Successful Teen Programs

All right--hands up! How many of you have seen it? How many times?

You know what I'm talking about: the movie event of the year! I have reports from two different programs that libraries had in celebration of the release of Twilight--if you had a program, leave a note in the comments.

(PS - both these libraries have group pages on Facebook with more pictures!)

First, Delafield Public Library had a Twilight Ball. Here's Terry:

48 very excited teens attended (including 3 brave boys). Almost all the attendees wore party attire or Twilight t-shirts.

First, each person took the "Team Jacob/Team Edward quiz to determine teams. Team Edward was quite a bit larger, but the groups had fun answering trivia questions.

Next they formed teams for Design Bella's Wedding Gown contest. Each team got 2 rolls of t.p. & tape. Lots of screaming & laughter. 10 "brides" walked down the aisle in the competition. Charlie, a high school senior, was the all-out winner, he really got into the part, fake crying as he walked down the aisle, throwing his bouquet etc.

Took a break for food. My teens ate all the frosted cupcakes, but didn't much care for the red punch & chips etc. If you have to save money, go cheap on the food.

Final activity was "Drive Like a Cullen" 2 teens raced cars down & back. I didn't think girls would get quite so excited about rc cars! I spent beau coup bucks on prizes: paperbacks, ALA posters, t-shirt, book bag, buttons & movie passes.

This has been my most well attended teen program. Some advice: I tried to have teens either complete a trivia contest or buy a ticket ahead of time. That didn't work. Parents were calling 2 hours before the event to see if there was still room. It worked out o.k. number wise, but was a little nerve wracking at the end. I had no idea how many teens would show up at the door without tickets. Another suggestion: a high school senior who has been active at the library brought her boy friend to run the music & they also asked the trivia questions & organized the rc car racing. One of the library staff overheard a girl talking to her dad on her cell during the event..."I'm having so much fun. This is awesome!"

And here's the second, from Oconomowoc, Betsy reporting:

We had about ten middle school-age girls and one high schooler.

The girls played "pin the fangs on Edward," a mystery identity game in which you tape a character's name on a person's back, and then guess your identity by making conversation with other "characters."

We also hid all kinds of chess pieces (all queens, in honor of the cover of "Breaking Dawn") and hunted them down.

Finally, the girls could take an online quiz to find out what Twilight character they are most like.

Oh, and due to popular request, we watched a YouTube spoof of the movie, which was great! The Teen Advisory Board thought up most of the party plan. We had a caramel-apple dipping station (in honor of the apple on the book's cover), bubbly blood-red punch, popcorn (like at the movies!) and other goodies.