Top 10 library events this July

A boy smiling while holding books

Find out about the exciting events happening at libraries near you

Launch events for the Summer Reading Challenge

Surrey Arts Music Ensembles at Staines and Woking libraries

Join us for two special launch events celebrating the start of the Summer Reading Challenge on Saturday 4 July, featuring performances from some of Surrey’s talented young musicians!

Staines library - Come and listen to Surrey Arts Junior Guitar Ensemble and Training String Orchestra putting on a celebrative performance.
Woking library - The Camberley Youth Wind Orchestra (CYWO) Junior Band is part of a long-standing Surrey Arts ensemble, supporting young musicians from local schools, and they will be putting on a highly entertaining performance

Both events are free and start at 2.30pm. No need to book your place, just drop in.

Musical Story Hunts with John Kirk at Weybridge and Camberley libraries

‘We’re Going on a Musical Story Hunt’: Join storyteller John Kirk for this exploration of stories about music and rhythm, in celebration of the launch of this year’s Summer Reading Challenge and its theme, ‘Read to the Beat’. This lively, interactive session will be packed full of rhythm, imagination and storytelling fun - perfect for children aged 3+ and their families.

Weybridge Library - Saturday 4 July, 11am start
Camberley Library - Saturday 4 July, 2pm start

Both events are free. No need to book, just drop in.

‘Beat Makers Lab’ workshops in Surrey libraries

Get creative with sound in this hands-on music workshops led by Surrey Arts, Surrey’s leading provider of music activities. These workshops are in celebration of this year’s Summer Reading Challenge and its theme, ‘Read to the Beat’. Using digital music tech, children will experiment with rhythm, record their own sounds and build an original track. These fun, interactive 1 hour long sessions are perfect for children aged 8 to 11 who love music, creativity and trying something new.

Redhill library, Thursday 23 July, 11am start
Guildford library, Thursday 23 July, 2pm start
Dorking library, Tuesday 28 July, 11am start
Beat Maker Lab at Woking, Tuesday 28 July, 2pm start

Tickets are available with a donation (suggested donation of £3 per child). Please book your ticket via Surrey Arts Eventbrite webpage

National Year of Reading at Camberley library

A laugh-out-loud one-woman comedy from Badapple Theatre where you can expect big laughs, bold flavours, and a tasty treat for the audience at the end!

Ex-TV baking star Petronella Parfait is out of a job and out of her depth, trying to reinvent herself in the cut-throat world of social media influencers. Can she keep the lights; and the oven, on as her live come-back show descends into delicious disaster?

Thursday 18 June. Staines library, 6pm start. This performance is funded by Escalate Arts.
Friday 19 June. Woking library, 6pm start.

Performance time including interval is 1 hour 45 minutes. This event is suitable for adults. Tickets are available with a donation on the Surrey Libraries’ Eventbrite page.

We will continue to celebrate the National Year of Reading. In July, it is Camberley library’s turn to ‘Go All In’ with a full events programme.

Saturday 4 July

Official launch of the Summer Reading Challenge. You can find Camberley library staff in the Town Centre between 10am and 1pm, where they will talk about the Challenge, books and what is happening this summer! In the afternoon, a free Musical Story Hunt with John Kirk will take place in the library at 2pm. Just drop by and say hello!

Saturday 11 July

Join August Bloom to explore The Tiny Magic Bookshop, a cosy, uplifting tale of magic, stories, and the joy of unexpected adventures, 6pm start. Events suitable for adults. Tickets £5 per person, to be booked via Surrey Libraries’ Eventbrite webpage. Can’t make 6pm? August Bloom will also be at Ash library at 2pm.

Saturday 18 July

Join us for the Camberley Summer Beach Party from 10am to 4pm. Staff will be manning a stall in the Town Centre and offer hook-a-duck and lucky dip.

Tuesday 28 July

Special ‘Rainforest Awakens’ Storytime event for older children aged 5 to 8 years, starts 10:30am.

Camberley library will host regular, Summer Reading Challenge themed craft for children in July, including creating a Maracas session on 11 July and Musical Shakers session on 25 July. For more information, please visit Camberley Library web page.

Dance workshops by Shevelle Dynott at Oxted library

Shevelle Dynott is a classically trained professional Ballet dancer, who performed with the English National Ballet for 15 years. Shevelle will host two fun and engaging dance workshops on Thursday 9 July, mixing ballet with contemporary, African and Caribbean styles. Everyone is welcome, from beginners to more experienced dancers.

Dance workshop for children 7 to 12 years old, 4.30pm to 6pm
Dance workshop for young people and adults aged 16+, 6.30pm to 8pm

Part of the Black British Ballet project. Tickets are available with a suggested donation of £2 per person attending. Bookings via Surrey Libraries’ Eventbrite webpage.

Author August Bloom events at Ash and Camberley libraries

Step into ‘The Tiny Magic Bookshop’ with author August Bloom – a cosy, uplifting tale of magic, stories and the joy of unexpected adventures.

Ash Library, Saturday 11 July, 2pm start
Camberley Library, Saturday 11 July, 6pm start

This event is suitable for adults. Ticket £3 per person. Please book your ticket via Surrey Arts Eventbrite webpage

Hannah Scott in Concert at Staines library

Get ready for live music at Staines library! Join us for an afternoon of contemporary folk songs and storytelling from Hannah Scott. The best stories make us feel deeply and in the 15 years Hannah has been writing and performing, she has become an exceptional storyteller. Her music is shaped by human connections, with family, in all its chaos and glory, sitting at the heart of her work.

At Staines library, Saturday 11 July. Event is suitable for adults. The performance starts at 2pm and will last 90 minutes. Tickets are available with a donation, minimum recommended donation is £2 per person. Please book your ticket via Surrey Libraries’ Eventbrite webpage.

Plight of the Bumblebees talk at Guildford library

Join us to hear Peter Smith fascinating talk about bumblebees. Peter is a beekeeper, bug enthusiast and writer and he will share little-known facts about bumblebees as well as what we can do to help them.

At Guildford library, Saturday 18 July, 2pm to 3pm. Suitable for children aged 8+ and adults. This is a free event, but you must book a ticket to secure your place via Surrey Libraries’ Eventbrite page.

This event is part of our Green Library Hubs events programme and funded by The National Lottery Community Fund.

Explore Learning workshops at Lightwater library

Explore Learning is supporting the Summer Reading Challenge again this year and will be offering free workshops at our libraries this summer. In July for example, they will be hosting the following events at Lightwater library:

The Fruit Shop: Numbers. Children will be working with number patterns and introducing money value. For Year Groups 1 to 2. On Tuesday 21 July, starts 11am to 12 noon.
Treasure Hunt: Geometry. Children will learn to recognise and plot coordinate graphs on a 2D grid. For Year Groups 4 to 6. On Wednesday 22 July, starts 10.30am to 11.30am.

Workshops are free but booking necessary. To book, please call Explore Learning on 01483 600903 or email woking@explorelearning.co.uk. You can also contact Lightwater library via lightwater.library@surreycc.gov.uk or pop in and speak to a staff member.

Comic Drawing workshop at Godalming library

Join us for a fun art workshop to learn to design a comic strip. In the workshop you will have the chance to think about a simple storyline for your comic strip as well as learning to make some characters and drawing them to make a complete comic strip design.

From 2.30pm to 3.30pm. For ages 8 to 12. Tickets cost £4. To book a space please email godalming.library@surreycc.gov.uk or visit us in branch as spaces are limited.

Can’t make this event at Godalming library? They have a full events programme in July including:

The Godalming Flag Trail from Wednesday 1 July to Saturday 18 July
Football Finger puppet event on 18 July
Drop in music craft event on 27 July

Visit their events website for further details or speak to a member of staff at Godalming library.

David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation: Rowdy Rhinos workshop at Horley library

Come along to our creative workshop to find out about endangered animals with the support of the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation. Children’s help is needed to fix the Rhino Cup, a community football tournament in Namibia. Find out more about rhinos and why conservationists support football matches and then design and make a model baby rhino from special ‘air-dry’ clay to fix it.

At Horley library, Tuesday 28 July, 10.30am to 11.30am. Suitable for children aged 5 to 10 years old. Costs £3 per child. Book at Horley Library help desk or email horleylibraryevents@surreycc.gov.uk leaving your name, your child’s name and a contact telephone number so we can call you to take payment of £3 per child.