Magic at the library

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Abracadabra!  Hocus pocus! and the Oliver Library was transformed into the enchanting world of Leif David’s magic. Nearly a hundred kids in the Library’s Children’s Summer Reading Club were thrilled last night by the deft sleight-of-hand of Leif’s amazing tricks. In his highly participatory program, the magician had the kids rollicking with laughter with his mystifying illusions. Thanks to the Friends of the Oliver Library and the Community Arts Council who once again sponsored this highly entertaining performer. The Reading Club continues every Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. through the summer with a variety of excellent programs. Registration any time at the Library or on Thursday evenings. All kids over five are welcome._DSC09342
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Be a Friend ~ Buy a Book

Don’t miss the best deal in town this weekend, courtesy of the Friends of the Oliver Library! Pick up all your summer reading, and stock up for those winter nights by the fire.  Don’t forget your cloth bag, a handy box, or even a wagon to cart away those great finds.

Your book buy list should include:

* easy reading for the car, camper, or RV,

*classics for the ski cabin,

*short stories or an anthology for the guest room (what a thoughtful host you are!) ,

* picture books for the grandkids,

* a juicy romance or a thriller beside the bathtub,

* “stimulating” reading for the washroom (need we say more),

Proceeds support children’s summer programming at the library.  So your purchase goes to your own enjoyment AND encourages a whole new generation of readers.

Be a BC Book Prize Groupie

If being a rock band groupie isn’t your style, try being a BC Book Prize groupie!

Two authors shortlisted for the BC Book Prizes are touring the Okanagan. and will be visiting the Oliver Regional Library branch on Monday May 7 at 7:00 p.m.

Come meet JJ Lee, the author of “The Measure of a Man: The story of a Father, a Son and a Suit” and Gary Kent, the author of the children’s book, “Fishing with Gubby”. They will be talking about their books and the ideas and stories that inspired them.

The Measure of a Man is JJ Lee’s debut book. Taking as its starting point a son’s decision to alter his late father’s last remaining suit for himself, this is a deeply moving and brilliantly crafted story of fathers and sons, of fitting in and standing out — and discovering what it means to be your own man. For years, journalist and amateur tailor JJ Lee tried to ignore the navy suit that hung at the back of his closet — his late father’s last suit. When he decides to finally make the suit his own, little does he know he is about to embark on a journey into his own past.

As JJ moves across the surface of the suit, he reveals the heartbreaking tale of his father, a charismatic but luckless restaurateur whose demons brought tumult upon his family. He also recounts the year he spent as an apprentice tailor at Modernize Tailors, the last of Vancouver’s legendary Chinatown tailors, where he learns invaluable lessons about life from his octogenarian master tailor. Woven throughout these two personal strands are entertaining stories from the social history of the man’s suit, the surprising battleground where the war between generations has long been fought.

With wit, bracing honesty, and great narrative verve, JJ takes us from the French Revolution to the Zoot Suit Riots, from the Japanese Salaryman to Mad Men, from Oscar Wilde in short pants to Marlon Brando in a T-shirt, and from the rareified rooms of Savile Row to a rundown shop in Chinatown. A book that will forever change the way you think about the maxim “the clothes make the man,” this is a universal story of love and forgiveness and breaking with the past.

Fishing with Gubby is the marvelously illustrated, authentic account of one season in the life of a salmon fisherman. Based on actual events, the story is told by award-winning children’s illustrator Kim La Fave and former fisherman Gary Kent. Together they make the wharfs, boats, fishermen and villages of the BC coast come alive with remarkable detail and humour.

Gubby’s journey first takes him up BC’s west coast, through Georgia, Johnstone and Queen Charlotte straits and north past Port Hardy. He then heads into the open ocean towards treacherous Cape Scott, through to Winter Harbour and Quatsino Sound to settle in for a summer of fishing. Gubby and Puss face rolling rapids, rough and tumble storms and banks of fog, tussle with a basking shark and a pod of orcas, all while trolling for spring and coho salmon and visiting other fishermen and homesteaders along the way.

Books will be available for purchase. Get your copy signed, or buy one for a friend. Or be a BC Book Prize groupie and bring your camera for a photo. Who knows? You may be posing with a winner!

Library hosts e-reader session

The Friends of the Oliver Library (FOTOL) host several events in the coming weeks. Don’t miss these great opportunities to add some pizzazz to your reading experience!

First up is an evening to welcome BC Book Prize nominees.  On Monday May 7 join us at 7 p.m. to meet these yet-to-be-announced special guests and hear excerpts from their nominated books. Be BC proud!

Want to learn more about e-Reading? It’s e-easy!   Learn about the variety of e-readers and tablets. Break-out sessions will address the individual types now on the market. Simply bring your questions to this introductory session, or bring along your portable e-reading device (tablet, laptop, iPad, Kindle, e-Reader or whatever) on Saturday May 12 at 10 a.m. This is a free event but please register in advance by calling the library at 250-498-2242 or by stopping by the library. Refreshments will be served following the session.

The monthly Tuesday Morning Coffee happens every third Tuesday of the month. Coming up, it’s Tuesday May 15 at 10 a.m. Make yourself at home!  Interested in the behind-the-scenes of the library? Join us an hour earlier at 9 a.m. for the FOTOL meeting. Volunteers welcome.

Travel writer Laurie Carter is the guest on Wednesday June 20 at 7 p.m. She is the author of Grandma Wears Hiking Boots, chock full of details on  Okanagan trails, wildflower excursions, wine tasting, farm tours, family attractions, historic sites, cultural pursuits, mine tours, jumping off mountains and her favourite subject—food. Carter will entertain with anecdotes and with excerpts from her books.

Start saving those books! The Library’s Annual Book Sale is on Saturday July 7 from 9 – 2.  in the Oliver Regional Library parking lot. Your used books can be dropped off at the library.

Watch for the Friends of the Library entry into the International Sunshine Festival Parade on Saturday July 14!

Loud singing encouraged in Oliver Library

There will be no “shhhing” in the Oliver Library on Tuesday December 20. Instead, there will be the sound of joyful music. In fact, you might even see the librarians singing along to the harmonies of piano and saxophone. 

Join the Friends of the Library this Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 12 noon for a Christmas twist on their usual third-Tuesday coffee morning. Music, singing, and refreshments.  Carol sheets provided (see? there will be some reading at the library!)

Note: This is a great time to pick up some books to see you through the Christmas holidays when the library will be closed. Happy reading – and singing!

A Quilted Life: Enid Baker

How do you capture your life journey? With a diary? Letters? Photographs? A list of books you’ve read? For some people, like artist Enid Baker, memories are made of quilts, and life is tracked in threads on a sewing machine.

Join Enid as she pulls quilts from her travellin’ trunk, and shares moments along her life’s road.  Journey with her through a montage of quilted artwork. Find out what quilts stretched her creative talent, made her think, helped her grow, and made her laugh!

Enid is pictured at left teaching a young quilter the art. Below is “Janet Retires”, a quilted hanging entered in the “Quilts and Beyond” Show, April 2011.

The Friends of the Oliver Library present
Trunk Show: A Life Journey in Quilts
with Enid Baker
Wednesday November 23 *** NEW DATE*** 
7:30PM 
Oliver Regional Library
FREE
Refreshments served, courtesy of FOTOL

***This event has been delayed to November 23 to avoid conflict with the Oliver Foreign Film Festival on November 16. ***

Photo Credit: Val Friesen (top), Penelope Johnson (bottom)

Successful Book Sale = Successful Summer Reading Program

The Friends of the Oliver Library helped to finance the Summer Reading Program with proceeds from their July book sale which netted just over $1400.  

The first session of  the Summer Reading Program had eighty-two children and their parents in attendance. They enjoyed a fun filled evening with stories, contests and crafts prepared by the library staff.  Since then, according to FOTOL member Val Friesen, attendance has been consistently in the 80 – 100 range.  Several Library “Friends” have been helping out with the programme on Thursday evenings during the summer.  Heather Franks of the FOTOL says “We are happy to lend a hand and help get those kids “hooked on books.”

Although program nights are now completed, boys and girls are encouraged to continue to work on their Reading Logs and bring their completed records into the library before August 26 so that they can “SAVOUR THE MOMENT” on Saturday, August 27 at 11:00 a.m.  Savour the moment at this Medal Presentation Party. Throughout the summer when children complete their Reading Log they receive a special invitation to this exciting event. See who is the first to read their way on to the podium! And someone will take crunchy, munchy dog home!

Ready to Read this Summer?

The Friends of the Library host 

Summer Book Sale

Saturday July 2

9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Oliver  Library Parking Lot

All proceeds to the library’s summer reading program for children.

Bring your bucks to buy books and your bags to tote them away!

 

Celebrate Volunteer Week … then take a Workshop

The Oliver Community Arts Council recently became a member of the SOS Volunteer Centre as is already starting to reap some benefits. Information about volunteering with the OCAC (or any of its fourteen member groups) has been added to their new volunteer directory.  Members and member groups are now invited to two new Volunteer Centre events:

The Friends of the Oliver Library and SOS Volunteer Centre present
A Celebration of Volunteer Week
Tuesday April 12
10 a.m.- 12 noon
Oliver Regional Library

Celebrate Volunteer Week and the publication of the 2011 Volunteer Opportunities directory. Check out the arts council page!  The Volunteer Centre will be handing out information and the new 2011 directory, and signing up volunteers to their database. Coffee and goodies will be available.

Volunteer Expectations and Volunteer Self-Care
Thursday May 12
10 a.m. – 12 noon
Oliver Community Centre
FREE – Limited Seating (10 – 15)

Recommended for non-profit Board members and volunteers. Learn about setting clear and reasonable expectations for your volunteers, the rights and responsibilities of volunteers, and how volunteers can enjoy their experience while avoiding burnout.  The volunteer self-care portion is presented by Donna Davis, a registered professional counsellor living in OK Falls. She’ll discuss the stress side of volunteering: “When life stressors and helping starts to hurt.”

For more information, to volunteer, or to join the Centre as a non-profit society looking for volunteers, contact

Corinne Janow, Community Liaison
South Okanagan Similkameen Volunteer Centre (SOSVC)
“Creating a community network to coordinate volunteer efforts.”

Good for the Mind, Good for the Soul, Good for the Tummy

The Friends of the Oliver Library present
GRANDMOTHERS for AFRICA
Thursday, November 25th
7:00 p.m.
FREE
Oliver Library
35641 93rd St.

Speaker Lynn Popoff will give a presentation on her trip to the Swaziland Grandmothers Gathering. This group raises funds to assist the Grannies in Africa who are raising their grandchildren with limited resources, after their own children were lost to HIV/AIDS. Refreshments will follow the presentation.

 

Annual Christmas Coffee Morning
Tuesday, December 21st
10:00 a.m.
Oliver Library
35641 93rd St.

Please join the Friends of the Oliver Library for Christmas Carolling with piano, keyboard, and saxoph0ne accompaniment.  Holiday treats and coffee will be provided. Lots of fellowship and good cheer.  FREE

Want more information? Contact olivercac@gmail.com or call the library at (250) 498-2242

Coffee and Board Games On Us! says Friends of the Oliver Library

Coffee Morning
Tuesday November 16
(every third Tuesday of the month)
10:00 a.m.
Oliver Branch
Okanagan Regional Library

Want a coffee with your morning paper or new book? Drop in on third Tuesdays of the month at 10:00 a.m.  to noon.

Want your say? Come at 9:00 every third Tuesday of the month  to join the FOTOL society. Stay and socialize over coffee afterward.

The Library is setting up a corner for board games, and wonders if anyone could donate a nice chess set, backgammon, cribbage board, or other quiet boardgame to provide another social facet to our beautiful library. Check at the library if you’d like to donate, or email olivercac@gmail.com and we’ll forward your offer to a library rep.

Friends of the Oliver Library Need more "Friends"!

The Friends of the Oliver Library (FOTOL) have moved their monthly business meeting to coincide with the monthly “Tuesday Coffee Morning”, on the third Tuesday of each month. The FOTOL business meeting begins at 9:00 a.m., with the coffee fellowship with the public following at 10:00 a.m.

On Thursday, October 21 at 7:00 p.m., Eva Durance, author of Cultivating the Wild: Gardening with Native Plants of B.C.’s Southern Interior, will discuss gardening with native plants. Come meet the author and enjoy her presentation. Coffee and refreshments.

What would you like to see happen at the Library? Guest speakers? Workshops? Literacy initiatives? Computer classes? A book club? Read-aloud evenings? A poetry reading coffeehouse? A fund raising idea? Please share new ideas with the society. 

Friends of the Oliver Library membership forms are available at the Library, which also list areas for volunteer acivities. It’s never too soon or too late to sign up as a volunteer for the Summer Book Sale!

Have some creative energy to spare? Let them know – the Friends would love to hear your voice!

Contact olivercac@gmail.com to volunteer.

Pictured: Enid Baker, Shirley Cade and librarian Vicki White
Photo Credit: Val Friesen