Tie dye returns to Madison County Library

Blake Vickers, Richmond Register, Ky.
·2 min read

Jun. 18—The Richmond branch of the Madison County Public Library held its first tie dye class since the beginning of the pandemic on Friday afternoon. Color was splashed across otherwise regular t-shirts in two classes starting at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Cliff Croxford has been tie dying fabrics for nearly four decades. Fifteen of those years have been spent teaching classes at the library, where he worked as a desk clerk until he retired a few years ago.

"I probably started in college, because I took a materials class. We did fatiguing and we did other materials. It's the 70's. The 70's and tie dye are kind of synonymous," Croxford said. "At this point I teach. Teaching is fun. I like the kids. I've been retired for several years now, this brings me back to the library to carry on the tradition of tie dying at the library which has been going on for a long time now."

Croxford uses special procion dyes in his classes. They lock into the fibers of the shirts they are splashed on. Many tie dyes fade out with time, but that is not the case with the special dyes used in class. "These don't pale out. These are forever," Croxford said.

"We're learning the different patterns like the swirl and the bleeding," youth programming coordinator Ashley Householder said. "This is the first time we've had tie dye since COVID-19. Last year, we did kind of a hybrid summer program, so we did lots of kits and take-and-make things. Now we're actually ramping back up with like full-sized crafts and the performances and all this stuff."

According to youth services director David Payne, attendance at recent library events has been triple what staff was expecting.

Tuesdays and Thursdays this summer will see special performances come to the library. Next week's performances include Hooked on Science with Jason Lindsay on June 21 and Tromp through the Swamp with Tom Sieling on June 23.

Some of the performances this summer will let kids get up close and personal with animals. Live Snakes with Dr. Roy Scudder (which requires registration on the library's website to attend) will give an insightful experience on the often misunderstood reptile on July 1 and July 8. While on July 15, the Newport Aquarium will bring live sharks to the library through the WAVE Foundation Shark Cart.