Two libraries made cooling centers

While the Province doesn’t envision the heat dome that claimed the lives of hundreds of British Columbians last year, it is airing on the side of caution. And the library wants to be cool in more than one way. For young folks looking for something cool to do out of the heat, there are a series of things to do at both branches, like bracelet making. “We run programs such as story-time in the garden,” says Sarah Wildi, who dreams up fun things for kids to do. “Or we have Lego-Time, passive play. We do fun stuff, too. We have a cardboard splash-down coming up in the garden. And tie-dye Day. We just do all these fun things that bring people together of all different ages.”

Raghu Lokanathan doesn’t get to do the finger-painting or bracelet-painting. His programs focus on the adult side of things, but it’s still fun. “Something fun that’s coming up next week, monthly, and starting in September, bi-weekly, we will have the Ukelele Jam. That’s for anybody who knows how to play, and wants to learn how to play the ukelele. Ukeleles are provided.”

And that just scratches the surface of what people can do during the heat and all the time for that matter and Paul Burry hopes many of the refuge-seekers may become members. “We want them to come in and find out about other supports that they can get, like access to the internet and computers and be able to attend job searches or skills programs,” explains Burry. “There’s a lot of kinds of supports available.”

The heat wave is expected to last through the week, but taper off after the weekend.

by Cheryl Jahn

Two libraries made cooling centers

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