April Events at the Library

As we all eagerly await Spring to have sprung, why not head into the library and explore some of the programs we’re offering this month? It’s a great way to spend time with community and expand your knowledge!

Monthly Events Gentle Taiji for Seniors Mondays from 9 to 10 a.m. in the community room at the Gays Mills Community Commerce Center. No experience necessary.  Story Hour Wednesday, April 2nd and 16th,starting at 10:30 a.m. Join Mr. Dave and share in stories, songs, snacks, and crafts. Monthly Movie Showing Friday, April 4th at 7:00 p.m. This month we’re showing “Butterflies Are Free” (1972) (PG) Set in early 1970s San Francisco, this movie tells the story of a blind, aspiring singer-songwriter who is living away from his overprotective mother for the first time. He befriends a free-spirited actress who moves into the apartment next door, and they bond over music and literature. Drama ensues when the young man’s mother makes an unexpected visit and clashes with his new girlfriend. Killer Crafts Monday, April 14th, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Bring a project to work on, or play with the materials we have on hand. Monthly Book Discussion Wednesday, April 9th, 7 p.m. We’re collaborating with North Crawford Schools for a special community book discussion of “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness” by Jonathan Haidt. Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt argues that the spread of smartphones, social media, and overprotective parenting have led to a ‘“rewiring” of childhood and a rise in mental illness. Contact the library for a copy of the book, and come prepared to share your thoughts, observations, and experiences. Keeping it Creative: Project-a-Month Club for Teens and Adults Tuesday, April 29th from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Gays Mills Public Library. This month we’ll be making our own scratch art paper. To make it, we’ll cover a sheet with a simple and colorful design, then we’ll paint over that with black acrylic paint mixed with dish soap. After it dries, take a stylus, like a chopstick or toothpick, and scratch a new design revealing the colors underneath.

April Special Programs Pocket Prairies for Pollinators Seminar Coming to Gays Mills Saturday, April 12th, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Gays Mills Community Commerce Center Community Room A “pocket prairie” is a small, intentionally created area of land, often in urban or suburban settings, designed to mimic a prairie ecosystem by planting native grasses and wildflowers, providing habitat for pollinators and other wildlife. Pocket prairies are vital because they restore pollinator habitats, enhance biodiversity, reduce runoff, and require less water, while also serving as educational tools and connecting communities to vital ecosystems. Native plants attract a wonderfully broad audience of pollinators, beneficial insects, and other invertebrate life. Join us to learn more about why plants and pollinators have such intimate relationships and how we can help sustain this buzzing web of life. This seminar, “Pocket Prairies for Pollinators: Guiding Principles for Growing Your Own Habitat’, will showcase different habitat creation practices, time-saving site prep options, plant selection strategies, and other notes on the “ins and outs” of planting native habitat. Micah Kloppenburg, the WI Pollinator Habitat Specialist for The Xerces Society, a non-profit dedicated to the conservation of invertebrate life, will be presenting. Micah connects people, plants, and pollinators together by pulling from his years of environmental experience on organic farms, in community gardens, and restoring native Wisconsin plant communities. Above all, he is continuously surprised by the fascinating web of connections and interdependencies between the natural world and our human lives. Sponsors of this event include: The Southwest Chapter of The Prairie Enthusiasts, Connect Communities Gays Mills, the Gays Mills Public Library, and Vernon County Over 50. The presentation being held in the Gays Mills Community Commerce Center Community Room is on Saturday, April 12 from 2-3 pm, then afterwards check out the displays of visiting conservation groups and meet the sponsors from 3-4pm. Free prairie seeds, while supplies last. Crochet Club Saturday, April 19th, 11:00 a.m. No experience necessary. If you are working on a project, bring it along. If you are new to crocheting, we will get you started. If possible, bring along a size H or G crochet hook, and yarns to work with. If there is enough interest, we will meet monthly and have projects to work on together. Donations of hooks and materials would be greatly appreciated and can be dropped off at the library

📚 Support Our Library’s Future! 📚

Thanks to our wonderful community, we’re thrilled to share that we’re closing in on $1,000 in donations for our endowment campaign! Every contribution brings us closer to securing a strong future for our library.

🌟 Our Goal: Raise $3,750 by June 30, 2025, which will then be tripled—yielding a lasting endowment of $11,250 to help fund library programs, resources, and services for years to come!

📖 How You Can Help: With your donation, we can reach this goal together. Whether it’s $5, $50, or $500, every dollar makes a difference.

💛 Donate today and help us build a vibrant library for our community’s future!

cfsw.org/donate

Gentle Tai Chi for Seniors – Ongoing Program

Mondays, 9-10am

We’re making the “Gentle Tai Chi for Seniors” class a regular, ongoing program that meets every Monday from 9 to 10 a.m. in the community room of the Gays Mills Community Commerce Center. It is FREE to all participants.Students will learn qigong, silk reeling, and relaxation exercises in a welcoming and supportive environment. No experience necessary.Library Director David Gibbs has been practicing taijiquan for over 25 years and teaching for almost eight years. David studied Hunyuan Chen Style Taijiquan in San Francisco, CA with Master Zhang Xue Xin from 1999 until 2009. He attended Master Zhang’s class in Golden Gate Park and also took private lessons.

   Also at the library:

• On-Line: Check out the Gays Mills Public Library’s Online Resources at gaysmillslibrary.org. Overdrive and Libby offer eBooks, Audio Books and Videos. Consumer Reports is available online. BadgerLink databases are available for your research use, including: Business, Health and Medical Databases, Kidsearch, Auto Repair Reference Center, NoveList, Science and History Reference Centers, and more!
• Public WiFi at the Community Commerce Center: Take advantage of the strong public WiFi signal around the building. Use the PrivateLibrary network, no password needed. The best spots are from the east side parking lot, and from behind the building overlooking the slough. There are benches out back as well. Here is a link to a map of all public WiFi locations in Wisconsin: https://maps.psc.wi.gov/apps/PublicWiFiLocations

The Gays Mills Public Library is nestled along the banks of the Kickapoo River in Crawford County, Wisconsin. The library strives to serve the recreational, cultural and informational needs of residents and visitors with a wide variety of materials.

Big windows with beautiful views invite lingering over a magazine or a puzzle. Broadband Internet access throughout the library meets the needs of a rural population for social connection and information. Visit us soon and visit us often.

 

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