Marshall Shafer (center), 7, holds balloons while Wade Shafer (center right), 12, and Lee King (right), 2, play during a Tiny Rave event at the Elk Valley Branch Library, in Elkview, on Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
Anna Wild, 6, of Clendenin, tries to pop bubbles with her tongue during a Tiny Rave event at the Elk Valley Branch Library, in Elkview, on Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
Marshall Shafer (center), 7, holds balloons while Wade Shafer (center right), 12, and Lee King (right), 2, play during a Tiny Rave event at the Elk Valley Branch Library, in Elkview, on Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
LAURA BILSON | Gazette-Mail
Techno nursery rhymes blasted as children and families danced during the second annual Tiny Rave at the Kanawha County Public Library's Elk Valley branch in Elkview on Wednesday.Â
Bubbles filled the air around the 56 attendees, with children in face paint running around holding glow sticks.
Sara Caswell, programming and outreach coordinator for the Elk Valley and Clendenin libraries, said the event had such a good response last year that they hosted it again.
Anna Wild, 6, of Clendenin, tries to pop bubbles with her tongue during a Tiny Rave event at the Elk Valley Branch Library, in Elkview, on Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
"Families like stuff like this where they can let their kids have fun and sit back and enjoy it," Caswell said. "I think it's fun to see the whole family."
This event is one of the last events in their summer reading series. The Elk Valley Library hosts events every week for pre-school and early elementary school-aged kids. They also often hold events for all age groups.
Clendenin resident Laura Shafer has brought her grandkids to library events since they were "in diapers," as she did with her own children years ago.
"I took their daddy and mommy to the Clendenin library before it flooded. This year they've had a lot more" events, Shafer said.
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Laura Bilson is a visual journalist at the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Gazette-Mail. She can be reached at lbilson@hdmediallc.com. Follow her on Instagram: @laura_bilson.
