by Beth Cronk, Litchfield head librarian
The Saturday of Watercade is bringing all kinds of
excitement to the Litchfield Library.
The book sale, an art stand, a teen program, and an honor for our
children’s librarian are all on deck.
The annual Friends of the Library Watercade book sale will
be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 9. The Friends hold a book sale every month,
normally on the third Saturday of the month from 10-2, but in July it’s moved
up to coincide with Watercade. And it’s
the big one. As long as the weather
cooperates, the fiction will be outside in front of the library. The nonfiction will be inside the meeting
room, and the cashiers will be in the lobby.
Stop over to get lightly used books for a very low price, including
books about outdoor sports, Christianity, and crafts, as well as many other
topics. All proceeds benefit the
library!
This year we have a special art event on the Saturday of
Watercade, too. A streetcorner letterpress is going to be on the lawn in front of the library from 11 a.m. to
3 p.m. This stand allows people of all
ages to print postcards from a variety of papers, images, and colors. Three 100-year-old letterpresses produce 4x6
postcard-style prints with the push of a lever.
Participants are invited to print their own postcards with images
customized for our area. Whether prints
are taken home and framed, put on the fridge, or mailed to a friend, they are
worth saving.
Pioneerland Library System is sponsoring this letterpress
event as a part of a tour of four unique art programs this summer from
ReadyGo!, a project from Springboard for the Arts. ReadyGo! events use artist-designed mobile
tools to spark interaction.
The streetcorner letterpress will also be in Dassel on Labor
Day and in a number of other towns in our library system through
September. Another ReadyGo! stand, a
mobile sign shop, will be at a number of libraries including New London and
Spicer in July. A mobile drawing station
called One Another will be in Hutchinson on Friday, September 16 and in Willmar
the next day. The complete schedule is
available in a brochure at our library.
This project is funded in part or in whole with money from
Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
There is no charge for you to come and participate in these art
projects, so stop over on Watercade Saturday to make a print of your own.
We have a program for teens on the second Saturday of each
month and any time there’s a fifth Saturday, as well. This month that falls on Watercade Saturday,
too. Since we’ll have the letterpress
here, Margaret will be bringing the teens outside to try it, and she’ll have
other activities for them, too. Ages eleven to eighteen are welcome to come at 1:30 to
join in the fun. There’s no need to sign
up in advance.
And finally, we are so proud of our children’s librarian Jan
Pease on being selected as this year’s Watercade grand marshal. With 25 years of service at the library, she
has had a positive effect on so many young people in this community and
continues to do so every day. You can wave
to her in the Watercade parade Saturday evening. Have a wonderful celebration!
