Because, as Gayle Snible of the New York Public Library says, “The hottest ticket in town is a FREE storytime.”
The NY Post elaborates:
The matinee story time every Wednesday at the NYPL’s Webster branch is so popular with toddlers that organizers had to switch to a color-coded ticket system because desperate mommies and nannies had started counterfeiting the numbered tickets.
“People were taking their tickets to a copy shop and making copies for friends,” said librarian Kristy Raffensberger, 32. “So we started using different-colored paper.”
“Cats” never even had that problem.
To stop a possible stampede, library workers hand out tickets 30 minutes before the two show times.
Newcomers who try to cut the winding line are immediately put into place by the veterans, who stake out claims 90 minutes ahead of time.
It’s a jungle out there.