TEA FOR TWO — Kemurah Smith, left, and Alluna Newman sat at the dapper tea party in the “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” room. -- Christopher Dacanay

STEUBENVILLE — Visitors at the Sept. 1 Storybook First Friday festival could step into the pages of fairy tales with the help of a larger-than-life castle downtown.

A 60-foot-long castle made of wooden pallets and timber studs, with a 12-foot front arch, was built in the greenspace across from Leonardo’s Coffeehouse in a matter of days. Organized by the Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County staff, the castle was decorated with printouts and props, games and activities for children to enjoy and older adults to marvel at.

The castle’s maze-like interior housed four main rooms dedicated to different storybooks. An “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”-themed room held a table set for a tea party, while a room for “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” offered a colorable horse of a different color and a yellow brick road poster on which kids could write their favorite thing about home using adhesive notes.

Kids could enter the Chronicles of Narnia room through a wardrobe, where they could romp and play in fake snow. Next door, a banquet hall for the Knights of the Round Table held a play feast, while castle explorers could sneak around the castle using a spooky hidden passageway.

There were more secrets and surprises around every corner of the castle than one could count, and it was all thanks to the dedicated efforts of the PLSJ staff and friends.

This is the library system’s fourth pallet castle project in three years, said Sarita Asawa, PLSJ’s outreach coordinator. Asawa is the castle’s planning mastermind, aided by a long list of community-wide helpers.

Asawa said Nelson Fine Art and Gifts contributed graphic design, Inscape Center for Personal Vocation contributed volunteers, Re-Craft Steubenville donated costumes, Grafton Farms loaned some of the castle’s wacky props, Brad Montgomery spearheaded construction and Steve Vukelic provided a storage space. Also playing a role were the friends of the library, Tri-State Fire Extinguisher and some of the library’s employees, who dressed up as storybook characters.

“I can’t believe they let me do it,” Asawa said of the colossal undertaking, which she said wouldn’t be possible without help. “It’s a community project. … The teamwork coming together is my favorite part.”

Asawa said her goal for the castles is “letting kids and families interact with literature rather than it being static on a page.” Asawa called the castle an “explosion of creativity,” where every aspect is interactive.

“Kids are very likely to enjoy it,” Asawa said, “but a lot of adults are, too, because we all grew up with these fairy tales, so there’s a level of nostalgia that we can tap into.”

That mission was accomplished for certain, as Asawa said nearly 1,200 people went through the castle this year, an increase from last year by about 200 people. Asawa said she was pleased to see kids exploring enthusiastically and parents explaining the stories to them.

Disappointing is the inability to keep the structure up longer — Asawa and her helpers removed it in just a few days.

PLSJ’s first pallet project was made up of two smaller spaces, but later projects ballooned in size to the current 60 feet of castle, Asawa said. The library system posted about that first pallet project online, where it went viral, amassing 75,000 views from multiple countries. The project, Asawa said, is made possible each year by the wonderful cooperation of the city of Steubenville.

Although the castle is only up for one night, Asawa said it’s worthwhile, adding, “On the surface, it looks crazy, … but I can’t think of a better place to not only support a community festival (but also) get 1,000 people wandering through. … For Steubenville, (1,000 people in one night) is huge.”

Planning for this year’s castle began in the spring, and construction began the Monday before the festival. However, the original idea can be traced back to a brainstorming session between Asawa and one of her co-workers, Kelly Branagan, creative strategist.

“We were just talking about different ideas,” Asawa recalled, “and it came up, ‘How cool would it be to make interactive fairy tales?'”

Supplementing the castle were several other programs, including an episode about Robin Hood on PLSJ’s podcast and “The Historical Wizard of Oz,” an informational exhibit about the original story. Also, a giveaway was offered at the castle, where visitors could guess how many rhinestones were on a Dorothy impersonator’s ruby slippers — the answer was more than 12,000, Asawa said.

Using interactive elements to support literature and bolster the library is Asawa’s passion. She has excelled so much in that passion that she will be giving a presentation, focused on the pallet castle’s history and how other — and smaller — libraries can use it for their own community outreach, before the Ohio Library Council’s Convention and Expo in Cincinnati from Sept. 27-29.

“For me, the immersive and interaction part is one of my favorite things,” said Asawa, who has become known locally as “the pallet lady” for her projects. “It allows people to see and interact with literature in a whole different way. If I was a little kid walking into a room, I would want to be excited … and that’s what I’m trying to recreate in every single (castle) room.”

Kids delivered on the excitement, careening through the castle’s halls, sliding on the snow and peeking through a one-way mirror.

Also exploring the castle was Asawa’s mother, Debbie Roberts, who said she always visits the pallet castles Asawa makes. Roberts said she is delighted with Asawa, whose creativity was inculcated by the homeschool craft projects she did when she was young.

Roberts said, “I’m so proud of her. It’s not just (the pallet castle), she’s got a zillion things going to help build the town. … There are so many things bouncing around in her head.

“She has the ability to inspire other people to get on board with her ideas and make it happen, and she’s really quick to give credit where credit is due, which is really beautiful.”

Asawa said before First Friday began, “I’m super grateful for the opportunity to do something so fun, so creative and so community-oriented. It’s fun things like this that really help create cohesion in the community and give all the residents of Jefferson County an opportunity to not only experience literature in a new way but to spend time with their community.

“I haven’t seen pallet castles combined with literature and storybook scavenger hunts anywhere else. So, this is Steubenville First Friday only.”