School is officially out for the summer, but the Forsyth County Public Library has plenty of events in store for local youngsters.

Starting next week, the four locations of the library system — Cumming  (585 Dahlonega Street), Hampton Park (5345 Settingdown Road), Post Road (5010 Post Road) and Sharon Forks (2820 Old Atlanta Road) libraries — will host three summer reading kick-off carnival events. The events have free admission and are open to all ages. 

“The theme of this year’s summer reading program is ‘A Universe of Stories’ and our staff had such fun planning programs and activities based on planetary science, stars and constellations, and other areas of astronomy and physics,” said Programming Manager Tracy Walker in a news release.

The first two will be at the Cumming Library from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 29 and the Hampton Park Library on Thursday, May 30 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Those events will feature acrobatic performances from One Man Circus and balloon twisting from Once Upon a Fiesta, along with other games and prizes. 

A third carnival hosted by the staff from Post Road and Sharon Forks will be held from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday, May 31 at the Forsyth Conference Center and will feature a family-friendly concert from Mr. Michael, co-founder of The Learning Groove and the music producer of the bestselling Pete the Cat picture books, and a performance for Gutsy, the Flying Fox, who will be showing off his acrobatic slam dunk skills. 

Over the summer, the libraries will offer a variety of programs from engineering and coding workshops to story times and reptile encounters for kids to meeting authors to painting and crafting classes. 

“While our patrons are enjoying these special summer events at the library, I hope they’ll take a moment to browse the stacks or stop by the Friends Bookstores to pick up a book or two to read on vacation, by the pool, or under their favorite shade tree at home,” Walker said.

Guests “from infants to age 18” can earn points for activities in the “A Universe of Stories” theme for a chance to win grand prizes including a telescope, a Kindle eReader, movie tickets, and tickets to a Gwinnett Stripers baseball game.

Adult patrons can also earn eReaders and gifts from local businesses. 

“Our Beanstack tracking app makes keeping up with what you read — or what your children read — so much simpler. Patrons can enter books quickly, track reading minutes with ease, and even make note of other activities they complete to earn points in our Summer Reading Fun program,” adds Walker.

More information about the reading program and a list of summer events are available at ForsythPL.org.