Take A Proactive Look At Aging With Fast-Forward Readers Of All Ages Wandered Near & Far During This Year’s Summer Reading Program

Aging can feel like a reality that’s out of our control. Time passes and we get older. But what if you (and your family) have more influence over how we age than we think?

In Fast-Forward, a documentary about aging, four millennials and their parents travel through time to meet their future selves. Wearing an MIT-produced “aging empathy suit,” or A.G.N.E.S., which has been calibrated to approximate the motor, visual, flexibility, dexterity, and strength of a person in the mid-70s, they grapple with the realizations, conversations, and mindset required to age “successfully.”

“We learned that intergenerational family dynamics play a key role,” says documentary director Michael Eric Hurtig. “While we knew bringing millennials and boomers together to have ‘the conversation’ would be an underlying dynamic of our film, we still needed something to jolt our cast into an exploration of their greatest aging fears and expectations.”

On Saturday, September 9, the Estes Valley Library is partnering with UC Healthcare, Bloom Healthcare, and Home Instead of Northern Colorado to present a screening of this powerful documentary. The film will be shown at the American Legion at 11:30 a.m., with lunch and beverages provided thanks to generous sponsors. Admission is free but registration is requested. Visit estesvalleylibrary.org/events to reserve your spot.

“Every family’s aging story is different,” adds Hurtig. “In Fast-Forward, we hope to inspire viewers to embark on their own time travel experiment to explore how they – and their families – are set up to age together.”

September is National Preparedness Month at the Estes Valley Library. Join us for a look into preparing for all phases and experiences of life. Learn more about September programs at estesvalleylibrary.org/events.

The evenings are getting cooler, the days are getting shorter, and Summer Reading Program has wrapped up. It’s official: hints of fall are in the air!

We’re not quite ready to say goodbye to warm, sunny days, but as we reflect on another Summer Reading Program, we are ready to share the accomplishments of our community of readers.

This year’s theme, Wander the World, celebrated global stories and cultures through literacy and library programs. Participants tracked their reading and audiobook-listening, which earned them badges, rewards, and great prizes.

Hundreds of readers logged hundreds of thousands of minutes reading. This year’s numbers exceeded last year’s participation, including high levels of Summer Reading program attendance. From author talks for adults to international cuisine classes for teens and kids, community members spent time learning about new perspectives and places around the world.

Summer Reading Program also serves a practical purpose for local students: it keeps their brains active and engaged during the break from school.

“Not only do readers have fun, we know that summer reading helps keep skills sharp,” commented Early Literacy Librarian Melanie Kozlowski. “Kids don’t experience a ‘summer slide’ of achievement gains. Instead, when they return to school, students are primed for the next grade level.”

Youth Services Librarian Breanna Vegas added, “Parents shared that the prospect of prizes helped motivate teens to read this summer. I even had teens tell me how glad they were that they could earn books as rewards.”

This summer’s most popular books read included the Lord of the Rings series, Radar Girls: A Novel of WWII by Sara Ackerman, and The Outsider by Stephen King.

Summer Reading Program is an annual reading challenge intended to support readers of all ages in the Estes Valley, and is generously supported by donors of the Estes Valley Library Friends & Foundation.

Stay tuned for next year’s Summer Reading Program… We’ll be “adventuring” in a new way in 2024! To learn more about this year’s program, visit estesvalleylibrary.org/srp.