What better way to relax after the Canada Day Parade in Airdrie than with food, live music, face painting and other fun things for the kids to do.

Close to 700 people decided to do just that at the Airdrie Public Library's 14th Annual Canada Day BBQ, a fundraiser for the library that Fund Development and Marketing Coordinator Marilyn Aalhus says is much needed.

"We actually use these funds as undesignated funds that support the library as a whole.  We obviously are growing every day, we have more people coming to the library constantly, our numbers keep going up so we're really just trying to cater to the community and provide the resources that they need."

Aalhus says it's an interesting mix of people who come out on Canada Day.  "It's actually very interesting.   We have alot of patrons who come, they purchase tickets in advance, and we also get a lot of just the general public who might not have come to the library before today so it's a great way for them to see what their local library has to offer and at the same time support us."

Canada Day marks the start of a very busy time for the library.  "Our summer is actually the busiest time of the year, believe it or not.  With our Summer Reading Club we have children of all ages coming in to be part of our summer programs and continue to read over the summer and not lose that momentum when they're out of school.  We have a really busy summer ahead of us and it's a very exciting time for the library."