Feel the joy of a Tuneful Tuesday, of experiencing stories with your child, and of launching the young reader in your home, all with free events in the first full week of March at the Rock Island Library.
Free events at the Rock Island Public Library in the first week of March include:
The Rock Island Library's March 5 Tuneful Tuesday features the Gaudete Brass Quintet, presented by the Quad City Arts Visiting Artist series. The free concert starts at noon on Tuesday in the Rock Island Downtown Library Community Room, 401 19th Street. Tuneful Tuesday attendees are encouraged to bring a lunch and enjoy free music at the Rock Island Downtown Library over the lunch hour on the first Tuesday of each month.
Since 2004, the Gaudete Brass Quintet has presented serious brass chamber music through compelling concerts, commissioned works and adventurous recordings. Named as a form of the Latin word for joy, Gaudete (gow-day-tay) embodies the idea that chamber music can powerfully communicate both the poignant and the exuberant. Performances range from Symphony Space in New York to Millennium Park in Chicago, to educational programs and concerts at The Juilliard School, Eastman School of Music, and Arizona State University, and broadcasts on on WFMT in Chicago and Nashville Public Radio. The Quintet has produced three albums, and is the ensemble in residence at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts faculty.
In children's activities, the library's long-running early learning programming for the week includes two library storytimes and a play group for toddlers and babies. Toddler Tale Storytimes are offered at 10:30 am on Tuesday, March 5 at the Rock Island 30/31 Library, 3059 30th Street, and again on Friday, March 8 at the Rock Island Downtown Library. Both feature stories and activities inspired by the books of Karma Wilson, author of A Dog Named Doug, Bear Can't Sleep, Who Goes There? and Hilda Must Be Dancing, among others.
On Wednesday, March 6, Rock Island Library offers its monthly Play and Grow time for ages 3 and under. The structured play and learning time for toddlers and babies is at 10:30 am at the library's Southwest Library, 9010 Ridgewood Road. Both the library storytimes and play group are free and do not require registration.
Next, parents and other caregivers can launch a reader with Rock Island Library's Rocket into Reading event on Thursday, March 7. The drop-in event features craft and reading activities for children ages 5 to 8 who are moving into the next stage of reading. Rocket into Reading DIY edition occurs from 5:00 to 7:00 pm in the bookstore and program room of the Rock Island 30/31 Library. Kids can make bird feeders, pony bead bracelets, and paper gift boxes. Reading literacy activities include Scrabble letter games, riddles, and jokes. Each child also gets to pick out a new, free book to take home, thanks to the Merrill Harris Hug-A-Book fund of the Rock Island Public Library Foundation.
The week wraps up with Saturday, March 9 programming for school age children, including the Bluestem Buddies Book Club discussion at 1:00 pm and a Saturday STEAM-azing project at 2:00 pm. Both events are in the Downtown Library's Children's Room. Bluestem Book Club will discuss any book read off the Illinois Bluestem book awards list for Grades 3 to 5. (See library calendar for a link to the list.) STEAM-azing features hands-on basic building activities from the Introduction to Engineering science kit. From engineering experiments on levers, forces, and pulleys to building simple devices, kids can explore engineering. Registration is required for STEAM-azing. To sign up, visit the library website or call the Children's Room at 309-732-7360.
For more March events at Rock Island Public Library locations, visit the library website, follow the library on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, or sign up for library email newsletters. For questions, call the library at 309-732-READ.
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