Community Gathers At Festival In Support of Tiverton Libraries

For the kids outside the gymnasium on Saturday, it was a step up from your average Tonka truck.

Under clear skies, a steady stream of youngsters clambered in and out of Bill Sanford’s backhoe, his race car and Tiverton and vehicles as part of the “Touch-A-Truck” portion of the 2011 Community Festival and Book Fair. While , the ultimate beneficiary of the event, may not have been the first thing on their minds at the moment, the kids sure were having a good time.

So was Linda Larsen, president of the Tiverton Education Foundation, which sponsored “Touch-A-Truck.” She had helped decorate a bicycle and a powder blue convertible Volkswagen bug, and showed them off proudly.

“It’s just a great chance to support our libraries, our schools and our community,” Larsen said about the day.

The Tiverton Education Foundation, a group that works to raise funds for unbudgeted enrichment programs in Tiverton schools, was but one of 11 participating sponsors of the festival.

Inside the gym, an impressive collection of books was spread across a dozen or more cafeteria lunch tables. The volumes were collected and arranged by the Friends of Tiverton Public Libraries, the group selected as the beneficiary of this year’s festival fundraising.

“It’s a wonderful place for the community to gather,” said Friends Vice President and book sorter extraordinaire Carey Bailey. She said that this year’s proceeds will go toward free and discounted admission to area museums and cultural centers, including Battleship Cove, New Bedford Whaling Museum, Ocean Explorium, Providence Children’s Museum and the Pawtucket Red Sox. Ticket vouchers are available at Tiverton Library help desks.

While Bailey said last year’s proceeds went toward the purchase of a refrigerator, other programs and services supported by the Friends include the Books & Babies Program, summer reading events and activities for all ages, as well as toward grants to upgrade computers. More information about the Friends of Tiverton Library, their fundraising efforts, volunteer opportunities, and their newsletter can be found at www.tivertonlibrary.org/friends.

A broad range of community groups were on hand in the gym as co-sponsors. The Tiverton Lions Club provided hot dogs and burgers, and the Tiverton Garden Club had a wide array of plants for sale including tomato, jade and turtlehead.

Garden club members Marcia Phillips and Jan Bailey-Bruch were glad to share their expertise. A crate of surprisingly elongate stalks was identified by Bailey-Bruch as Egyptian onion, also known as walking onion for its habit of “traveling” across the ground, she said. The garlicky smelling miniature onion, or bulblet, forms at the tip. Garden club President Leanora Graves reports that they meet on the fourth Monday of each month.

Sakonnet Arts Network, a group that supports local arts programming, was showcasing the work of Heather Frymark, a Rhode Island School of Design-trained graphic designer, and her son Sebastian Frymark. The two collaborated to produce a striking children’s book entitled Imagine with Little Leo Mouse.

Sebastian summed up the story. “It’s about a mouse that travels around to different places in your imagination,” he said. Heather used her skills in photography, painting, and graphic design to illustrate the full-color volume. Sakonnet Arts showcases the work of over a dozen artists at sakonnetarts.org.