The Salina Public Library is ready for this year’s Salina Reads program, a community-wide reading program designed to strengthen connections by broadening perspectives and fostering understanding through shared literature and discussions. This year’s featured book is Charles Portis’s classic novel, True Grit, a story that follows 14-year-old Mattie Ross as she embarks on a daring quest to avenge her father’s murder. With themes of determination, justice, and resilience, True Grit offers an engaging and thought-provoking read for the entire community.
The program will kick off on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at the Salina Public Library with an exciting celebration of Native American culture and Kansas history. Attendees will experience Rhythms of Heritage, a Native American dance performance by Freddy Gipp, and explore Kansas history through interactive traveling trunks. A Cherokee basket weaving workshop will offer hands-on learning, while discussions on the Salina Indian Burial Pit and local Native history will provide insight into the region’s rich cultural heritage. The day’s festivities will also feature cowboy music, a scavenger hunt focused on Salina’s local history, Kaw language activities, stick horse races, roping, horseshoes, crafts and free book giveaways. This event promises a day filled with culture, history, and fun for all ages.
Throughout the month, the library will host a variety of themed events inspired by True Grit and the Wild West. Adventure seekers can test their problem-solving skills in a Wild West Escape Room, where teams will work together to unravel clues and “break out” before time runs out. History and outdoor enthusiasts can look forward to a Saline County Mounted Patrol and Boy Scout Cooking Demonstration, where they will see firsthand how frontier cooking and survival skills were essential to life in the Wild West. Additionally, a scavenger hunt exploring Salina’s local history will take participants on an engaging journey through Salina’s past, with chances to win exciting local prizes.
The program will conclude with a Finale: Songs, Stories, and Spirit of Saline County on Saturday, April 26, at 7 p.m. at the Salina Public Library. The evening will celebrate the theme “Where We Live” through music, poetry and storytelling, featuring cowboy musician Don Wagner, cowboy poet Jerry Jones, and local community members sharing their personal stories.
The 2025 Salina Reads program is funded in part by an NEA Big Read grant. NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.
