Nordic textile folk art by Stephanie Anderson

January 2023

A new month and a new year – 2023! Seems amazing, doesn’t it? What hasn’t changed is the season. It’s still winter. Activities continue at the Fosston Community Library Art Center. With the new year comes the FCLAA annual meeting, which is scheduled for Wednesday, January 11, at 7:30 p.m. Annual reports will be presented, and the 2023 board of directors will be elected. The meeting is open to the public, so if you are interested in what goes on behind the scenes, this is your chance to find out. Stephanie Anderson’s Nordic textile folk art display is currently being shown in the Sorenson Gallery, so if you come to the meeting, you will be able to view that as well. If you aren’t coming to the meeting, the gallery is open during normal library hours. The Book Blizzard is scheduled during January and February. Log your reading during those months, and for every four books read, you have a chance to win a prize. You may pick up a paper log sheet at the library or track your reading on the Beanstack app found on the LARL Website. Also check the LARL Website for a link to the virtual Chinese calligraphy class scheduled for Monday, Jan. 9, at 7:00 p.m. Instructor Jojo Liu will teach calligraphy basics. Supplies, including ink, paper, and brushes, are available free of charge at the library beginning Dec. 29. The library book club meets Tuesday, Jan. 10, at 7 p.m. This month’s book is Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton. I haven’t started reading the book year, but the blurb on the cover says, “After the death of her beloved grandmother, a Cuban-American woman travels to Havana, where she discovers the roots of her identity – and unearths a family secret hidden since the revolution.” Sounds promising, and there will be coffee and goodies. Given the fact that there are several months of winter left, it might be prudent to check the library Facebook page if the weather seems dicey. There have already been several early closings due to inclement weather. The Facebook page is also a good source of information about the various activities as well. The library will be closed on Monday, January 16, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Current exhibit in the Sorenson Gallery

It's October

It’s October – the trees are starting to display their fall colors, and every squirrel I see seems to have an acorn in its mouth. By the end of the month those trees will probably be bare, and much as I hate to mention it, we’ve had Halloween blizzards before. However, there are plenty of great activities scheduled for the month at the Fosston Community Library Arts Center. Singer/songwriter Sarah Morris will be appearing in concert on Saturday, Oct. 8, at 7 p.m. at the Arts Center theater. Accompanied by her four-piece band (violin, guitar, drums and vocals), Sarah, who has been called a “country-leaning Norah Jones,” will be bringing concertgoers an enjoyable evening. Tickets are available at Nord’s Pharmacy and Gifts or on-line at fclaa.org. The Northwest MN Arts Council traveling exhibit will be on display at the Sorenson Gallery through mid-November. Stop by during library hours to view a variety of art created by talented artists from northwestern Minnesota. Fosston’s Heidi Danos is one of them. If you have a junior high student who is interested in creating art, whether watercolor, acrylics, pastels, sketching, murals, collage, paper mâché or more, the 7th-9th grade art club is a great opportunity. Sessions will be held on Sunday evenings, 7-9 p.m. from Oct. 16-November 20 in the Art Center basement. There is a fee for this, but scholarships are available. Email hello@fclaa.org for an application. The library book club will meet Tuesday, Oct. 11, at 7 p.m. Book for the month is J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. If you’ve never read the Harry Potter series, here’s your chance, and if you’ve already read it, it will be fun to revisit it. Coming to the library on Wednesday, Oct. 12, will be reporter Joe Kimball, author of Secrets of the Congdon Mansion Murders. Kimball covered the story as a reporter for the Star Tribune, so knows all the inside details. The presentation will be at 10 a.m. Later on Oct. 12, there will be Bingo for the kiddos from 3:30 to 4:30. There are prizes, so that is always a popular activity. Also for kids of all ages, there will be two crafternoons, one on Wednesday, Oct. 5, and one on Wednesday, Oct. 26. These are early out days from school, so the time frame for these is from 1-3 p.m. Materials are provided to make a free kids’ craft. For adults (or teenagers) who are interested in something crafty, free materials for making beaded hoop earrings are still available at the library. Tawny Cale of Sister Beads has an instructional video on the LARL Website, and there are written instructions included in the bag. If you are more interested in writing than attempting beadwork, a virtual writing workshop, Creative Writing Sampler, will be available Tuesday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m. Go to larl.org/writingworkshops to access it. One more little reminder – the library will be closed on Monday, Oct. 10, for staff training.

My apology

Nothing like catching up. While I usually post my monthly newspaper column to this blog shortly after it's been written, I realized this morning that I hadn't done so at all in 2022, If any one is interested, here they are in one fell swoop.

September - can it be here already?

September is here, and the changing season will bring shorter days, colorful leaves, and cooler temperatures. School is back in session and activities at the Fosston Community Library Arts Center are resuming too. Music lessons will continue to be available starting mid-month, or, for guitar and string lessons, beginning in October. Jeff Menten will continue to offer lessons on violin, viola, cello, guitar, and mandolin. If you are interested, contact him at 218-255-0087. I will continue to offer piano lessons. My contact information is 218-435-6710 (home phone), 218-289-3968 (cell), or aagekay@gvtel.com (e-mail). On-line lessons are also available. The display in the Sorensen Gallery for the month of September will be the juried art show. Stop by during library hours and see what is offered. Storytime for preschoolers resumes this month and will be offered every Friday at 10:30 a.m. Storytime introduces young children to books, reading and language with stories, songs, and activities. For the older kids (five and up), there will be Bingo on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. on September 7. There are prizes so this is always a popular activity. On Wednesday, Oct. 5, there will be a crafternoon from 1-3 p.m. giving the same age group the opportunity to make a free craft. Not sure what it will be, but it should be fun. There must be an early out from school that day. The library book club resumes its monthly meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 13, at 7;00 p.m. This month’s book is The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson. Set in Kentucky in the 1930’s, the book is inspired by the blue-skinned people of Kentucky and the Kentucky Pack Horse library service of the 1930s. There is always interesting discussion as well as treats. Everyone is welcome. Stop by the library for a copy of the book or call 218-435-1320. The Red Shoes writers’ retreat, held August 25-27, was a huge success, bringing participants from far and near, who were quite impressed with Fosston. Next event sponsored by the FCLAA will be a concert on Oct. 8 by singer/songwriter Sarah Morris. Tickets will go on sale Sept. 6.

It's that last month of summer

August is here – the last month of summer. We have escaped most of the excessive heat much of the country has suffered through, and these last days of July have been cool and kind of fall like. However, given our changeable weather, it might be 90 degrees again when you are reading this. Whatever the weather, exciting events sponsored by the Fosston Community Library Arts Association continue. The No Rest for the Pickers concert that rained out on July 14 has been rescheduled for Thursday, Aug. 4. Playing fiddle, bass, banjo, mandolin, and guitar, this group should be fun to hear. The free concert will take place at 7 p.m. at the Heritage Center Park. During August, the Sorensen Gallery will feature the Fosston Youth Art students. More than eighty young people participated in the program. Be sure to take a look when you are at the library. (Or come to see the display and then check out a book while you are there.) The Red Shoes Writers’ Retreat will be held August 25-27. Postponed from April, the event will feature five authors sharing their expertise through panel discussions, workshops, and programs. The Friday evening dinner is open to the public with entertainment by Elisa Korene. Proceeds from the tickets will go to FCLAA programing Tickets for the dinner are available online or by calling Bonnie Stewart at 218-280-9176. At the library, the summer library experience is over, with prizes to awarded this first week of August. Thanks to Nord’s and to Fosston Family Dental for their sponsorship. After a busy summer, the library will be quieter during August. There will be no storytime but it will resume in August. Thanks to the FCLAA for donating carpet squares to be used for storytime and for the donation of a Cricut (look it up.) Looking ahead to September, the library book club will resume with the book The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Michelle Richardson. New members are always welcome. Contract the library for more information. And did I mention there are also treats? Also, remember that the library will be closed on Monday, September 5, in observance of Labor Day.