Published: April 12, 2009 10:05 pm      

Community fair draws attention

ASHLAND — Debbie Cosper is director of the Boyd County Public Library, but she was there in a slightly different role Saturday.

Cosper was helping promote Tri-Area Needle Arts, a group for which she serves as president, at the library’s third annual community fair.

Cosper’s group, a division of the Embroiders’ Guild of America, was one of more than two dozen community organizations represented at the event, which took place at the library’s main branch.

The purpose of the event was to create awareness of the various groups that exist in the community and allow those organizations to raise their profiles with the public, Amanda Clark, library spokeswoman, said.

“We really just want to make people aware of the different things that are available to them in the community,” she said. “A lot of people aren’t aware that many of these groups even exist.”

Some organizations have more difficulty getting the word out about themselves than others, Clark said. For example, one can’t just pick up a telephone book and find a listing for an embroidery group, she said.

Charitable organizations such as River Cities Harvest and CAReS were represented at the event, as were public protection agencies, such as the Ashland Police Department and Ashland Boyd County Catlettsburg Office of Emergency Management.

Each group had its own individual table, and patrons could stroll through the library and learn more about each.

King’s Daughters Medical Center sponsored a kids’ fair and Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital did health screenings. The Friends of the Library group sold baked goods, and works that will be sold Saturday at the library’s annual art auction were on display.

The community fair kicked off a series of events coming this week at the library in observance of National Library Week. Today is Patron Appreciation Day; there will be free food throughout the day at all branches and anyone who checks anything out will receive a free Boyd County Public Library pen.

KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.