Last weekend marked the culmination of the Waukesha Reads program, ending with a well-attended dinner and an old-time movie at Marcus Majestic Cinema.
The annual program went very well, according to Karol Kennedy, deputy director of What impressed Kennedy most about the program this year was the enthusiasm of the community.
“From the Friday Night Live kick-off to last weekend and the movie night, the amount of energy in the community about this event has been just amazing,” Kennedy said.
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This was the fifth year of the program, which is designed to promote reading and unite the community through great books.
The library gave out more than 1,600 copies of the Sherlock Holmes mystery The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in addition to copies electronically available through the library’s Overdrive program.
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With more than 40 community partners to help encourage the reading of the book, the success of the program isn’t that much of a surprise.
“The collaborative efforts of the organizations involved make it work,” Kennedy said.
This past weekend’s movie night had a record 146 registering to watch the 1939 film of the book starring Basil Rathbone. It made for an almost full house in the dinner theater at Marcus.
Many other events were held throughout the community including the play Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure at UW-Waukesha; the Beasts of Baskerville’s House of Horror at the Masonic Lodge; mystery nights at the Waukesha County Museum; and Sherlock’s Clues for Cash mystery caper through the area.
New this year in conjunction with Waukesha Reads was the collection of books donated for children whose families visit Hope Center.
“Waukesha Reads is a wonderful program. Five years – that’s a lot of reading,” Kennedy said.
A complete list of sponsors and community partners is available on the Waukesha Reads website but some included:
- Marcus Majestic Cinema
- Waukesha Rotary Club
- Allô! Chocolat
- Almont Gallery
- Avalon Square
- Book Café
- Born Again Fitness & Nutrition
- Café de Arts
- Carroll University
- Waukesha Community Art Project
- Martha Merrell’s Books & Cuddles
- Oasis Readers
- Rochester Deli
- School District of Waukesha
- Spring House Tea Room
- Steaming Cup
- University of Wisconsin-Waukesha
- Waukesha County Museum
- Waukesha County Technical College
- Waukesha Family YMCA
- City of Waukesha
- Downtown Waukesha Business Improvement District
- Literacy Council of Greater Waukesha County
- Waukesha Catholic School System
