Evan Longoria to Head to Downtown Central Library on Friday

BRADENTON – The return of Tampa Bay Rays Third Baseman, Evan Longoria, to Manatee County's Downtown Central Library will take place on Friday, June 17.

Last June Longoria welcomed a crowd of more than 1,200 at Downtown Library to kick off the Reading With the Rays–”Read Your Way to the Ballpark“ program, presented by the Suncoast Credit Union. This year, Longoria plans to make a repeat performance.

Evan Longoria, Rays’ Third Baseman, reads to a large crowd of kids on June 15, 2015, at Downtown Library (Photo Credit: Melissa Matisko, Manatee County Government).As the spokesperson for the Reading With the Rays Program for the past four years, Longoria visits two participating libraries (those in the counties of Charlotte, Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota) each year. He reads a few short books, discusses the importance of reading, asks a few trivia questions and hands out prizes.

”We are thrilled to welcome Evan back. Last year, he created a great deal of enthusiasm among attendees, resulting in over 1,000 children who stayed after the event to sign up for the program,“ said Ava Ehde, Library Services Manager.

Longoria is expected to be at Downtown Library between 11 and 11:30 a.m. Also making an appearance once again will be DJ Kitty. Rays representatives will provide pre-event games. Downtown Library is located at 1301 Barcarrota Boulevard West, Bradenton, 34205 (along Riverwalk).