They came by car, by foot and by bike to hear stories in Billings Park Tuesday, July 27.

For Kate Stack and her daughter Hadley, who is nearly 1, Superior Public Library's Storytime is a weekly event.

"It's her favorite day of the week," Stack said. "She likes to see the kids, and we love to hang up our crafts when we get home."

Children listened to three books, shaking off the wiggles with songs and dances in between. They capped it off with a craft — decorating a snail shell — and a donut to go.

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Superior Public Library made the decision to offer the free program outdoors in Fall 2020 due to the pandemic, youth services manager Kelly Wiisanen said. This year, summer story time and the library's summer reading program took place at Billings Park. The outdoor venue has proven popular.

"We started out with 20 (children), and it's just grown over the summer, Wiisanen said.

Tuesday, 36 children gathered in the pavilion, accompanied by their parents, grandparents and caregivers.

Emily Laman has brought her girls, 4-year-old Vivian and 7-year-old Juliet, to the library's story time for years. The move to Billings Park, however, added a new dimension.

"We really enjoy it. Get some outdoor time too," Laman said. "It's nice because you can be outside and then if it is raining, you can be in the pavilion."

For many of the parents Tuesday, the nearby playground was their next stop.

The success of the outdoor programming has been a silver lining in the pandemic, Wiisanen said, and they plan to continue to tell tales in the pavilion through the summer. Story time will be held at 10:30 a.m. every Tuesday, rain or shine, through Aug. 17. When fall story time begins, the plan is to hold it at Billings Park, as well. It will run every Tuesday from Sept. 21 through Oct. 26.