Lakewood Ranch kids enjoy page-turning celebration

Lakewood Ranch 9-year-old Ashlyn Withers may have enjoyed eating a snow cone, getting a butterfly tattoo and even making her own bookmark, but what she loved most was the thing that drew her Aug. 3 to Summerfield Park — reading.

She and more than 40 other children stopped by the LWR Communities' Splash Bash event celebrating the end of the summerlong Ranch Readers program, encouraging children to read at least eight books over the summer. Children who read eight books and completed a reading log on them received free entry to the event. 

Ashlyn read books such as "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" and stories in the "Harry Potter" series.

"I loved all of them," Ashlyn said. "Reading takes me places that are extraordinary."

The Splash Bash was supposed to be an end-of-summer pool party at Mallory Park's amenity center, but organizers moved the event to Summefield Park last-minute because the required lifeguard became unavailable.