DIG INTO READING THIS SUMMER AT THE CLOQUET PUBLIC LIBRARY

Readers of all ages will explore all things underground this summer as the Cloquet Public Library presents “Dig into Reading” during the library’s summer reading program. Activities will include a program on dinosaurs by the St. Paul Science Museum, a visit from the Zoomobile, how to grow a garden with Sydney’s Green Garden of Duluth, how to make a Worm Motel, Gopher Games, Dirt Detectives, nature story times  and much more.

Children will be able to boost their reading skills by participating in our annual Summer Reading Challenge. All children are eligible, and preschoolers will receive credit for books read aloud to them. Children will read at their own reading levels and receive incentives along the way. Participants can register online by going to the library’s website (www.cloquet.lib.mn.us) or by filling out a reading log.

Additional fun will include a scavenger hunt, “Where’s Jeffrey?” and a Kids’ Game Card with drawings for prizes. For more information, pick up a flyer at the library starting in mid-May or look for a library representative to visit your school in May. Every child who registers for the reading challenge will receive a free packet of information and fun activity items. The program officially begins in early June after school gets out for the summer. For more information, call 879-1531.

Best-selling author to speak for One Book, One Community, Thursday, April 18, noon

New York Times bestselling author Susan Vreeland will appear at Cloquet Public Library at a headline event for the area-wide One Book, One Community reading project. Vreeland’s novel, “Clara and Mr. Tiffany,” is the community book selection for 2013. Vreeland will present a free public talk at the library at noon Thursday, April 18. Those attending are invited to bring a bag lunch; dessert will be provided.

Vreeland’s historical novel is based on the experience of real-life glass artist Clara Driscoll, who worked as a designer for Tiffany and Company in New York at the turn of the 20th century. Her contribution to the design of Tiffany’s famed lamps, a signature of the Gilded Age, was uncredited at the time and was only recently made public. A retrospective of her work with Tiffany was the basis of an exhibition at the New York Historical Society in 2007.

“Clara and Mr. Tiffany” reached the New York Times bestseller list in 2011 and was shortlisted for the Lannon Literary Award.

Vreeland will present a slide show at her talk, in which she will discuss the process of writing the novel and the role of female artists and craftspersons in the early 20th century.

Fitger’s Bookstore will have autographed copies of “Clara and Mr. Tiffany” for purchase at Vreeland’s presentation.

A brochure featuring One Book, One Community events is available at the library. The corresponding book selection for younger readers, also with an art theme, is “Chasing Vermeer” by Blue Balliett.

Also in connection with the book selection, a workshop for creating a take-home project using stained glass will be offered at the library at 6 p.m. Monday, April 22. The stained glass mosaic class will be taught by Candace Whelan. Cost for materials is $5 and advanced registration is required. Call the library at 218-879-1531 for further information.

Check the library’s website, www.cloquet.lib.mn.us, for updated information about Cloquet library events. All One Book One Community events may be found on the Duluth Public Library website: http://www.duluth.lib.mn.us/Programs/Clara/Events.html.

Primary funders of the 2013 One Book, One Community project are Friends of the Duluth Public Library, Duluth Public Library Foundation, Minnesota Legacy Amendment Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund in partnership with the Duluth Public Library, the Cloquet Public Library, Friends of the Cloquet Public Library, the Arrowhead Library System, Arrowhead Reading Council, The Bookstore at Fitger’s, Duluth Public Schools, Fitger’s Inn, Virginia Public Library and Friends of the Virginia Public Library.

ELLIE THE ELEPHANT TAKES CENTER STAGE AT THE CLOQUET PUBLIC LIBRARY

The Duluth Playhouse will bring its production of Ellie the Elephant to the Cloquet Public Library at 10 a.m., Sat., April 6. The program is free of charge and open to the public.

The show is an original adaptation of the fable of the elephant and the blind men written by Sarah Ruth Diener of the Duluth Playhouse. Geared for preschoolers through the third grade, the play introduces the Silly Shades Brigade, the coolest gang in town, who travel the world in their signature stylish sunglasses, exploring new things using all their senses except sight.

When they meet Ellie, they have a problem agreeing on what kind of creature she is. For example, how can an animal have a nose like a long spout, a tail like a wire brush, skin like old leather, and big floppy ears all at the same time? Will they ever be able to take off their shades and see Ellie for who she really is?

This event is sponsored by the Arrowhead Library System and funded by money from Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. To learn more about other Arrowhead Legacy Events, please see our calendar at www.arrowhead.lib.mn.us/whats-new/. Find us on facebook at “Arrowhead Legacy Events” or on Twitter @ArrowheadLegacy.

Not Small Souled Creatures

Eva MacDonald

Retired University of Wisconsin-Superior professor Richard Hudelson will present a program about women in the labor movement from 1880 to 1930 in the Western Lake Superior region. The program is part of the library’s One Book, One Community area-wide reading project.

The talk, titled “Not Small Souled Creatures,” begins at 10:30 a.m. March 23 at the Cloquet Public Library.  Richard Hudelson chose the title from a March 10, 1914 letter from Orvokki of Pike, Minnesota that appeared in Toveritar.   Hudelson states “The relevant part reads as follows: "We women of Pike ought to show that we are people too, and not small souled creatures."  If there is anything that seems to me to unite the different women I want to talk about, other than their being women active in the labor movement, it is how impressive each is as a thinking, feeling, active person. “ 

During the turn-of-the-century era, women in the Northland fought for a better world for women, workers and those who came after them as did the main character in this year’s One Book title, “Clara and Mr. Tiffany” by Susan Vreeland. Hudelson will provide vignettes of some of the women active in the labor movement in the region.

The program is free and open to the public. Hudelson will also present the program at 6:30 p.m. March 18 in the Green Room at the downtown Duluth Public Library and at noon March 21 at the Virginia Public Library.

Friends of the Duluth Public Library, Duluth Public Library Foundation, Minnesota Legacy Amendment Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund are primary funders of the 2013 One Book, One Community project in partnership with the Duluth Public Library, the Cloquet Public Library, Friends of the Cloquet Public Library, Arrowhead Library System, Arrowhead Reading Council, The Bookstore at Fitger’s, Duluth Public Schools, Fitger’s Inn, Virginia Public Library and Friends of the Virginia Public Library.

Updated information about One Book, One Community events are listed on the Duluth library’s website, www.duluth.lib.mn.us.

Sing Around the “Campfire” with Casey Aro

The Arrowhead Library System can help chase away the winter blues with a free family music program being offered at the Cloquet Public Library on Wed., March 13, 2013, at 10:30 a.m.

Tired of winter? Got cabin fever? Bring the kids and join us for a good, old fashioned "sing around the campfire". Local musician Casey Aro tells us, “The winds blow cold in Northern Minnesota, but one way to warm up is to spend some time with Casey!”

Zim’s Casey Aro has been performing for over 25 years. You may have heard him at the Minnesota Discovery Center (formerly Ironworld), any one of a number of regional festivals and events, or even at the Minnesota State Fair.

If you haven’t had the pleasure of attending one of Casey’s performances, this is your opportunity to hear a truly unique storyteller and musician. The program is appropriate and fun for kids of all ages. Fast forward to summer and enjoy the music and humor of Northern Minnesota’s own Casey Aro.

 This event is sponsored by the Arrowhead Library System and funded by money from Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.  To learn more about other Arrowhead Legacy Events, please see our calendar at www.arrowhead.lib.mn.us/whats-new/. Find us on facebook at “Arrowhead Legacy Events” or on Twitter @ArrowheadLegacy.

Storyteller brings the folklore of Norway to the Library

Storyteller, artist and musician Arna Rennan will present a family program of tales, songs and music from Norway at 11 a.m., Sat., March 16, 2013, at the Cloquet Public Library. The event, sponsored by the Friends of the Library, is free of charge and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

With the simplest of elements, Arna Rennan transports her audience to another time and place—to the mountains of Norway.  Using her voice to sing and tell stories while strumming a dulcimer, she brings new life to ancient tales, a tradition used by grandmothers to entertain their grandchildren while mother was busy baking, cleaning or milking the cows. “Children learned stories that taught them courage and the use of their brains to carry them through any situation,” says Arna, who first learned Norwegian folk songs from her parents who emigrated from Norway in the early 1950s.

Arna later lived in Norway for 15 years, and has studied at the Institute for Folk Culture in Rauland, Telemark. There she learned "Kveding" vocal folk music from Ragnhild Furholt and Frode Nyvold. Her repertoire spans lullabies and ballads from the Middle Ages, cow calls, dance tunes and much more. She plays the seljefløyte, the overtone flute and “langeleik,” the Norwegian dulcimer. She has performed extensively throughout the Midwest for many years, including at the University of Chicago Folk Festival and most recently in Washington DC.  She has released two recordings: Nordic Shores and Big Brother, Little Brother with her ensemble, Nordic Angst.

For more information, call 879-1531.