Altadena Library Kicks Off Its Summer Challenge Saturday With Friendship Bracelets, Crafts and a Tiny Horse

The Bob Lucas Memorial Library reopened in August after a 16-month renovation that added 1,000 square feet of new space, including a children’s area, a literacy center, an outdoor reading garden and full accessibility upgrades. On Saturday afternoon, the West Altadena branch puts that expanded space to work for one of its busiest events of the year: the Altadena Library District’s Summer Challenge Kickoff Party.

The kickoff begins at 1 p.m. and gathers families to sign up for the District’s annual Summer Challenge — a reading-and-activity program that runs through the summer months. Activities at the party include friendship-bracelet making, button-making, food, crafts and seed planting. Children can also read aloud to a tiny horse, which will visit from 1 to 3 p.m. as part of the program.

The Bob Lucas Memorial branch is named for Robert “Bob” Lucas, an Altadena resident who advocated to reopen library service on the west side of the community after a previous branch had closed. Lucas, who moved to Altadena in 1971, fought to make sure the facility was opened because, as his granddaughter Autumn Mora put it at last August’s reopening, he believed “literacy was a pathway to equity.”

The branch’s August reopening included new books, study rooms, a new roof, upgraded electrical and mechanical systems and a literacy classroom — all of it offered free to Altadena residents and visitors. The Summer Challenge Kickoff doubles as a community welcome back to the renovated building.

The Altadena Library Summer Challenge Kickoff Party will take place Saturday, June 6 at 1 p.m. at the Bob Lucas Memorial Library, 2659 Lincoln Ave., in Altadena. Admission is free. For more information, call (626) 798-0833 or visit altadenalibrary.org.