Story By John Mann

Easter has been in full swing at the Boaz Public Library this week as they wrapped up both their Indoor Egg Hunt and announced the winners of their Peep Diorama Contest.

“There was a large variety this year,” Teen and Adult Services Director Tori Miles said. “We didn’t have any duplicates like we’ve had in years past which was great. Some of my favorites were the Peepville Library and the Monster Peeps which was the runner-up. I really loved out first place winner too and how they used Easter eggs for their hot air balloon.”

The Peeps contest asked patrons to build a diorama of any theme using the kit given to them by the library, which included a box and Peeps marshmallows to use. The winner of the contest, which was voted on by the community, was awarded a jumbo sized Peeps plush with the runner up receiving a large chocolate bunny.

The winner for the contest was Natalee Bearden, whose “The Great Peep Escape” showed a pair of bunny Peeps flying away on a hot air balloon to avoid being eaten for Easter. The balloon was made from colorful Easter eggs with a whole crowd of blue, yellow and pink Peeps watching the takeoff. The runner up for the contest was Zailor Zettler and “Monster Peeps” which featured Peeps riding on monster trucks and even a Peep driver, decked out in a cape, in mid-jump over a ramp.

Other themes for the contest included character references like Percy Jackson, Mario and Spider-Man, a stage where Peeps are putting on a show for a crowd of Sour Patch Kids, campfire scenes, a library and even an Auburn Tigers football game.

The contest wasn’t the only Easter event that the library has held this week, with their Indoor Egg Hunt drawing a big crowd on Tuesday.

“Our Easter has been pretty crazy so far,” Miles said. “We had our egg hunt for story time this past Tuesday and we had over a hundred people here. We hid the eggs in the bookshelves so they were everywhere, we had the Easter bunny here for the kids and everyone was having a good time.”

There are a lot of things going on at the library this month, starting with the Friends of the Library Indoor Yard Sale, which will take place starting at noon on April 14 and lasting until April 17. Let’s Cook will be making Oreo No Bake “Sushi” Rolls on April 15 at 330 p.m. and there will be another bingo night on April 22 at 1 p.m.

The Boaz Library is located at 404 Thomas Avenue in Boaz and is open six days a week from 9-7 Monday to Thursday, 9-5 on Friday and 9-3 on Saturday. You can find them on Facebook under “Boaz Public Library” or on their website at cityofboaz.org/247/Library.