Book It! 5K to benefit Hoover Public Library; BMX TrickStars to perform

The Hoover Library will host its first Friends of the Hoover Library Book It! 5K race at Veterans Park on Saturday, May 21, at 8 a.m. The event will serve as the formal kickoff for this year’s summer reading program.

The race will be at the cross-country course at Veterans Park and will be digitally timed. 

“Registered racers are welcome to run, walk, dance or stroll their way along the route,” the library’s Ashley Davidson said.

Coach Devon Hind of Hoover High School will host an awards award presentation at 9:30 a.m. following the race.

The summer reading kickoff beginning at 10 a.m. will include field games, crafts, inflatables and performances by the BMX Trickstars.

The Friends have raised money for library programs in the past, primarily through membership dues and book sales, but according to Davidson, they saw the 5K as an opportunity for a new approach. 

“The Friends recognize that Hoover is a vibrant and active community with heavily used parks, sports fields and sidewalks,” Davidson said. “Book It! 5K provides an opportunity to engage the community outside the walls of the library.”  

The 5K, games and BMX Trickstars show are appropriate as a program kickoff because “the summer reading theme this year centers around sports,” said Amanda Borden, assistant director of the library.

Veterans Park is at 4800 Valleydale Road, near Spain Park High School.

The registration fee from April 24-May 20 is $30 for participants ages 15 and up and $20 for those 14 and under. Registration on race day will be $35 for runners ages 15 and up and $25 for those ages 14 and under. The sleep-in option is $20 for all ages.

To register for the 5K, visit hooverlibrary.org/bookit.