- Last Updated on Monday, 29 June 2026 20:37
By Jill Runfola
| Children’s Coordinator, Ashley DeMidio, with her son Niko DeMidio, age 10, who had his face painted. |
| Donora Public Library Director Mark Boyer looks through children’s books for giveaway. |
| Reagan Lewis, age 9, of Monongahela, has her arm painted by Ashley DeMidio, Children’s Coordinator at Donora Library. |
| Ken Bizzell Boyer, Cataloging and Front Desk Assistant at Donora Library, prepares and hands out hot dogs. |
| Grant Kemmerer, Owner of Wild World of Animals in Bentleyville, sits here holding a sloth, one of the larger animals he had brought. He’s eating corn on the cob. |
The Donora Public Library celebrated the season with an outdoor event on Saturday, June 20, from 12:00 noon - 2:00 pm., with Father’s Day and the introduction of the staff and Board of Directors to the community. Many people of all ages showed to take part in all the fun!
Ashley DeMidio, Donora Library Children’s Coordinator, says that the library named the event “Liberry,” because the kids call the library by that name. The festival started a few years ago. The Liberry Festival featured: free hot dogs and fresh fruit, free children’s books, face painting, games, and a variety of animals from Wild World of Animals. The Wild World of Animals, new to the Donora Library this year, is a family run private zoo in Bentleyville focused on education. They brought several unique animals.
Grant Kemmerer, Owner of Wild World of Animals in Bentleyville, had animals to showcase. “Every single animal on this planet is important, whether they’re big or small,” said Kemmerer. He demonstrated his vast knowledge of every animal he brought, and the show was enjoyable. We saw, on that day, everything from a scorpion to a sloth.
All in all, the Liberry Festival was a great day. The kids stood in line for face painting, which was a success. The adults ate lunch and socialized, with some speaking about possibly joining a book club at the library. A toss and catch ball game was being played on the side of the library.






