I know, I’ve missed getting columns in the last two issues of the paper. I’m sorry! I was sick two weeks ago, but I can’t for the life of me remember what was going on last week that made me miss it again. Regardless, there’s lots to catch up on!

The first thing I wanted to tell you about is a new storytime we’ll be holding weekly outside of the Library. It’ll be every Thursday at Harold Clifford Playground from 11 a.m. until noon, beginning on June 28.

We’re calling it Storytime Picnic, because we’ve timed it to coincide with the free lunches distributed at the Harold Clifford Playground over summer vacation. The lunches, provided by Healthy Lincoln County and funded by the USDA, will be available at the playground Monday through Friday.

The lunches are free to any kids under 18 years old. No registration is required. And of course, stories are always free through the Library!

We might end up making slight adjustments to the timing on this one. Healthy Lincoln County hasn’t released the exact time schedule yet this year, though last year the lunches were delivered at 11:45 a.m. And beyond that, we’re not quite sure if we’ll read stories before the kids eat lunch, during the picnic, or after. So we’re going to play that one by ear a bit and keep you updated.

To learn more about the summer meals program, visit http://www.healthylincolncounty.org/summer-meals-program.php.

The second is that the 14th annual Books in Boothbay Book Festival is just one month from today! This is giving me a slight panic attack, because how can it practically be the middle of June already? Can’t time just slow down when the weather’s this amazing?

Still, I’m very excited for the book fair. We’ve got 40 authors lined up for this year, including Kate Flora, Lea Wait, Paul Doiron, Barbara Ross and Jenn Blood. We also have Lynn Plourde, winner of the 2017 Maine State Book Award. If there’s an elementary school student in your life, you should definitely plan to bring them and pick up a copy of her Maxi’s Secrets.

The authors will be at the Railway Village from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 14. They’ll be set up in the old town hall building with copies of their books to sign. This is one of my favorite events of the year; the authors are so nice and fun to meet, and it’s a great time to get some early Christmas shopping done. A portion of the proceeds from the book fair benefit our Library too.

Admission to the book fair is free – just park by the town hall building and enter through the wooden gate right next to it.

For book fair updates, visit our website at https://bbhlibrary.org/books-in-boothbay-2018/.

See you there!

Upcoming events

Monday Night Book Club: Monday, June 11, 7:30 p.m. “Lincoln at the Bardo” by George Saunders.

Book Focus Group: Wednesday, June 20, 4:30 p.m. In Defense of Women by H.L. Mencken. Community Room.

Windjammers for Wee Mateys: Tuesday, June 26, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., lawn.

Friday Story Hour: Hear a story, make a craft, and sing a song with Miss Pam and Miss Harolyn. 10:15 a.m., ages birth to 5.

Story Time on Demand: Saturdays, 10 a.m. to noon, Children’s Room. Hear a story and make a craft with Miss Harolyn any time on Saturday mornings.