There are a few events with the Jefferson Public Library Youth Services Department coming up next week that kids can enjoy.

Youth Services Librarian Bailey Mount says on Monday from 10:30-11:30am at the library parking lot is a Bike Safety Rodeo event where newborns to seven year old’s can learn about bike safety tips, do a bicycle obstacle course, have snacks and more. She notes that Greene County Public Health’s Healthy Opportunities for Parents to Experience Success (H.O.P.E.S.) will be on-hand to talk about safety and share information about child car seat safety. She adds that there will be free bike helmets provided by HOPES while supplies last. However, due to possible inclement weather, Mount suggests to check their Facebook page to see if the event will still happen.

Mount describes another youth program as the return of the free After Hours Movie Night at the library for 5th-12th graders this coming Thursday from 6:30-8:30pm. She tells Raccoon Valley Radio the movie coincides with this year’s Summer Reading Program of “Level Up at Your Library” with the movie “Belle.” Mount says it is the story of a high school girl who loves to sing with her mom but after mom dies, Belle finds joy again  through an app that allows her to perform as an avatar.

“That anonymity sort of gives her the strength to kind of like push through her grief and start forming those connections again and she becomes a digital popstar. So it really just touches on how sometimes in moments of grief, the connections that we make with people who turn out to be maybe thousands of miles away can really be the ones that save us and help us become our best selves, not only in the digital world but in the physical one as well.”  

Mount states that there will also be four sessions of Dungeons and Dragons starting next month that are open to all 5th-12th graders. She says these events are not meant specifically for Summer Reading Program participants but for youth and families that want to join in.