Peoria Public Library, with partners District 150, The Peoria Humane Society and Friends of Peoria Public Library, signed up 5, 595 Summer Readers who each read three hours a week for up to seven weeks and came to the library weekly to sign in. Their reward after five weeks was a voucher for a free Chiefs ticket and after six weeks a Party  Pass to the Summer Reading Party at Peoria Riverfront Museum on Tuesday, July 29 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. Readers are expected to attend in record-breaking numbers.

The Summer Reading Party will include every feature of the museum, including all Galleries, the Ripley’s Believe It or Not exhibit, the Big Screen Theatre and the Planetarium, as well as Balloon Art by The Unique Twist and free parking.  At 8:00 p.m. the prize drawing will be held for prizes ranging from dinners or treats at 15 different area restaurants, including dinner for 10 at Olive Garden, to a family membership at Forest Park Nature Center to gift cards to Lowe’s or Shell Gas or a family cruise on the Spirit of Peoria. Summer Readers with a Party Pass must be present at the 8:00 p.m. drawing to win.

The theme for the Summer Reading program was “Paws to Read” and the summer was filled with paws related programs from the Barking Ballroom to Dog DNA to the opportunity to read to a therapy dog or watch a pet-related movie. Families who read together  and encourage children to keep reading over the summer help reduce the “summer slide” of knowledge.

Summer Reading Sign Up for 2015 will start next May.