The Stillwater Public Library Trust is holding its second annual Library Lovers Read-a-thon on Friday, Feb. 13, from 7-9 p.m. The 21 and over Valentine’s event will be held at Finnegan’s Fighting Goat located in Downtown Stillwater at 704 S. Main. The Read-a-thon, emceed by Visit Stillwater’s Cristy Morrison and Stillwater NewsPress editor Beau Simmons, includes a line-up of eight local readers and serves as a fundraiser for the Trust, which provides funding for Stillwater Public Library projects.
“The library is incredibly appreciative of our Trust Board and the community members making this event possible,” said Stacy DeLano, Stillwater Public Library director. “The Trust provides funds for new collections, replacement books, and equipment that we would not otherwise be able to make available to our readers. The Read-a-thon is a great opportunity to support reading in Stillwater and to hang out with other community members who love reading too.”
Scheduled community readers include former City Councilor Pat Darlington, Stillwater Public School’s Kira Frisby, Second Friday Bookclub’s Beth Furnish, Stillwater fire chief Duane Helmberger, current Library Board member Mike Woods, and Valerie Zayat-Bloodgood from Modella Gallery.
“We really love to highlight local authors at the library and our events, so we were thrilled when Alton Carter and OSU professors Ariel Ross and Seth Wood offered to read,” Delano said.
Carter is the author of six books, including the Oklahoma Book Award-winning “The Boy Who Carried Bricks” and the new children's book, “Different Altogether,” which is illustrated by Oklahoma’s Tim Jessell and available for purchase through Amazon.
Ross and Wood are instructors in the English department and the authors of the upcoming book “Bike Magic” about the joys and challenges of cycling in Oklahoma.
Each of the readers will be reading passages from books that have been meaningful to them. Audience members can participate by making donations of any size in the name of their favorite reader. Credit card donations will be accepted via links on tables to the Trust’s PayPal portal and cash and checks are welcome. The reader generating the most donations will be recognized the following week and crowned the Read-a-thon Champion.
Gifts to the Trust are typically tax-deductible, though donors should consult a professional for definitive advice. Donations may be made before the event at stillwaterok.gov/LibraryDonate or by sending a check to the library’s Business Office at 1107 S. Duck, Stillwater, OK 74074. Please note the name of the reader the donation is supporting.
“The Read-a-thon will be an entertaining evening where you can surround yourself with a crowd that loves books,” DeLano said. “We hope you will join the fun and help us keep Stillwater reading.”
For more information, follow the library on Facebook or Instagram at @StillwaterOKLib where readers and their reading selections will be introduced beginning this week. Additional information is available at stillwaterok.gov/LibraryReadaThon.