THE Greater Hamilton Library hosted their annual school holiday program with great success over the last two weeks, with every session for different age groups sold out.

On Wednesday, April 12 the Hamilton Library collaborated with the Hamilton Cinema to run their well-known movie/craft session, with children having a great time creating the main character of the movie ‘Pattie’ - the adventurous mouse.

Following on from the craft session, families gathered together to watch the movie, ‘Argonuts’.

On Thursday, April 13 the library witnessed ‘Bluey Mania’ - there was more craft to encourage the children’s creativity and families loved the collaboration and making social connections.

Bluey Hats and Door Hangers were the order of the day, and everyone went home with a library bag full of goodies.

The Palette Knife Painting session, hosted on Wednesday, April 19, gave children above the age of 12 the opportunity to paint a landscape setting through techniques shown to them on the day.

The children were deeply engaged in the activity exploring their creativity; at the end of the day they were able to take their stunning artworks home.

Thursday, April 20 saw the Hamilton (OSHC) Y Ballarat group visit the library for a fun session of songs, books, and craft activities.

The last session on Friday, April 21, saw CJ’s puppets, comprising of a top Ventriloquist and Muli Instrumentalist amusing the audience with a hilarious puppet show.

Library operations officer, Chris Jenkins, said all the school holiday events were sold out – in the two weeks prior, the interest created from social media and publicity in schools made sure everything was fully subscribed.

“We do anything from reader services type stuff, so we concentrate on literature, we do creativity mostly in the school holiday program,” she said.

“So, for example, the movie craft that we had last week, we created a character from the movie and (Wednesday) was more just about teaching the different techniques of painting and how they can paint with the pallet knife.

“We try and mix it up every school holidays and do a bit of everything.

“It benefits the kids by exploring their creativity, it lets them have a go at something that they haven’t or mightn’t have done before. It’s a community thing, so it gives them a social interaction as well.

“There is always room for somebody so jump on board, I know we sell out quite regularly but if you get in first then you will be able to partake in the activities.”