Nashville Public Library Plans Virtual Picnic With the Library Fundraiser

When it first became apparent that we'd be spending some time at home early in the pandemic, I started to consider the list of things I’d been putting off until I retire someday. I vowed that I was going to watch The Wire like it was my damn job and ran to my local branch of the Nashville Public Library to check out the DVDs of the entire series, smug in my knowledge that I’d probably be able to sit on them for months while the libraries were closed. The joke was on me when I opened the box for Season 3, excited to see what was next for Det. McNulty and Stringer Bell, and discovered the disc was missing. Sure, I could have just streamed it, but by that time, I’d lost the momentum. At least I’ve still got something to look forward to when my working days are done.

Besides my failed efforts, I was duly impressed about how our library system pivoted to a carryout model, just like many restaurants. Their dedicated workers kept coming in to deliver materials to cars, re-shelve returns and basically keep hope alive in the community of regular library fans who couldn’t bear to bake one more loaf of bread. 

All this is to say that our library system — which returned to partial in-person service last month — has served the community admirably and deserves our support. And you’ve got the chance to help out with their sixth annual Picnic With the Library on Sunday, May 16.

This family-focused event will help raise money to support the library’s early literacy initiatives, which reach more than 100,000 children per year across all 21 library branches and 150 child care centers throughout the county. This year’s event co-chairs Sara Bovender and Dee Patel have selected Alice in Wonderland as the 2021 theme in recognition that we have all been “down the rabbit hole” the past year, and they’ve designed a fun event to celebrate reading and the library system.

They have created an at-home picnic package, priced at $200 per family, that will include Alice in Wonderland-themed picnic games, crafts and snacks, as well as access to a special interactive virtual performance of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Wishing Chair Productions, the library’s resident puppet troupe, another fond memory of mine from my youth spent watching Tom Tichenor and his troupe. Participants will also have the opportunity to win a private puppet performance from NPL’s Puppet Truck.

If you’d like to be a part of the fun and enjoy a picnic with your family and the characters from Wonderland, reserve your basket at the event website and volunteers will deliver it to your door (within a 10-mile radius of the downtown library branch) on Friday, May 14, in advance of the event.