It is no secret that The Festival started this week, which means that many of you reading this paper will be spending a lot of time outside enjoying the sunshine and the sounds of all the wonderful artists who have come to share their incredible talent with our community.

It is also no secret that we are about to be struck by another heat wave in parallel with the Festival, with 95-degree temperatures in the forecast at the time of writing. Adding insult to injury are the fires ravaging the entire western United States; though we’ve been lucky enough to avoid fires the size of the Bootleg Fire in southwestern Oregon — currently around 410,000 acres — we are still suffering from an atypically early smoke season from nearby fires, including the Trestle Creek Complex — currently at 436 acres — and the Burnt Peak Fire near Troy, Montana, which is currently at 2,715 acres.

Between the heat and the smoke, it can be difficult to find a place to find respite from it all — especially if you are just visiting our lovely town. The library’s doors are open to everyone six days a week, offering a nice air-conditioned space for you to spend some time away from the smoke and heat. We have a number of CDs to check out for library cardholders by many of the artists playing this year, including Gladys Knight, REO Speedwagon, Keb’ Mo’ & Band, and Shakey Graves. Many of these artists can also be found on Hoopla, which you can access for free through the digital library link on the library’s website. Hoopla also allows you to download music and listen to it offline, in case you want to bring it with you to the Festival to listen to music while listening to music - audiophile inception!

If you’re looking for a nice and quiet space to enjoy the AC and listen to music - with headphones, of course- I invite you to check out the lounge area on the second floor with comfortable seating and wonderful natural light from the viewing windows. There’s even a functional fireplace, though it’s on vacation for the next few months until the weather cools down.

We hope to see you stop by over the next several weeks, if only to escape the heat for a few minutes, but even if you don’t have the time to come see us, from everyone here at the library: we hope you stay safe and cool, and enjoy the music!

Brenden Bobby can be reached at the East Bonner County Library, 1407 Cedar Street, Sandpoint, by phone at 208-263-6930, or email at brenden@ebonnerlibrary.org.