# Find Your Community
Celebrate our community's deep pool of creative talent with us on the first Wednesday of each month in Downtown Jacksonville! The Main Library stays open until 9 p.m. for the festivities! This month, join a 20-minute art tour with one of our volunteer docents or attend one of two receptions for local art exhibitions on the first, second and third floors.
Don't forget to pick up a Map & Guide to the Main Library on your way in! You'll find public art, a huge vintage map collection and more!
Drop In for a Summer Kick-Off Party
Kick off your summer with a fun party from 3 to 4 p.m. in the Children's Room (on the second floor) or 6 to 7 p.m. in the Teen Room (first floor). Note: Kids and teens in attendance will get their first free summer prize book. Parents: You can also pick up an official Summer Reading Tracker. When your kids read for at least 20 minutes per day for 20 days and return your tracker(s) to the Library by August 2, they can earn up to two more prize books!
For more information, visit jaxlibrary.org/summer.
# Take a Free Art Tour
Docent-Led Art Tours Start at 6 PM
Did you know that works by Augusta Savage, Al Held, Kathryn Freeman, Lee Adams, Jerry Uelsmann and other artists are on permanent display at the Main Library? Come take a 20-minute docent-led tour during Art Walk and (re)discover these remarkable paintings, sculptures, and photographs with other art lovers.
Tours start every half hour, beginning at 6 p.m. The last tour starts at 8 p.m. You'll meet your docent (a.k.a. tour guide) on the first floor, near the entrance to the Library. Look for the Art Tours sign.
Registration is strongly recommended.
Note: While these tours focus on the permanent works on display, we also have exhibits that rotate regularly in our galleries on the first, second, and third floors, featuring works by local students and professional artists. Please feel free to check those out after your tour.
# Meet Local Artists
Act On It: Local Art Exhibition
Stop by the gallery on the first floor for a local art exhibition featuring over 20 local artists. Presented by The Art Center Cooperative and Jacksonville Artists' Guild, each art piece represents a motion picture or theater production.
The opening reception starts at 5:30 p.m. with a "movie experience" complete with popcorn, pizza, sodas, and other libations and treats typically found at the cinema. Have you ever wanted to be a movie star? Walk the red carpet, take a selfie with the OSCARS backdrop, or play some movie trivia. Bringing the kids? Children will also be invited to decorate masks so they can pretend they are performing in one of their favorite shows. It's all free.
Art awards will be presented at 7 p.m. The show runs through June 30. For more information, including a list of participating artists and an online gallery, please visit tacjacksonville.org.
Birds & Blossoms: Closing Reception
There will also be a closing reception for Peggy Harrell Jennings's solo art exhibition from 5:30 - 8 p.m. on the second and third floors.
Peggy Harrell Jennings is an award-winning local artist, author, and illustrator who works in various media, including oil, watercolor, pastels, acrylic, photography, and mixed media. A Jacksonville native, she enjoys the beauty of nature through plein-air painting. For more about the artist and to view an online gallery of the exhibition, please visit tacjacksonville.org.
# Drop-In for Free Activities
Zinester Meetup
Do you read zines? Make your own comics? Take a truly DIY approach to self-publishing! Drop by Zine Zone on the first floor of the Main Library every first Wednesday of the month (during Art Walk) from 6 - 8:30 p.m. It's a space where "zinesters," writers, artists and more meet to network, learn new skills, do group projects, and make art.
This month, we're getting ready and getting hyped for the fourth annual Duval Comic and Zine Fest from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 21, right here at the Main Library.
If you haven't already, this is also a good time to browse the Zine Collection (they are available for checkout!). If you have a zine or self-published comic to donate to the Library, bring it with you! For more info, visit jaxlibrary.org/zines.
Smash Bros. Tournament for Teens
Stop by the Teen Room (on the first floor) for a Super Smash Bros. Tournament for teens (ages 12-18) on the big screen TV! Tournament starts at 5 p.m. and runs until someone claims victory (or 8:30 p.m.).
Play Board Games with Adults
Looking for other adults to play board games with? Join us from 6-8 p.m. in the "engagement" space on the first floor. Just look for the big red carpet between the first floor gallery and the Zine Zone. Note: Participation from beginning to end is not required and players can join/leave at any time.
This month's games:
- Ticket to Ride
- Point Salad
- Boom Bang Gold
- Quarto
- Strike!
- Superfight
