Reading and learning during the summer will be more fun in Mecklenburg County this year, thanks to a new partnership between Charlotte Mecklenburg Library and Carowinds to support the 2018 Summer Break™ program.

All participants enrolled in Summer Break will be eligible to receive one Carowinds ticket for completing the program – which includes meeting the reading requirements and participating in the program for nine out of 10 weeks. These tickets will be valid at Carowinds through the end of the 2018 season, and will be available while supplies last.

This year’s Summer Break program runs June 1 – August 12, 2018 and is open to all ages. Anyone can register at summerbreak.cmlibrary.org beginning May 21, 2018.

“Children and teens who read during the summer are more likely to maintain the learning they acquired during the previous school year, which is why Summer Break is so important,” says Lee Keesler, Library CEO. “With Carowinds’ support, we anticipate that we can increase the number of program completers and have an even greater impact in the community.”

“We are excited about this new partnership and the opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of reading,” says John Taylor, vice president of marketing and sales. “Supporting literacy initiatives is an essential component of our community’s vitality and strongly aligns with our core values. We’re proud to play a key role in the Summer Break program and offer Carowinds as an incentive to read and a place for participants to celebrate their success.”

The Summer Break program encourages participants to read 20 minutes per day and engage in additional learning activities in the categories of writing, creating, playing, exploring and giving. As participants track their activities online, they collect badges and become eligible for weekly random prize drawings. “Completers” are individuals who read and log at least 20 hours of reading, or read for at least 10 hours and complete 10 hours of suggested activities.

In 2017, more than 32,000 Summer Break participants logged 21.9M reading minutes with nearly 117,000 completed activities.

About Carowinds

Carowinds, a 400-acre theme park located on the border of North and South Carolina, is home to more than 60 rides, shows and attractions, including 13 world-class rollercoasters and Carolina Harbor, a top-rated 26-acre water park. New for 2018 is Camp Snoopy, a funtastic adventure for kids. Learn more at www.carowinds.com.

Carowinds is owned and operated by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company (NYSE: FUN), a publicly traded partnership and one of the largest regional amusement-resort operators in the world. The company owns and operates 11 amusement parks, two outdoor water parks, one indoor water park and four hotels. For more information, see www.cedarfair.com.