A Silver Anniversary Brandon Buck and Jake Reilly act out a scene from A Silver Anniversary in the Bob Leighton Memorial Gazebo. (Photo Beth Callaway)

The program began in the Bob Leighton Memorial Gazebo at 6:30 p.m. First, Suzan Hawkins gave out awards to participants in the Summer Reading Program. After the awards were distributed, A Silver Anniversary was performed.

"It's a look back at the last 25 years to celebrate Sue's 25th anniversary," said Terranova. "The kids act out little skits of things that happened during the last 25 years." The play was formatted as a news report with newscasters, field reporters, and actors portraying a series of amusing vignettes. The vignettes covered national and international events such as Sally Ride as the first woman in space, the opening of the Chunnel, Lounge Chair Larry, the creation of DVDs and ipods, the publication of the Harry Potter series, and the Red Sox winning the World Series.

"The play is open to any kid who wants to come in and act," explained Terranova. "We make sure that there's enough parts to everybody." At the end of the news reports, Hawkins was led up to the stage as the special guest and applauded.

"The kids helped research it at the sleepover," explained Terranova. (The library hosts a sleepover each spring.) "They always do something different. Last year they wrote a book; this year they helped do some of the research for the play. They looked through the decades to find out what they thought would be fun to act out."

Over 60 adults and children attended, spreading out on the lawn on picnic blankets and lawn chairs to enjoy the show. After the play, Hawkins was presented with flowers, a book, and a commemorative plaque, which will be hung in the library.

"I think Sue means everything to the library," shared Terranova. "She's been here, she knows all the families. She's raised a lot of the parents who now have kids, from back when they were kids, so she knows generations of families. She's put in her own time and effort to help with the play, and she does that for everything. I think she spent the night on the floor at the sleepover so that the kids have a chance to do that. She's just a really great asset. We love having her."

A Silver Anniversary cast were: Hannah Gilbert, Susie Culver, Killian Berry, Emily Terranova, Brandon Buck, Courtney Targett, Jake Reilly, Morgan Reilly, and Jessica Mann. A Silver Anniversary researchers were: Brandon Buck, Peter Culver, Susie Culver, Andrew Ellingson, Josiah Ellingson, Brogan Kelley, Ian Munsell, Mallory Munsell, Courtney Targett, and Isaac Stone.