The Ellsworth Public Library hosted  a Life Size Candy Land game for children on Saturday, October 20^th.  We started the game at 1:15, just after our 1 pm closing time.  The players followed a game board set up throughout the library and received treats along the way. The game took players on a meandering journey through the stacks to locations like “Licorice Lagoon,” where they received a Twizzler, “Gummy Hills,” where they received a small bag of Gummy Bears, and “Candy Cane Corner” where they received a peppermint candy. There were a total of seven “treat stops.” The last stop was the Candy Castle where children received an official Candy Land scratch ‘n sniff sticker and gift certificates from McDonald’s, which were given to the Library after a goodwill donation to the Ronald McDonald fund. 

Taking much of our inspiration from Pinterest, the Library purchased some of the props for each candy location through Amazon and Oriental Trading. Multiple items were also made by teen volunteers during our monthly Teen Maker Meet-Up.  The process of creating the game took several months.  Now that it is completed, the library is planning to offer it again during Christmas Break and possibly  spring break.  The event was advertised as best suited for ages pre-school through 11, with the most enthusiasm coming from the 5-7 year old crowd.   Parents were asked to participate with younger children, and we also had teen volunteers available to help navigate through the game.  Preregistration was required and allowed us to schedule five groups of two-three players for each fifteen minute time slot. This kept things flowing, and we were able to avoid children waiting in line to play.

Participants decorated a paper bag with Halloween stickers and drawings before starting the game to stash their treats along the way.

We attracted about 20 enthusiastic children and 15 adults for our first run of Lifesize Candy Land, and expect interest to grow as we offer the program in the future.