FCPL to Host Winter Family Carnival in January

All the joy and excitement of the holidays will soon be over and the fun of spring and summer will seem so very far away. 

But don’t be sad!

Forsyth County Public Library invites you to shake off the winter blues at its indoor Winter Family Carnival on Saturday, January 10 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Forsyth Conference Center, 3410 Ronald Reagan Blvd.

“The Winter Family Carnival offers our community a chance to have a little fun with our staff and volunteers, while also learning more about the services the Library offers, particularly our eLibrary services,” says Laura Bradley, Program Manager.

 “We’re offering the Winter Family Carnival both as a fun way to pull our community together, and also to educate citizens about all the services they can access without ever setting foot inside a library branch. All they need is a library card, a computer or mobile device, and an Internet connection.”  Attend our Winter Family Carnival and visit our eLibrary booths to be entered to win a Kindle Fire HD 7 Tablet, provided by the Forsyth Public Library Friends & Advocates.

Representatives from several eLibrary services, such as Hoopla, Flipster, and Infobase, will be demonstrating how to use their online services and apps. Library staff and tech-savvy volunteers will demonstrate other services for kids, teens, and adults and will also be available in the Technology Open House section of the Carnival.  Patrons are encouraged to drop in and bring their technology-related questions and devices—iPads, smart phones, tablets, etc.  We'll answer your questions and teach you about your new technology!

Kids and families can enjoy concessions and carnival games, such as Giant Bowling, Giant Jenga, and Plinko, or put on a mask and cape to take a selfie in the Superhero Photo Booth. 

But the biggest excitement for young readers will come when Nick Bruel’s Bad Kitty takes the stage for a “purr-fect” storytime featuring a reading from a Bad Kitty eBook, a puppet show, parachute games, music, and funky feline dancing. When storytime is over, kids of all ages are invited to participate in a meet-and-greet session with Bad Kitty.

Teens can dress up as their favorite book characters and compete in “What’s Your Fandom?”  We’ll have a costume contest and the winners will be rewarded with iTunes gift cards. The Winter Family Carnival will also include a fandom trivia contest.  

“And, for those aspiring writers who resolve to have their work published in the coming year,” says Bradley, “BookLogix will be hosting a workshop entitled Publishing in the Digital Age: eBooks and More! that covers the basics of preparing a book for self-publishing, as well as tips on promoting it.”

The Winter Family Carnival is sponsored by the Forsyth County Public Library Friends and Advocates and is free to the public. No registration is required. For more information, please visit www.forsythpl.org.