Hey teens, pack up your protractors and say goodbye to grades. Summer is here, and Roanoke County Public Libraries want you to "Express Yourself," so get ready to unleash your inner artist with cool, creative projects. A Designer T-Shirt workshop and the Project Teenway Competition challenge fabulous and fashion forward teens to transform everyday materials into haute couture. Serious artists, casual shutterbugs, and sufferers of wanderlust alike will enjoy creating Altered Art Travel Journals or expressing their vision of America by entering the Picturing America Photo Contest (grand prize $50 gift card to Best Buy!).

Anime artists are encouraged to enter the Manga Drawing Contest, while aspiring actors and amateur detectives take center stage for Teen Mystery Night. Last but not least, if you prefer entertainment minus the human interaction, bury your nose in books this summer for a chance to win a Nintendo DS. All teens who enter and complete Roanoke County Public Library's Teen Summer Reading Program will be entered in a drawing for a chance to win a Nintendo DS handheld game console. So, what are you waiting for? Fire up your right brain and head to the library this summer!

Registration for the Teen Summer Reading Program is under way.

Upon registering, participants receive a Blue Roanoke County "Connect" Portfolio that contains a mood pencil, Express Yourself book mark, reading log, and calendar of teen summer events. Upon completing the required ten hours of reading (that's not too much!), teens receive a 1GB flash drive, a free food coupon to a local fast food restaurant, a "gigantic" candy bar, a free pass to see the Salem Red Sox, and a chance at winning the Nintendo DS to be raffled on August 5th.

For more information on any of these teen programs, contact David Wilson, Hollins Branch Library at 561-8024