What started nine years ago has turned into a tradition at Pequea Valley.

The school district's "Building Braves" program, a collaborative effort with The Factory Ministries, will hold its annual Read Under the Lights night at the Pequea Valley athletic stadium, 4033 E. Newport Road, Kinzers, on Tuesday, Oct. 6, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

The event allows Pequea Valley athletic teams and clubs to read books to young learners from the district, all while being under the lights on the stadium turf.

"The goal of it was to get our older learners, our high school learners, involved with some of our younger learners in doing some type of literacy activity," said Lisa Eckert, director of early learning at Pequea Valley.

At the event, there will be "reading stations" that will feature the reading of picture books and other kids' books and some sort of activity, which ranges from fishing to matching ducks. Some stations are themed by the team or club organization that is running it; for example, the football team's station always includes a football-related activity, while the cheerleading team will allow the young learners to perform stunts with them.

"We basically have our athletic teams and some different clubs and groups in the high school or secondary school sign up, and they will lead the groups that will do some different literacy activities and stations," Eckert said.

Around 375 kids participated in the event last fall. It's become a hit with young learners, but it isn't just for them.

"I think the athletes and the older kids love it just as much as the younger kids," Eckert said.

Outside of the literacy stations, the event will also feature concessions run by parent-teacher organizations from Salisbury and Paradise elementary schools, door prizes, giveaway drawings and a scavenger hunt.

When a child completes the scavenger hunt, they'll get access to a free ice cream station run by The Factory Ministries' youth center. Another feature of the night is that every child who attends will receive free books, which have been donated by individuals and local businesses from the community.

Preregistration is strongly encouraged but not required for the event. The link or QR code for registration can be found by visiting http://www.pequeavalley.org/early-learning/outreach/read-under-the-lights. Those who preregister before the day of the event are entered into a separate special prize giveaway drawing.

"The registration line gets really long and crowded," Eckert explained. "If you're preregistered, everything is kind of already prepackaged and ready for you."

Anybody with questions about the event should reach out to Eckert at 717-314-2517 or lisa_eckert@pequeavalley.org. The event is limited to Pequea Valley students.

In the event of inclement weather, the start time will be adjusted.

Located at 3293 Lincoln Highway East, Paradise, the Factory holds a variety of programs aimed at addressing poverty in eastern Lancaster County. It has an on-site market that provides those in need with food purchased with Factory Bucks, which can be earned through attending Factory-based programs.