MARION — Somewhere atop the inflatable obstacle course was Elena Tourinho. She had found a friend amidst the vinyl labyrinth, an attraction at the Elizabeth Taber Library’s summer kick-off block party Saturday, June 15.

The block party celebrates the start of the library’s summer reading program. Elena, 7, had wanted to come to the event, her mother Courtney Tourinho said.

After being provided summer reading program materials — like a progress tracker for a reward system to read ten books in order to earn a prize — by Pam Cattel, a Friend of the Elizabeth Taber Library, Elena ascended the sizable inflatable structure.

Courtney Tourinho said the block party was a “great thing to do on a Saturday” and a “great idea” for the community and children.

“We love the library,” she said. “We come here all the time.”

Also available as part of the kick off to the summer reading program were “reading buddies,” stuffed animals that serve as a “visual reminder” to read, according to Elizabeth Sherry, director of the Elizabeth Taber Library.

Among the other festivities, Oxford Creamery served free ice cream to attendees from a truck on Main Street. 

And under a nearby tent, the Marion Natural History Museum, which occupies the second floor of the library building, offered crafts like bee houses and bookmarks. 

Sherry said the block party was a reminder that the library is for anyone. 

“You can come to the library to try to learn something, or you can come to the library to have a good time,” she said.