There's so much to do at the Oxford Memorial Library this summer. Crafts and activities for all ages are scheduled each week, as well as weekly Story Time for kids, and special visits from performer Lee Knight and Dan the Snake Man. Kids, teens, and adults can participate in the Summer Reading Program, or adults can stop by the Oxford Library during the Four County Library System Summer Road Trip. (Photo from the Oxford Memorial Library and Youth Services Facebook page)

OXFORD — The Oxford Memorial Library, located at 8 Forthill Park in Oxford, has a full schedule of fun events and activities for the whole family planned for the summer season.

Tonight at 6 p.m., stop by the library with a colored t-shirt to learn how to put DIY designs on the front of the shirt with Oxford Memorial Library Youth Services and Programming Coordinator Jessica Tefft.

"Those who participate have to bring their own t-shirt, and it has to be colored otherwise it won't work," she explained. "I show them how to trace their designs onto freezer paper and then we iron the freezer paper on and it helps create a logo. You spritz it with bleach, let it set for a few minutes, and then it changes the color of the shirt and then when you peel it off you have the logo on there, or the design."

The activity is free, no pre-registration is required, and all supplies aside from a colorful t-shirt are provided by the library. All ages are welcome to participate, but younger crafters will need the assistance of adults.

On Saturday, July 8 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tefft will be leading a Friendship Barn Quilt craft for adults.

This free activity follows the "All Together Now" theme of the Oxford Library's Summer Reading Program, and involves participants passing around quilt squares to paint.

"I have the design already on there and we pass it around and each person who attends the program gets to paint a little section on each person’s square, and then we each get an individual square to take home that each one is different," said Tefft. "The barn quilt crafts have been very popular here. The adults really liked doing them"

All supplies will be provided by the library, but participants must call the library at 607-843-6146 to pre-register. Tefft said plenty of spaces are still available for the craft.

Kids, teens, and adults all have the opportunity to participate in the Oxford Library's Summer Reading Program as well.

Upon signing up at the library, kids and teens will receive a free goodie bag, and kids will receive a reading log to track the books they read throughout the summer. They can bring their reading log with them during visits to the library, where an employee will check the log and let kids choose prizes from the prize box.

Teens can also participate using the reading log, or they can choose the summer activity bingo card.

"We also have a bingo card for them, which is just a bunch of different silly activities that they can do throughout the summer and there’s different points for each one," Tefft explained. "Whoever gets the most points and turns in their card at the end of July gets to be our top person. Top reader or top participant, depending on which one they did."

Adults can also get in on the fun this summer by participating in the adult reading program. The Oxford Memorial Library front desk has slips of paper and a submission box where adult readers can write down their name and the books they've read. Each week, an Oxford Memorial Library staff member will draw a name from the box, and the selected reader wins a prize.

The Summer Reading Program concludes with an end of summer Reading Carnival in the park in front of the Oxford Memorial Library, rain or shine, from 1 to 4 p.m. on August 12. Top readers of the summer will be announced, and there will also be plenty of games and prizes.

Every Thursday at 10:30 a.m. is Story Time at the Oxford Library. Area kids are welcome to attend for readings of stories, poems, or songs, as well as crafts or coloring pages following the readings.

"It’s just a chance for all the kids to get socialized and used to playing with other little kids," said Tefft.

Additionally, every Thursday through the month of July will feature a fun activity. Next Thursday, July 13 at 6 p.m. Tefft will be leading a stepping stones craft, where participants will learn how to create stepping stones out of cement and colorful rocks.

The activity is free to attend, no pre-registration is required, and all supplies will be provided by the Oxford Memorial Library.

The library will also have a special visit from musician Lee Knight on July 27. At 4 p.m., Knight will lead a story time yoga session for kids and adults where they'll use yoga poses to tell a story. Then at 6 p.m., she will be giving a performance for visiting families.

At 6 p.m. on August 3, the Oxford Memorial Library will be hosting Dan the Snake Man once again for the first time in a few years.

"He’s always a big hit," said Tefft. "We haven’t had him for a couple years, but he’s going to come back and bring all his little slithery friends."

Local Dungeons and Dragons enthusiasts can also contact the Oxford Memorial Library to sign up for their Dungeons and Dragons groups. Tefft said the groups are very popular, but there are a few open slots available for interested gamers.

"Our Tuesday group we do have a couple more slots, but he’s a new DM so he can't do a huge group," she said. "But if anybody were interested in that we do have a couple slots for that, or we’ll be starting a couple other sessions once the school year is starting again, too."

The Oxford Memorial Library is also one of the stops on the Four County Library System Summer Road Trip. Participants can stop by any library in the Four County Library System to pick up a passport and kick off their road trip adventure.

The goal is to visit as many as the libraries within the Four County Library System as possible, for the chance to win prizes and explore the county and surrounding areas.

There's so much to do at the Oxford Memorial Library this summer. Keep an eye on the Oxford Memorial Library and Youth Services Facebook page and OxfordMemorialLibrary.org for updates on upcoming activities and events, as well as lists of all new book arrivals at the library.