Benicia Public Library Wins Parade Sweepstakes
On July 3rd, the Benicia (CA) Public Library's book cart drill team, the Book Pushers, won the Sweepstakes Award (the top prize) in the Benicia Torchlight Parade, which is the city's 4th of July Parade. This win capped off an early summer celebration that included the Library's 10th anniversary in their current location.
Inspired by The Library Book Cart Precision Drill Team Manual by Linda D. McCracken and Lynne Zeiher (McFarland & Company, 2002), seven library staff members worked out a routine. Bowen Anderson, Allison Angell, Daveta Cooper, Ann Deusenberry, Anita Falltrick, Sally Kinane and Fran Martinez?Coyne practiced for about six weeks before the parade. City employees reinforced the carts' wheels, and the Book Pushers decorated the carts. In the parade, Library Director Monique le Conge carried a banner, followed by the Book Pushers, a bookend percussion section, and a truck driven by Library staffers Carolyn Cadloni and Sandy Schipper. The crowd, all along the route, went wild when the Book Pushers did their routines, and especially enjoyed the Pinwheel drill. Other viewers held up their library cards in salute like lighters at a concert.
This is the third year the Library has been represented in the Torchlight Parade, but the first for the drill team. "We participate in city?wide events, like the parade, to remind the community of what we have to offer, but also to show how much fun we like to have. It was great for us. Patrons called and stopped in to tell us how much they enjoyed our entry," said Library Director Monique le Conge. The Book Pushers had entered the parade for fun, so they were very surprised when they won the Sweepstakes award. The Book Pushers are saving their $100 award for next year's parade.
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