Public Library at 405-222-6075 or check our website under the Youth Services tab at CPL Summer Reading Program. To sign up for Summer Reading, visit the Chickasha Public Library or sign up online on Beanstack. You can also connect with the Chickasha Public Library on Facebook and Instagram.
Books Come Alive and Local Author Festival will be held Saturday, March 25!
Submitted by the Friends of the Chickasha Public Library
The Friends of the Library and Chickasha Public Library invite the community to stop by the Library on Sat., March 25, 2023 between 2pm and 4pm for two very special attractions! The Library is located at 527 Iowa Ave., Chickasha, OK.
Visitors will enjoy being entertained by Books Come Alive presenters as they each create their own setting, costume as a character, and present a 3-5 minute scene from a book they have selected to share. Participating as presenters are Mischelle Blunt who has chosen “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett; Dr. Christy Clift will portray a scene from “Harry Potter” by JK Rowling; and the Library’s children’s director Drew Cooper has selected “Beauty and the Beast” as her book. Also presenting are Rebecca Cravens portraying a scene from “Jane Austen”; Sydny Dockery has chosen the book “Percy Jackson” by Rick Riordan; Dr. Jeanne Mather selected Mike Artell’s “Petite Rouge”; and Rick Phillips will be having fun with “Star Wars”. Well-known radio host George Plummer will be presenting a special book, as well!
While at the Library, stop by the meeting room and visit with the authors who are participating in the “Local Author Festival”. All the authors will set up at tables and have books for sale. This year the authors include Karen Knauss Bailey Alicia Dean, Tamrie Foxtail, Dr. Todd Fuller, Kenny “Sad Pawpaw” Harmon (NOTE: enter a drawing at his table to win a copy of his book!), Dr. Crag Hill, Callie Hutton, Anna Kittrell, Brian McNatt, Gloria Koehn Morse, Kathy Shaull and Liz Tyner.
NOTE: The Library will close at noon on Sat., March 25, to set up for these two exciting events! For additional information about these activities and others at the Library, call 405.222.6075.
Exchange Food for Overdue Fines this December at the Chickasha Public Library
December is the Chickasha Public Library’s 21st annual Food for Fines month, when overdue library fines may be paid with a donation of non-perishable food.
“The donations will be given to the Chickasha Emergency Food Pantry,” said Lillie Huckaby, Library Director. “Even if you do not owe a fine, please come to the Library and make a donation. Together, we can bring in more food than ever before to help our neighbors this holiday season.”
According to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, 6,900 people in Grady County live with hunger, including 2,550 children who are food insecure. The donations from the Food for Fines food drive will be given to the Chickasha Emergency Food Pantry, located at the First Presbyterian Church.
The value of the donated food does not have to equal the amount of the fine; any donation covers any fine.
“In addition to much-needed food, many overdue books also return home to the library during Food for Fines, usually about 100 of them,” Huckaby said. “Not having to repurchase popular titles means the Library can purchase more new books. This also gives patrons who have accrued fines a way to make a fresh start and be able to check out books again. ” If a book has been lost, the overdue fine will be waived, however, the replacement cost of the book must be paid.
The Food for Fines food drive will run through December 31st. For more details, call the Chickasha Public Library at 222-6075.
National Library Week!
National Library Week is April 4-10, 2021, and this year’s theme is “Welcome to Your Library!” According to the American Library Association, this theme “promotes the idea that libraries extend far beyond the four walls of a building – and that everyone is welcome to use their services.” The Chickasha Public Library provides access to a variety of information, services, resources, and programs, both physical and virtual, to everyone in the community. During National Library Week, the Chickasha Public Library will be celebrating its resources, users, staff, volunteers, support groups, and the many ways in which it reflects and serves this community.
There are many ways to celebrate and promote libraries. You can show your library love by participating in the #MyLibraryIs social media campaign during National Library Week for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card. Monday, April 5th The State of America’s Libraries 2021 Special Report: COVID-19 will be released. Tuesday, April 6th is National Library Workers Day, Wednesday, April 7th is National Library Outreach Day, think bookmobile among other programs not held within a library building, and Thursday, April 8th is Take Action for Libraries Day. The American Library Association encourages people to support the Build America’s Libraries Act, which will “fund upgrades to the nation’s library infrastructure to address challenges such as natural disasters, COVID-19, broadband capacity, environmental hazards, and accessibility barriers.”
The American Library Association lists several different activities in which people can support libraries during National Library Week. These include showing appreciation to library staff in person and on social media on National Library Workers Day, highlighting the library’s community contributions and involvement, communicating how libraries provide essential resources, services, and information to their communities, and advocating for library funding and support within local, state, and federal governments. You can highlight libraries on social media using the #NationalLibraryWeek, and #LibrariesTransform hashtags, and by following the American Library Association and I Love Libraries.
American Library Association has also created a word search and coloring pages for National Library Week. Click on each link below to view and print each one.
National Library Week Word Search Activity Page (PDF)
National Library Week Coloring Page (PDF)
National Library Week Coloring Page in Spanish (PDF)
Finally, a great way to celebrate National Library Week is to visit the Chickasha Public Library, where you can also find several books about public libraries and their continuing impact on individuals and communities. If you are looking for a history of public libraries, Part of Our Lives: A People’s History of the American Public Library by Wayne Wiegand (027.473 Wiegand) discusses the value and relevance of public libraries as a whole throughout the history of this country. Closer to home, A History of the Chickasha Public Library, 1905-2020: The First 115 Years by library staff member Michelle Skinner (027.476 Skinner) is about the history of this specific library (and a copy can also be purchased for $10 at the library).
More perspectives of libraries written by staff from other libraries include Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron (636.80092 Myron) and Free For All: Oddballs, Geeks, and Gangstas in the Public Library by Don Borchert (BIOGRAPHY Borchert), a humorous memoir about some of the more unusual and entertaining aspects of working in a public library.
Come to the Chickasha Public Library and discover the many resources it has to offer during National Library Week! We hope to see you there!