Downtown Dayton Main Library Grand Opening
Grand Opening & Community Celebration at the new Dayton Metro Library in downtown Dayton.
Event details
* this page may be updated if event is repeated in the future *
Downtown Dayton Main Library Grand Opening
It will be a celebration unlike any other – after all, it’s not every day that a beautiful new 224,000 square foot library opens in Dayton! The Main Library Grand Opening & Community Celebration takes place Saturday, August 5, 12:00-5:00 p.m. at the Main Library, 215 E. Third Street, downtown.
“We are so eager to welcome the public into their new Main Library,” said Tim Kambitsch, Dayton Metro Library Executive Director. “This is an opportunity for the community to come together and celebrate this beautiful new gem in the Gem City.”
The ceremony kicks off at noon with a ribbon cutting that spans the entire Third Street side of the Main Library. More than 100 community leaders will be joined by children who participated in the 2017 Summer Challenge to cut the ribbon. Montgomery County Commissioner Judy Dodge, Dayton City Commissioner Joey Williams, and State Representative Fred Strahorn will give remarks. Tim Kambitsch and Library Board of Trustees President Barbara Hayde will speak, student Salma Albezreh will share her Library story, and poet Sierra Leone will share an original poem commemorating the occasion.
Then, at 12:30 p.m., after nearly two years of construction and many more years of planning, the new Main Library doors will open and visitors will see their completed Library for the first time. Entertainment, from live music to puppets, takes place on all three floors of the building during the festivities.
Entertainment
Entertainment includes:
- The Repeating Arms - five-piece “newgrass” folk string band
- Dayton Performing Arts Alliance - violin, bass and keyboard trio
- The Human Race Theatre Company - an excerpt from the upcoming new show.
- Michael & Sandy Bashaw - flute and guitar
- Miami Valley Dance Company - three repertory pieces
- Sierra Leone and The Art of Word in Motion - poets, dancer and vocalist
- John Benjamin - pianist
- The Black Box Theater - Justin Howard & Matt Bruggeman in the Green Screen Room
- Zoot Theatre - a zoological journey with Zoot puppets
- ReImagining Works Artists Terry Welker, Katherine Kadish, Paula Kraus and Gretchen Durst Jacobs
- Local Authors Molly Campbell and Matt Kish
Street Festival
A STREET FESTIVAL extends the celebration outdoors from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Patterson Boulevard with food trucks, the Library Bookmobile and:
- DJ Basim spinning R&B
- Deja Kru street dancers
- Femme Fatale ribbon and hoop dancers
- Willie Morris and his City Wide Pep Band
- Chalk Artist Boy Blue
- Balloon Sculptures by Cre8tive
- Face Painters from the School of Advertising Art
The featured attraction of the day, however, is the Main Library itself. With expansive windows overlooking Cooper Park and the city, the new Main Library has more than three times the public space of the old Library. Comfortable seating and collaboration spaces abound. Children, tweens and teens are welcomed in their own dedicated areas with programs, technology and materials just for them. There are performance venues, a Quiet Reading Room, Opportunity Spaces, and six original art installations in the facility.
“We are fortunate to enjoy tremendous support from the community, especially with the passage of the bond issue in 2012 that made our system wide facilities improvement project possible,” said Kambitsch. “Now we are thrilled to move into this new chapter of service in a state-of-the-art Library that will serve and support our children, educators, job seekers, researchers, families and anyone seeking personal growth and inspiration.”
Regular operating hours resume at the Main Library on Sunday, August 6:
Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 9:30 a.m.-8:30 pm.
Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 9:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
Sunday (Main Library only) 1:00-5:00 p.m.
Links & Tags
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