Amber Westall-Briggs cuts the ribbon on the Story Trail as Caspian Briggs and Lila Willett hold it. In the back row from left to right is Stacey Lane, Jessica Parker, Michael Wood, Darlene Butler, Sylvia Buchanan, Karen Dobrogosz, Katie Willett and Paul Willett. (MNJ photo/Cory Spiers)
Permanent book displays and audio stations are now in place at the Riverside Park Story Trail, serving as finishing touches to a project that started as a pilot in 2020 with humble cardboard signs and movable props.
The story trail project, a collaboration between AMY Regional Library, Blue Ridge Partnership for Children, Penland School of Craft, Williams YMCA of Avery County and the Town of Spruce Pine, invites people to walk around the park and follow a story, with each station containing parts of a tale.
Key figures involved in the story trail since its inception gathered at the park on Monday, Nov. 22 for a ceremonial ribbon-cutting, just after all of the elements were finally installed. The trail now features plexiglass-covered displays for book elements
and an accessible audio system that reads the stories in English and Spanish.
A Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant funded part of the audio station expenses. Funding from the Williams YMCA, Quartz Corp., Run for Holland, the Town of Spruce Pine and private donors was also vital.
The upgraded, permanent Story Trail launches with “We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga” by Traci Sorell— a book about being thankful for what each season brings. A book selection committee comprised of community volunteers selects stories.
“We love that the book is a colorful celebration of community,” said selection committee member Stacey Lane. “It shows the diversity of all people.”