Largo, Md. (May 16, 2022)—The Prince George’s Memorial Library System (PGCMLS) and Washington Nationals are teaming up to celebrate summer in Prince George’s County for the third consecutive year. This year’s initiative, Summer Prince George’s, invites Prince Georgians of all ages to connect with their community by reading, attending library or partner events (in-person or virtually), visiting branch libraries, and engaging with library resources. Between May 16 and August 19, library customers may register for Summer Prince George’s at pgcmls.info/summer and start logging reading, event, and online resource activities to earn badges and prizes.
“PGCMLS is very proud to announce Summer Prince George’s, our new community-centered brand for summer reading and engagement. The program offers a variety of events and incentives to encourage families to read and enjoy the summer here in Prince George’s County, while earning awesome prizes like vouchers for Washington Nationals tickets,” stated Roberta Phillips, PGCMLS’ CEO. “Summer is the perfect time for customers of all ages to explore books, films, magazines, events and more that ignite their interests, hobbies and educational pursuits. The Library is so pleased to be able to welcome customers back to in-person programming at your local branches and other exciting locations in Prince George’s County. Reintroduce yourself to all the wonderful, free offerings we have for you.”
Summer Prince George’s is more than a traditional summer reading program, with exciting events for children, teens, and adults alike to discover their passions and get to know their local community. “We are pleased to once again work with our friends at the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System to encourage summer reading among Prince Georgians,” said Gregory McCarthy, Washington Nationals Senior Vice President, Community Engagement. “Through this program, we hope to help readers of all ages discover a passion for books while offering exciting incentives to help them meet their goal of reading at least 30 minutes a day, every day.”
This summer’s special events include the Library’s inaugural Rainbow Festival (Saturday, June 4, 11 a.m.), Play Ball with the Washington Nationals at Walker Mill Regional Park (Saturday, June 4, 10 a.m.–12 p.m.), Summer Prince George’s kickoff events at various branch libraries (June 4–11), and additional special events.
Summer Prince George’s 2022 Special Events
• June 4: Rainbow Festival at New Carrollton, 11 a.m.–2 p.m.
• June 4–11: Summer Prince George’s Kickoff at various branch libraries
• June 11: Play Ball with the Washington Nationals at Walker Mill Regional Park, Capitol Heights, MD, 10 a.m.–12 p.m.
• June 13–21: Juneteenth celebrations at various branch libraries
• July 5–August 12: The National Aquarium at various branch libraries
• July 16 and 30: The Science Guys of Baltimore: Waves, Waves, Waves! at various branch libraries
• All summer long: Spanish-English Ready 2 Read Storytime at various branch libraries
Social Justice Camp
New this summer are PGCMLS’ inaugural Social Justice Camp, made possible by the Pull Up Fund and PGCMLS Foundation, that will teach teens how to engage in advocacy, make connections in their community, and develop their interests into a tool to ignite change. The camp is a free, week-long, in-person camp for teens who live in Prince George’s County that will be offered at five branch libraries. Campers will hear from experts in human rights, technology, and other fields while working alongside other budding activists to create a pitch for a project to help their community. “Teens are constantly expressing their interest in social justice to library staff. They are so eager to help their community, but oftentimes they do not know where to start. This camp is meant to meet teens where they are and provide the necessary skills to make their community organizing dreams come true.” said Isaiah West, Teen Services Specialist at PGCMLS. Visit pgcmls.info/teens for more information
Social Justice Camp Schedule
July 11–15, Bowie Branch Library
July 18–22, Greenbelt Branch Library
July 25–29, South Bowie Branch Library
August 1–5, Spauldings Branch Library
August 15–19, Hyattsville Branch Library
Book Crawl
PGCMLS is ramping up engagement opportunities for adult booklovers to connect this summer with Book Crawl. This new series of free social events will take place at local businesses, ranging from Vigilante Coffee in Hyattsville to New Deal Cafe in Greenbelt. The series kicks-off at Denizens Brewery in Riverdale Park on Wednesday, June 29 at 7 p.m.
Book Crawl Schedule
• Denizens Brewery, Riverdale: Bingo, Wednesday, June 29, 7–8:30 p.m.
• Vigilante Coffee, Hyattsville: Craft and Create: Macramé, Friday, July 8, 1–3 p.m.
• Olive on Main, Laurel: Trivia Night, Thursday, July 14, 6–8 p.m.
• Calvert Brewing Company, Build & Brew Lego Challenge, Thursday, July 21, 6–7:30 p.m.
• The Capital Wheel/Flight Deck, National Harbor: Meet Your Librarian, Wednesday, July 27, 6–7:30 p.m.
• New Deal Cafe, Greenbelt: Open Mic, Thursday, August 4, 6:30–8 p.m.
• Robin Hill Winery, Brandywine: Virtual Reality Paint & Sip, Saturday, August 6, 1–3 p.m.
• Rise Up Nutrition, Laurel: Virtual Reality Fitness, Saturday, August 20, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
• Town Center Market, Riverdale: Name That Tune, Tuesday, August 30, 6–7:30 p.m.
Summer Prince George’s participants can earn incentives and enter to win grand prizes while navigating interactive social media challenges with the hashtag #SummerPG. Participants can track their activity progress throughout the summer by earning badges and prizes with a downloadable game board or on the website by searching for the Library’s Beanstack app (iOS/Android). Grand prize winners will be notified in late August. Summer Prince George’s is made possible by the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System, Washington Nationals, and PGCMLS Foundation.
Customers can access library resources with a PGCMLS library card number or a LINK card number for Prince George’s County Public Schools students. Virtual library card registration is open to Prince George’s County residents and others throughout the metropolitan Washington, DC area. Participants can explore suggested summer reads on the Library’s Beanstack, NextReads, and Book List platforms.
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