SALISBURY — Those with thoughts of travel on their mind or those just wanting to gather some tips for the future can attend “Go on an Adventure in 2025!” and have fun and learn.

This celebration of travel, which will feature activities for all ages, will be held on Saturday at the Rowan Public Library headquarters, 201 West Fisher Street, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  

This is a new event that the local library is hosting, which came about following a phone call from a representative from the register of deeds, said Lyndsey Maloney, the library’s adult services supervisor.

The register of deeds has been hosting passport fairs at other locations including colleges and other area libraries, said Maloney, and “they asked us if we wanted to do it at our library.”

Therefore, Libby Anderson, reference librarian, reached out to their office and obtained some additional information, and the decision was made to host a passport fair at the Salisbury branch.

Representatives from the Rowan County Register of Deeds will be available in the Hurley Room from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., ready to help interested participants apply for or renew passports. 

Julia Butner, program manager for the passports, said they were conducting these events “to try to reach out to folks who can’t make it Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.” 

So they are helping people that work and are not able to get to the office and sign up for passports.

Maloney said that for them in the public library, “there are still fees associated with the passports, and so we wanted to make sure that we offered something for folks who maybe didn’t need a passport but still wanted a free activity at the library. That’s why we added the different talks and activities for all ages.”

Butner said they are hoping people will call their office to make an appointment for Saturday and therefore come prepared with what they need to get a passport.

“There are lots of different situations with passports,” said Butner, “and in order to address the different scenarios,” people should call and they can discuss their individual needs and can come prepared.

For individuals who don’t sign up, they will definitely take walk-ins; however, she said, “the thing with walk-ins is they’re not fully prepared. But they can walk-in, we can help them get everything together and then they may just have to come to our office at a later date.”

There are several things that everyone needs to bring with them, said Butner, and those are proof of citizenship, which can be a birth certificate or a naturalization certificate, and their ID, preferably a state-issued ID or a passport.

Photos will be taken this day and everything else that is needed to get a passport will be available at the event, she said.

For an appointment, Butner said they would be signing up people through Friday. For additional information or to make an appointment, call the Rowan County Register of Deeds office at 704-216-8111.

In addition to learning how to get a passport, the library will be hosting other fun, informational travel-themed programs throughout the day.

Anderson said that the main presentation of the day would be one made by Dr. Wyndham Whynot, a professor at Livingstone College. It will be held in the Stanback Auditorium beginning at 11 a.m. during which time he will share about his many adventures.

Sharing from his biography, Anderson said that Whynot was born in North Carolina but has traveled all over, and between 2007 and 2024, he had visited every continent except Antarctica with extensive trips to Europe and Latin America.

During his presentation, she said Whynot would be talking about his travels and offering tips for traveling along with sharing stories about where he has gone and showing photos he has taken on them.

A second presentation, scheduled for 2 p.m., will be a virtual author talk, Maloney said, which is part of the Library Speakers Consortium, something they have been doing for several years.

“We’re re-playing one of them by Rick Steves, who is a bestselling travel guide and author and travel host,” she said, adding that the one they plan to share is about travel tips.

Other activities will include a travel-themed storytime for children at 1 p.m. in the Children’s Room, a photo station with a green screen, a Seven Wonders of the World scavenger hunt and a Rowan County ship manifest display.

When asked why they would encourage people to come and take advantage of this special event, Maloney said, “first and foremost, I think it’s important for everybody to have a passport. If you don’t have one, this is a good one-stop shop.” 

Those that attend can fill out the necessary forms, get pictures taken and be certain they have what they need to complete the process.

She also said this day is “meeting a community need, so I encourage people to come out for that, but also, it’s just a great way to start 2025 going on an adventure, getting your adventure spirit on. It’s kinda a New Year’s resolution I feel. I think that people no matter their age will get something out of this program.”

To learn more about any “Go on an Adventure in 2025!” activities, contact Anderson at 704-216-8259.