Join us in celebrating the start of our Summer Reading Program! Meet us at Windmill Park for yard games, Reading Challenge Sign-ups, tasty treats, and more!

Whether you are a master or a beginner, whether 5 or 50, all are welcome at chess club! Join instructor Jake Peters every Thursday, where he will provide opportunities to play chess, offer individual and group coaching, and demonstrate the lessons and exercises he has developed throughout his years of coaching. If you want to learn, grow at, or simply play chess, please join!

Looking to feel more comfortable around dogs? Need a little extra love? Or do you just love dogs? Join us at our next dog therapy session, every second Monday of the month.

Join us at City Hall to learn about how conservation and farming go hand in hand! Sunday Ford from the Sioux County Conservation Board will be teaching us about different animals, how they help farmers, and how farmers can help with preserving the ecosystems those animals need to survive. 

Join us at City Hall to learn more about Agriculture in our community! Through a teacher-created lesson plan, we will learn more about the different facets of agriculture, from the farm to the food we eat. Kara Jensen, a local from Hawarden, will be leading this lesson and is excited to share her passion and enthusiasm for Ag with us!

Get ready to head out on patrol with the Black Mambas, South Africa’s women-led anti-poaching unit! Author and photographer Kelly Crull, an Iowa native, will be telling us about the Black Mambas, sharing photos from his trip with them, and his process of writing his book: The Black Mambas: The World’s First All-Woman Anti-Poaching Unit. Copies of his book will be available for purchase at this event.

Join us at City Hall to learn more about bees! Maybe that gives you goose bumps, but bees are a crucial part of our ecosystems, and the more you know about them the less scary they are! Boernsen Bees is a family-owned business located in Ocheyedan, Iowa, and they will be coming to show their bees and to teach us about how bees help farmers and about honey and honey products! 

Make your favorite book feel like an extra special edition with some sparkle! Bring your own copy of a beloved book, and we will provide rhinestones, glue, and all the other tools needed to bedazzle the cover and spine. Make the cover as bold as the story inside!

*Registration and payment required by June 1.

New players and experts alike are welcome to join us every Wednesday to learn the game Mahjong! Different from the computer game, this is a competitive four-person game that is both fun and strategic. Local resident Mary Hendricks will be leading the classes.

Knitters, crocheters, embroiderers, and all other fiber artists are encouraged to come craft and socialize during our Fiber Arts Friday. This drop-in event is intended for all ages, to learn from each other, and to learn about one another! Bring your work in progress, and join in on the fun! Warm beverages will be provided.

Who doesn’t love a candle-lit dinner, and even better, custom candles? Using a brush and colorful wax, you will get to flex your painting skills and leave the event with custom candles! Each participant will get to decorate 4 unscented taper candles while socializing with others!

*Registration and payment required.

Come learn a few basics of sewing, make your own patchwork tote, and mingle with other adults! We will provide the sewing machines and fabric, but if you have your own feel free to bring it! This class will be taught by local sewist Erika VerSteeg.

*Registration and payment required.

Join us for an evening of plant swapping and propping (propagating)! Bring cuttings or plants in need of propagation to trade, as well as containers to take them home in! Lindsay Millard, owner of Joie Floral Design, will be teaching us some basic house plant care, propagation 101, and some tips and tricks for your specific plant! Please register each participant separately.

*Registration required.

Grades 5-12: Follow the White Rabbit back out of the rabbit hole in this teen and tween escape room! Solve the riddles and find the clues to unlock the box and escape from Wonderland!

*Registration required.

Move and groove in this unique story time with active stories, song and dance, and sensory-rich toys. Featuring Teeny Tiny Farmer by Rachel Matson, this story time keeps kids moving and is a great introduction to story time. Designed for ages birth-3 and caretakers, but all are welcome!

K-Grade 4: What goes together better than frosting and farmyards! Come to this sweet event to decorate some cookies and read some stories that will give you a sugar rush. Please sign up for only one date.

*Registration required by May 26 for June 3 date and by June 16 for June 24 date.

Meet librarian Victoria at the Bonnecroy farm for a special edition of Story Time! In this off site program, we will hear from the Bonnecroys, who will share about their farm and give us a tour! We will also get to help them plant some flowers and hear some books all about farm land. Those registered will receive their address in an email the day before the event.

*Registration required by June 2.

Grades 5-12: Do you enjoy art? Do you enjoy melting things? Then this is the perfect event for you! Join us to learn some basics about perler beads and create some practical artwork, from coasters to key chains! Follow a pattern or create one of your own.

*Registration required.

K-Grade 4: Plant a seed, and create some art! At this event, you will use a variety of seeds and air dry clay to create a mosaic picture. Take the mosaic home to dry and use it as a coaster, a magnet, or just an art piece for your home. Please sign up for only one date.

*Registration and adult helper required.

Join us for this season’s Preschool Story Times for books, songs, crafts, and more! This season, we will be reading books all about Farming! We will learn about farm animals, equipment, types of farms, and farm products in our homes! We will also do fun farm-related crafts and activities after the stories.

Grades 5-12: Come create a custom creature, key chain, or creation at this craftsy afternoon! Each participant will get to create a buddy out of beads and thread.

*Registration required.

In this inter-generational activity, you will get to adopt a grandparent from Pioneer Home or Landsmeer (depending on location/date) to read a story with you, and paint a pot! Once your pot is painted, you will get to bring it home to grow your own plant in. Please sign up for only one date.

*Registration, adult helper, and payment required.

Meet librarian Victoria at Town and Country Implement for a very special Story Time! At this story time, we will learn all about different types of farming equipment and what they are used for! After we hear from the store manager about his job, we will get to sit in and touch some of the tractors and equipment on this lot!

*Registration required.

K-Grade 4: Your parents probably told you not to play with your food, but now we want you to! Come learn a bit about artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo who painted faces out of fruit and vegetables, and try making your face using a collage of your favorites! This class will be taught by local artist, April Benson.

*Registration and adult helper required.

Grades 5-12: Using the Demco Stick Together Generator, create Pixel Sticker Art! Just like the library sticker art, but smaller and customized. Once you’ve created your “mat”, you will be able to use stickers to “color” the artwork and take it home.

*Registration required.

Grades 5-12: Make your favorite book feel like an extra special edition with some sparkle! Bring your own copy of a beloved book, and we will provide rhinestones, glue, and all the other tools needed to bedazzle the cover and spine.

*Registration and payment required.