SANDPOINT — Who says running, or reading, has to be boring?   

Certainly not East Bonner County Library, or its collaborating event partners Litehouse YMCA and the city of Sandpoint.  

With the coordination of the above municipalities, 125 local children and 70 parents on June 7 spent their Saturday morning covered in multi-colored chalk as they ran a half mile around Travers Park in honor of the library's summer reading program that started June 1.  

The color fun run, which started at 10 a.m., was an opportunity for kids and parents alike to learn more about the summer activities put on by the library, in addition to getting sprinkled with chalk paint. To partake in the run, event officials requested a non-perishable food donation item per participant to give to the local food bank.       

Screams and laughter filled the course as children ran to each color station, where volunteers waited to squeeze colored chalk over eager kids. For those afraid of getting doused with color, there were several art activities that awaited them, like painting with rocks and a color matching activity with clay. And, of course, the Travers Park playground.  

While the run served as an opportunity to bring the community together, it was also the first event of East Bonner County’s library summer reading program — a program that lasts until July 31.  

The theme for this year’s program, “Color Our World,” aims to highlight the “splash of color” that reading can bring to your summer. As part of the summer program, library officials are challenging both children and adults to read 18 days in June and July, for a total of 36 days.  

Tying into the theme, library officials felt that a color run was the perfect kick-off event for the program. And, because of the event’s overwhelming positive feedback, the color fun run will also take place next year.  

For individuals who missed out on the color fun run, the library will be hosting events throughout the months of June and July where all kids are encouraged to attend. For more information about the events, go online to ebonnerlibrary.org/summer/.