Despite a few rain showers, laughter could be heard around the Quitman Public Library last Thursday evening as the community came out to enjoy their first block party.
The East Mississippi Regional Library system wanted to be able to celebrate 250 years for America, and they figured out how to do just that while benefiting the community.
“There have been all these America 250 celebrations, and we wanted to do something at the library for our community to celebrate that,” explained East Mississippi Regional Library Director Matt Gully. “We had the idea to have a large block party at the library for the community. We got a $1,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to put on the block party so we could give the community something to do.”
Everything came together and was successful as they had over 600 people attend in the four hour timeframe.
Those who attended were able to enjoy a meal of free hamburgers and hotdogs fresh of the grill with some french fries and a drink. Rustic Freeze stayed busy providing free snow cones to everyone as well. Booths were set up around the parking lot where kids were able to play trivia games to win prizes, have their faces painted, and more. Veteran groups were set up to provide information, and they helped supply some of the decorations for the area. Every 30 minutes they had rocking readers where kids could gather around and listen to different stories being read to them. Different games were scattered around the area for everyone to enjoy, and there was a bounce house for kids to play in.
At different times throughout the event, they also had different contests that people could participate in to win prizes, including a lemonade chugging contest, pie eating contest, dance battle, and more.
Overall, it was an afternoon filled with joy and laughter for everyone in the community who came out.
The library is so thankful to everyone that made the event possible.
“We’re very thankful for the volunteers and people that came in groups to support us,” proclaimed Gully. “I know the City of Quitman and Clarke County Board of Supervisors supported us through this. They helped us get ready, helped us cook, and did various things. Jackie Sisson helped us with getting everything ready and helped cook, and other county employees like Mark McElvaine helped us cook and get everything done as well. The Friends of the Library helped support us both financially and with volunteers. There were just a lot of people who volunteered and help us make this event successful, and we are extremely grateful to all of them. We’re thankful to the community for coming out and supporting us as well. We had a good time and a good turnout and just had fun with everybody.”
They would like to provide a special thank you to each of the following donors for helping make the event so successful:
Friends of the East MS Regional Library System
Leanne Volking – Chancery Clerk/County Administrator
Rustic Freeze Snow Cones
Capital Meeting Planning, Inc.
Grill Team – Marke McElvain, Jackie Sisson, Daniel Harris
Enterprise High School Band
Quitman High School Student Volunteers
Rocking Readers – Jan Beavers, Donna Staten
Mississippi Library Commission
First State Bank
Donna Staten – Door Prizes and Contest Prizes
Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office
Shipmate Volunteers from NTTC Meridian
NAS Meridian Color Guard
Fantasy Cottage
A&M Fried Chicken in Quitman
Coca-Cola
Clarke and Jasper Counties Library Staff
City of Quitman Mayor Chris Reeves and Board of Aldermen
Clarke County Board of Supervisors
Participation from numerous patrons, community members, and community groups
