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TURNER — For more than two decades, Turner Public Library has organized an annual Fourth of July, Festival on the Green, that has brought together Turner residents and visitors alike to celebrate Independence Day with games, strawberry shortcake, the library’s annual book sale and music. Like many celebrations around the state and the country, however, Turner’s Festival on the Green falls outside the parameters of Maine’s safe re-opening timeline for businesses and large gatherings and will not take place as usual this July.
“Even just taking rough estimates, we know that the Festival draws crowds far in excess of 50 people, and frankly, there’s just no way to set up a festival on that location and maintain a healthy distance between festival attendees,” said Festival on the Green chair Cindy Tibbetts. “If there were any way we could bring our neighbors and visitors together to celebrate, we’d do it; but we’re putting the health of the town first.”
“We’re certainly not abandoning our traditions, though,” added Ellen Bradley, library director. “We’re actively retooling them to continue those events that we know Turner looks forward to every year.”
The library will continue with both its strawberry shortcake sale and its book sale — although both events are getting a tech-based upgrade. More event details will be released soon; however, area business will have an opportunity to join with Turner Public Library in a special weekend “parade of businesses” hosted by Turner Public Library’s mascot, French Fry the Library Otter. While the team organizing the restaurant crawl has already begun contacting local businesses, any business interested in participating may contact the library at 207-225-2030, or by email at info@turnerpubliclibrary.org for more information.
Turner Public Library is also taking a look at its annual book sale. “This is another event that always exceeds the 50-person limit prescribed by the state for gatherings, and with the space we have available, creating six-foot spaces is really not possible,” explained book sale chair Betty Twitchell. “So, we have taken ideas from our popular Epilogue Clearance Sale and built on that.”
This year, book sale shoppers will order a bag of books online and will have an opportunity to purchase a shopping bag full of books. Many bags will be available for $5 per bag and will include both hardcover and paperback books. Shoppers will be able to order a bag customized by popular genres such as mystery, thriller, romance, contemporary fiction, and age/interest for kids and teens, or enjoy a variety bag packed with fiction, non-fiction, or a mix. Separately priced bags and boxes can be curated to appeal to those who collect favorite authors or full series.
“We’ve received some amazing donations over the past year, and we believe our shoppers will be happy with the offerings,” Twitchell added. Bags will be prepared and marked with a number known only to the purchaser who will pick the bag up at the library. The sale will begin no later than the last week of June but interested book sale shoppers should keep an eye out for exact dates
The library is encouraged that even though things cannot be the same as they have for more than 20 years, this year’s challenges present new opportunities.
“There’s no question that we’ve had to adapt to the circumstances in the wake of the COVID-19 response,” said Bradley, “But that’s something we’re absolutely going to do because we understand that people enjoy these events and we enjoy.”
