The more you read, the more you win this summer with the Charleston County Public Library (CCPL) and the Charleston County School District (CCSD) summer reading program.
“Our district is passionate about literacy,” said Don Kennedy, CCSD school superintendent. “Our goal is to have our fifth graders reading on grade level by June 2027. We are thankful our students have a program like CCPL’s Reading is Radical to participate in this summer, which can help us achieve that goal.”
Registration for CCPL’s summer reading program is now open, and the program begins on May 15.
Now its sixth year, the program aims to bridge the literacy gap for students during the summer months. It encourages children, teens and adults in Charleston County to read and track their activity for a chance to win prizes.
This year, the program theme is Reading Is Radical, a throwback to the time of VHS tapes, parachute pants and boom boxes.
Program prizes include T-shirts as well as vouchers to local restaurants, attractions and sporting events. Readers are awarded a prize after reading for a certain number of hours. For example, after five hours of reading, participants receive tickets to Library Night games at the Charleston RiverDogs on Aug. 6 and South Carolina Stingrays.
Once a participant reaches 30 hours of reading, they receive tickets to watch the Charleston Battery play on Aug. 26, or visit Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum on Sept. 16.
The program will begin awarding prizes on June 1. Prizes are only available while supplies last and have been provided by program sponsors, the Charleston Friends of the Library and the South Carolina Stingrays Hockey Team.
Participants can log and track their reading activity through the Beanstalk app. For those who prefer a paper copy, reading logs are available at local libraries.
Along with the reading contest, CCPL has created a number of free programs including:
- Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus performance
- Retro book fair
- Summer Sips and Sing-alongs
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar workshop
- Silent Disco
- Japanese Drumming with Taiko Charleston
- The Final Girl Escape Room
- Criss Cross Mangosauce
- Jungle Jim’s Wild About Reading Balloon Magic Show
- West African Drumming and Dance with Wona Womalan
Throughout the summer program, CCPL will also be running a social media photo contest. Readers are encouraged to snap a photo while enjoying a good book or at the local library and share it on social with the hashtag #CCPLReadingisRadical.
Those who share their love of reading online will have a chance to be featured in promotions for the summer reading program. All entries will be placed into a drawing for a swag pack.
While taking part in the photo contest, don’t forget the retro theme. Kids and adults are encouraged to dress up in attire inspired by the ’80s and ’90s.
The summer reading program concludes on July 31. Visit ccpl.org/summeronline, or your nearest CCPL branch to sign up.
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