Kid’s summer guide
Emily McMunn cools off on the tiger water fountain at the SNAP splash pad last week. | Richard Hollingsworth http://nikonrick.smugmug.com/
Cities, libraries, HFAC offering plenty to do during school break
Joy Harris
Special to the Enquirer
Summertime is arguably the best time to be a kid in Hartselle.
All sorts of events and clinics will be held this summer, ensuring that kids will be thoroughly entertained while school’s not in session.
Hartselle’s Parks and Recreation events for all ages are occurring all summer long. Kids can learn at the Youth Fire or Police Academies, play at the Splash Pad Parties or Aquatic Center Luau and relax at Family Movie Night or Daddy Daughter Date Night.
Soccer, karate, tumbling and tennis clinics will be offered this summer, teaching children new skills and fine-tuning old skills.
The Hartselle Fine Arts Center will host its seventh annual Camp “ART”-selle for elementary age children who want to learn more about art, dance, music and theater. Spots for students are already filling; the camp usually fills to its capacity, 75.
The Fine Arts Center’s Camp After Hours teaches middle and high school age students about stage production, improvisation and choreography. This is only the second year Camp After Hours has been available, but it was very popular last year. The camp has yet to fill to its 40-student capacity, but the Fine Arts Center is hopeful they will this year.
Kelley Redmond, director of the Hartselle Fine Arts Center, feels the camps will continue to grow in popularity.
“Students in Hartselle love the arts,” Redmond said. “We hope that more students come each year so they can be part of the tradition.”
Local public libraries are hosting free summer reading programs for children of all ages. These programs offer reading and learning activities based on the theme “Dig Into Reading.” These programs allow children to practice their reading skills outside of school in a creative way.
Hartselle’s reading program will feature a digging animal show, a magician and a dog safety course. This year’s program is funded by proceeds from the family of Jackie Sparks.
Casey Applebaum, a librarian at William Bradford Huie Public Library, has high hopes for this year’s reading program.
“The summer reading program is a nationwide effort to get kids in the library during the summer,” Applebaum said. “Last year our attendance was about 450 for the month. We hope to have even more kids this summer, since the programs seem to have grown each year.”
The Somerville Celebration Festival has been rescheduled for June 14. Art and crafts and food vendors will fill the courthouse square in Somerville. A 5K Run will start at 6 p.m. with a one-mile fun run immediately following. Registration for both events is free. The entire family will enjoy music, games and fireworks.
