Six-year-old Blaine Thomas crawled through a pop-up fire engine tent to grab his favorite book.
"I love this one!" he exclaimed.
He quickly opened a book, rummaged through a small basket of finger puppets and then showed his brother, 4-year-old Logan, the great fun they could have.
As the two put on finger puppets and paged through books, Sarah Fore leaned over to see if the two needed any help.
The booth, set up by the McDonald County Library, had a creative message: read fun books this summer.
The outreach is important for staffers to host, said McDonald County library director Amy Wallain.
The library's booth featured displays of entertaining children's books at the Noel First Friday on Friday night.
Despite the warm, summer temperatures, the cloud-free sky provided the perfect backdrop for free fun, cooling off on the water slide, delicious snow cones and more.
Children could crawl into three pop-up tents -- a train, tepee and fire engine -- bought with money from a summer reading grant, thanks to the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences, Wallain said.
Fore, a Noel resident and College of the Ozarks student, was on hand to provide bilingual assistance as an interpreter. The grant also enabled paying for her services, Wallain said.
In Noel, the small library branch isn't utilized as much as library staffers would anticipate, Wallain explained. Getting the word out about the branch's availability is important, she said.
Other challenges, such as a language barrier, may prohibit residents from knowing about the library.
Staffers sometimes find that children in Noel are bilingual but their parents only speak one language, she said. The concept of borrowing books also is new for them.
"Some of the immigrants who come here and work for the Tyson plant aren't familiar with a library," Wallain said.
Part of the outreach is to let the community know that the library is a wonderful source of fun, books and computer availability, she added.
Children had the opportunity to sign up for the summer reading program as well.
Noel's residents also are able to learn more about the library and its services at an English as a Second Language class, led by Crowder College staff at the Community Baptist Church in Noel, she said.
The library's booth was one of several at the First Friday event, hosted by the Noel Betterment Association.
Vendor booths, crafts, games, live music and fun are part of the festivities which take place on Main Street near the former Harp's building.
For Oliver Joyner and Aidden Cerone, the water slide was the place to be on a hot Friday night. The two cooled off, going down the water slide at record pace.
What did Cerone think of the high-speed slide? "It's cool," he said, in between climbing up the steps for more fun.
Across the lot, the Noel Betterment Association's booth boasted of a painting by local artist Patti Beavers. All proceeds of the raffle benefit the association. Raffle tickets are $1 each or six for $5.
A few booths down, Lea Ann and Graham Bunting showed their dedication to the Band Boosters organization by selling hot dogs, chips, various items and raffle tickets for a side of beef.
Chances for the processed side of beef are $1 each or six for $5. Lea Ann Bunting said the winner will be announced at the last home football game this fall. The winner need not be present to win.
Organizers of the next First Fridays are preparing for the Aug. 2 event, which will feature a "Big Bang" celebration. The event will mark the 50th anniversary of the train explosion in Noel.
T-shirts are already available. Anyone interested in obtaining a T-shirt, buying a raffle ticket or reserving a free vendor space for the First Friday event may call 417-279-5535.
General News on 07/18/2019