If you want to know where all the kids of Sloatsburg will be gathering on Friday afternoon, look no further than the Sloatsburg Library. Read for fun prizes this summer. Read for fun. And read throughout the summer, Sloatsburg kids certainly do.

Sloatsburg Library Manager Annmarie Mcanany calls the Summer Reading reading program one of the library’s most important community outreach effort. “It’s definitely a vital part of the library,” said McAnany, who has helped build Sloatsburg’s summer reading effort into a popular educational enhancement program for village kids, one that not only introduces kids to the library but keeps them coming back for more.

“The Summer Reading kick off party is very popular and that’s where kids sign up for the summer program,” said McAnany. “Lots of kids who don’t come in except in the summer end up having a love of reading because the program engaged and encouraged them,” McAnany said.

The Sloatsburg Public Library Summer Reading annual kick off party takes place Friday, June 27 at 1 p.m., featuring the magic of master ventriloquist Sylvia Fletcher. Parents and kids interested in joining the program only need to stop by the library Friday afternoon to sign up.

Blame it on Sesame Street but Sylvia Fletcher has become a master ventriloquist, who makes her home in the Albany region and tours the northeast with her Magic Trunk — a well traveled box inhabited by a delightful bunch of quick-witted puppets that she magically brings to life through ventriloquism.

Fletcher and her Magic Box will entertain at the Sloatsburg Library Friday afternoon.

The Sloatsburg Library will join some 1,100 other libraries throughout New York State Friday when it kicks the summer reading initiative that encourages kids to explore their local libraries. This year’s theme is Fizz, Boom, Read and includes a primary focus on science with plenty of fun activities including science experiments and arts and crafts.

The library’s Summer Reading kick off party is an opportunity for Sloatsburg residents to visit the library and discover all the many services it can provide to you.