Programs & Exhibits
Paws to Read
Remember when you were just learning to read, how hard it was sometimes to read out loud? You tensed up, got nervous and stumbled over the hard words. Sometimes the other kids would laugh.
Dogs don't laugh, but they do smile. They make excellent listeners for young readers, so the Fond du Lac Public Library's Children's Department is offering a new program, Paws to Read. Kids ages 6 to 12 are invited to visit the library and meet, one-on-one with a therapy dog for a reading session.
In a relaxing atmosphere, the young reader will sit and read to their canine buddy. Studies have shown that pairing young readers with dogs helps put the child at ease. Kids benefit from the dogs' patience, acceptance and comforting presence while they practice reading and build skills.
Dogs are ideal reading companions because they:
- Help increase relaxation and lower blood pressure
- Listen attentively
- Don't judge, laugh, or criticize
- Allow children to proceed at their own pace
- Are less intimidating than peers
The six certified therapy dogs in Paws to Read will be accompanied by their certified handlers, and all are from the group Healing Paws, Inc.
Paws to Read will start Tuesday, July 20, and continue every Tuesday and Saturday through August 28. Sessions are in 15-minute blocks, and must be reserved in advance at the Children's Desk or by calling (920) 929-7080, ext. 127.
Celebrate a Great Lake – Winnebago – at Lake Fest
What’s the biggest deal in Fond du Lac? Literally, it’s Lake Winnebago, and so it’s fitting that our most-precious natural resource has its very own festival.
Lake Fest will take place on Saturday and Sunday, July 24 and 25, as a celebration of boat building, fun on the water and all things nautical. Sponsored by Paddle, Power and Sail Lake Winnebago, Lake Fest has something for everyone.
On Saturday, July 24, Lake Fest will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Lakeside Park’s Frazier Point. Saturday will focus on community and family wooden boat building.
Families, groups and individuals will build 13-foot wooden boats from kits, with help from boatbuilding experts. The finished boats are either donated for public enjoyment or used by the builders themselves.
“Boatbuilding is an opportunity for families and groups to grow closer and develop teamwork skills,” said Ellen Balthazor, president of Paddle, Power and Sail Lake Winnebago. “They work hard but have a lot of fun.”
As the builders hammer, nail and sand, there’s a lot more to enjoy. The Book Tent will feature:
- Children’s storytime by the Fond du Lac Public Library at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
- Presentation and discussion of the book Maiden Voyage at 11 a.m., led by Earl Jewett. Copies of the book, the autobiographical story of Tania Aebi, who at 18 became the first American woman, and the youngest person, to sail alone around the world, are available at the Fond du Lac Public Library.
- Presentation and discussion of the book People of the Sturgeon at 2 p.m., led by the author, Ron Bruch
- Screening of the film, Mysteries of the Great Lakes at 3 p.m. and Q&A with Bruch, who is featured in the film
Along with the fun in the Book Tent, there will be a children’s make-and-take craft, an antique/classic boats and engines exhibit, a nautical swap meet, educational exhibits and a raffle for several prizes, including the top prize of a wooden boat donated by Paddle, Power and Sail Lake Winnebago with 40-pound motor donated by Mercury Marine, with total value of $8,700. Raffle tickets are available in advance at The Bagelmeister and Fond du Lac Seafood, both in downtown Fond du Lac.
On Sunday, July 25, Lake Fest runs from noon to 4 p.m. at Conservation Point at Lakeside Park’s Lighthouse Harbor. The boats finished on Saturday will be launched, people will be treated to free boat rides and the raffle will be drawn at 3:30 p.m. (need not be present to win). But a sure highlight on Sunday will be the appearance of Coastie the Safety Boat, a robot built for the Coast Guard Auxiliary to help teach water and boating safety to children. Coastie talks, plays music and interacts with children while teaching what to do – and what not to do – in a water emergency.
Lake Fest is supported by The Bagelmeister, Fond du Lac Public Library, Fond du Lac Seafood, Mercury Marine, News Talk 1450 KFIZ and www.windpowerwindsurfing.com.
For more information about Lake Fest, contact Paddle, Power and Sail Lake Winnebago at (920) 921-7323 or email info@paddlepowerandsaillakewinnebago.org.
Teens Invited To Free Movie, Craft Party At The Library
Say you’re a normal teen-aged boy having typical teen-aged boy problems when, bam, all of a sudden you discover you’re the son of Poseidon and only half-human with all these supernatural powers. You’d think your problems would just disappear, right? Wrong.
Kids grades 6 through 12 are invited to a movie and craft party, 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 28, to find out for themselves just what’s in store for this young demi-god. Teens are invited to watch the movie from the first book in the popular Olympians series, enjoy snacks and take part in a make-and-take craft. The event is free. No registration required. Just come to the McLane Meeting Room in the library’s lower level.
The movie and craft party is part of the teen summer program, Make Waves, at the Fond du Lac Public Library. Teens get credit for reading any kind of material they want and become eligible for prize drawings.
Family Game Day
The family that plays together comes to the Fond du Lac Public Library.
The Children’s Room is hosting Family Game Day on Saturday, July 31, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. All ages are welcome for this free event, which will feature board games, Legos, Duplos and the X-box videogame Rock Band, for aspiring singers, guitarists and drummers.
No registration needed; just stop in the library.
Games will be provided, but families are welcome to bring favorite games they’d like to share with others.
In fact, the Children’s Room is looking for donations of gently used board games, Legos and Duplos for future programming. Drop off your donations to any service desk at the library.
Poetry at the Market
There are a lot of things you expect to run across at the Farmers Market. Ruby-red tomatoes. Mountains of fresh corn. Locally made cheeses. Maybe even some free-range eggs. But poetry? No, not really.
The Foot of the Lake Poetry Collective thinks that’s a darned shame. They’re going to bring poetry to an unexpected place with Poetry at the Market this summer. Starting Saturday, August, 7, “Poetry at the Market” will treat Farmers Market shoppers to a selection of 15 poems inspired by and about market staples. The poems will be on display with a collection of bookmarks that match each poem with a recipe.
For example, Showdown, a humorous poem about zucchini by Wisconsin Poet Laureate Marilyn Taylor is paired with a recipe for Ratatouille Provencale from Irma Rombauer’s Joy of Cooking. All recipes in “Poetry at the Market” are from the Fond du Lac Public Library’s cookbook collection.
“Often people have the impression that poetry is difficult to read and understand,” said Poetry Collective member Paula Sergi, of Fond du Lac. “We’d like to break down this notion by offering poems people can relate to, such as a poem about a tomato. What better place to do this than our thriving Farmers Market?”
“A poem can be about anything – it’s made up of language and craft and what the poet finds interesting,” said Mary Wehner, also a Collective member and with Sergi co-chair of the market program. “I hope these poems bring a smile to the reader. They will certainly help extend our short Wisconsin growing season.”
“Poetry at the Market” will host laureate Taylor at a reading during the downtown Fondue Fest Saturday, September 11. The reading will be held at the Windhover Center for the Arts Café Gallery, 51 Sheboygan Ave., where a complementary art exhibit, At the Market, will run August 2 to September 26.
From August 2 to September 13, the library will feature a display of the poems along with cookbooks used in for the bookmark recipe collection and books about poetry and Wisconsin poets. The bookmarks will be available and the books, too, will be free for lending.
“Poetry at the Market” also will host a poetry event at 3 p.m. Sunday, October 10, at Park Ridge Organics, N8410 Abler Road, Fond du Lac. The event will highlight some of the poems that for reasons of space weren’t in the collection and include an appearance by 12-year-old Cooper Kohlman of Baraboo, who will read his poem, “Ode to Potato.”
“Poetry at the Market” is a partnership project of the Foot of the Lake Poetry Collective, the Fond du Lac Public Library, the Windhover Center for the Arts and the Downtown Fond du Lac Partnership’s Farmers Market. It was funded in part by a Woodrow Hall Jumpstart Award provided by Woodrow Hall Editions and the Poetry Jumps Off the Shelf Initiative.
For more information, contact the Foot of the Lake Poetry Collective at (920) 921-2932, email marywehner@charter.net or visit their website, lakepoets.com.
Ace the Interview, Land the Job with Job Smart U Class
A good resume gets you in the door, but a great job interview seals the deal. Job Smart U’s Interviewing: Selling Yourself Effectively to Potential Employers, will give job seekers the tools they need to ace the interview. The free seminar will be held 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, August 12, in the library's lower level.
Presenter Don Herrmann will discuss interviewing techniques, commonly asked questions and offer advice on how to answer the tough questions designed to trip you up. Herrmann also will help craft questions to ask the employer and how to best follow up when the interview is over.
Herrmann, of Fond du Lac, has more than 20 years’ experience as a human resource executive for a variety of companies, from privately held to Fortune 500, across the country. He comes to the Job Smart U session with seasoned expertise in outplacement, coaching, recruiting and development.
Registration is not required but encouraged, and can be done online or by calling (920)929-7080, ext. 155.
Job Smart U is a series of classes organized by the Opportunity Center at the library. Opportunity Center programs are coordinated by AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteers Josh Cowles and Sara Byrnes.
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