The Montgomery City Public Library was turned into a mud festival on June 28.

For three hours, children from the Montgomery City area got a chance to get dirty as they were playing with mud during the Second Annual International Mud Day event that was held at the library’s parking lot and community room. They made mud pies, created mud monsters, made mud explosions, painted with mud and swam in mud.

It turned out to be a fun day for 10-year-old Jace Green, who visited every station at the event.

“I was not really excited when I first got here, but then I got excited,” Jace said.

When the Mud Day event began at around 9 a.m., about 10 children were in attendance. That number ballooned to 30 an hour later.

Ellen Kolling, one of the volunteers and a member of the MCPL Friends of the Library, got mud thrown at her and water sprayed at her during the event. Still, she enjoyed her time at the three-hour event.

“We make a mud pit in the front yard for my kids every year, so this is right up my alley. I used to make mud pies when I was a kid,” Kolling said. “It’s really fun seeing all of the kids having a blast.”

At the parking lot, children created mud explosions, made mud pies, made mud monsters and swam in two swimming pools full of muddy water. At the community room, children painted with mud, made mud dough and kinetic sand. They also enjoyed a muddy snack, which was pudding with gummy worms.

Alexia Schroeder, 10, said she liked the mud explosion station in which children get to pour mud water and a tablet of Alka-Seltzer in a film canister and see mud fly out.

“I like that it explodes,” Alexia said. “It’s really fun.”

Jace said his favorite part is swimming in the muddy pools.

“Because I get to play with mud,” he said.

Planning for Mud Day started at the beginning of the year. MCPL held its Mud Day event a day before the official International Mud Day was celebrated.

“We pick a date and then we get everybody organized on who’s bringing what,” Kolling said. “The Friends of the Library have been talking about it for a while.”

Originated in 2009, International Mud Day is a worldwide celebration in which children get to engage in unstructured play by getting outdoors and playing in the mud. It is held on June 29 every year.

Last year, the library held its first Mud Day event despite rainy conditions.

“That was chaos at the beginning,” Kolling said. “(Volunteer) Shannon (Brock) and I had to run out and catch all of the Alka-Seltzer and stuff and it blew everywhere. There was a really strong wind coming in and we were out chasing it across the parking lot and stuff before it even got started. But it really helped make mud. I think that’s the favorite part right there.”

The library had 13 volunteers at this year’s Mud Day. The head coordinator was Luanne Andrews, who is a member of the MCPL staff. Director Gaylee Harris also helped by telling mud-related stories to the children.

“Luanne and Gaylee are exceptional librarians,” Kolling said. “I absolutely love them. They do so much for the community. But I know how much work that goes behind it. I used to run the Laddonia library and I was a librarian in Indiana when I lived up there. I know all of the stuff that goes behind the scenes, having to order books and all of that kind of stuff.”

The Third Annual International Mud Day event is scheduled for June 27, 2026.