Escape an Ordinary Summer at the Rock Island Public Library
Rock Island, IL: Adults can "Escape the Ordinary" summer with a number of free special events at the Rock Island Library from May 30-July 18. For more information, visit the library's online branch at www.rockislandlibrary.org, call 309-732-READ, or follow the library on Facebook or Twitter. Events for adults include :
Learn to Knit class -- 6:30 pm, Monday, June 1, 8 and 15, Main Library. Have you been waiting to learn how to knit? Join the Naked Sheep Yarn Barn and the Rock Island Library for a free three-week class that will teach you the basics and help you get started. The Library will supply your first set of needles and yarn. Registration required: Register online via the library calendar before noon on June 1 or call 309-732-7341. Attendees will learn how to knit, bind off and cast if they attend all three sessions. This free class is for both teens and adults.
Catherine Maria Sedgwick Rides the Train to Rock Island -- 6:00 pm, Tuesday, June 16, Main Library Community Room. Catherine Maria Sedgwick was a 19th century author and social reformer from Massachusetts. In June 1854, she accompanied the "Grand Excursion" on a train to Rock Island and a steamboat trip to St. Paul. In this local history presentation, historian Gayle Rein brings Catharine Sedgwick to life. Listen as Catharine tells about her trip to what was then the western frontier and shares her observations about the beauty of the Mississippi River with the politicians, artists, and other dignitaries on the trip.
Antique Appraisal Fair -- 4:30 pm to 7:00 pm, Thurs, June 18, Main Library Community Room. Is it treasure or a trinket? Terri Applegate, of LeClaire Antiques & Appraisals will help you evaluate your pieces. Participants may bring up to four items in for appraisal at this Antiques Roadshow-type event. Items must be carried by hand. Assistance will be not be available with transporting large items in or out of the library. Teens and adults.
Independent Movie Nights -- first Thursday of each month, Main Library Community Room. Join fellow film fans for free monthly showing of an independent movie, followed by discussion. Movies are not rated. The June 4 movie starts at 6:00 pm and features the story of a middle-class family living in Singapore during the Asian financial crisis of 1997, and the relationships each family member forms with the Filipino nanny. Mandarin, with subtitles. The July 2 movie also starts at 6:00 pm, and features the tale of 33-year-old Arman, whose attempts to build a lasting connection with the lovely Amelie over two autumns and three winters meet with varying degrees of success. French with subtitles. Title information for each movie is available at the library.
The Rock Island Library's Every Hero Has a Story contests for children and Escape the Ordinary teen and adult reading contests run from May 30 to July 18. Reading incentives and more than 60 free events are designed to help keep children, teens and adults active, productive and learning over the summer. More than a century of research shows that students who don't read and learn over the summer score lower on standardized tests at the end of summer vacation than they do on the same tests at the beginning of the summer.
For more free programs, visit www.rockislandlibrary.org or pick up a summer reading brochure at the Rock Island Main Library, 30/31 or Southwest Branches
