Level Up this Week with Events at all three Rock Island Libraries

Level Up with Events This Week at Rock Island Public Libraries. Summer is off to a great start at Rock Island Public Libraries, and there's still time to get on the game board with Level Up at Your Library summer programming and reading challenges.

The week starts with the Adult Knitting Circle, a group for any crafter who'd like to make new connections by working on a craft in the company of others. The free event on Monday, June 16 is from 2pm to 4 pm at the Rock Island Downtown Library, 401 19^th Street. Bring any kind of unfinished textile craft - knitting, crocheting, embroidery, etc. Patterns and supplies will be available if you want to start something new. For adults. Light refreshments provided.

Also, on Monday, the library offers a Pride Perler Beads craft from 4:00 pm to 6:30 pm at the Rock Island Watts-Midtown Branch, 2715 30^th Street. Teens ages 12 to 17 can use fusible beads to create earrings, keychains, magnets, or other crafts celebrating pride month. Patterns and tools will be supplied for this drop-in event.

On Tuesday, the Library2Go bookmobile starts special weekly summer stops at Longview Park, 1300 17^th Street. Youth Services Librarians will offer activities and stories around the bookmobile from 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm. Patrons can come on board the bookmobile to check out or return library books, get a library card, or use WiFi. Fun with photography is the theme of the weekly afternoon activity on Tuesday from 3:30 to 4:30 pm at the Watts-Midtown Branch. Each week, the library offers a new drop-in activity for Grades K through 6.

Wednesday is a busy day for leveling up! At 11am on June 18, the library offers a Toddler Tales storytime for ages birth to five at the Rock Island Library Southwest Branch, 9010 Ridgewood Road. Later at 2 pm, a new video history series starts at the Downtown Library. A River Runs Through It offers monthly video histories of river life. The June 18 program is "Life Along the Mississippi," originally broadcast on PBS television in 1994. The multi-generational production team included the late actress Loretta Young, her son and producer, Christopher Young, and his wife, Linda Lewis. It's the only time that all appeared together on film.

Also, on Wednesday, the Library cohosts the Reading Revolution Book Club with the Rock Island-Milan Area School District in a discussion of chapters 1-4 of The Anxious Generation, by Jonathan Haidt. The free event is at 5pm at the Southwest Branch. Additional discussions occur in July at the library's Downtown and Watts-Midtown branches. See calendar for details.

Finally, families and others can showcase their creativity with a fun PowerPoint Party on June 18, from 6:30 to 7:30 pm in the Watts-Midtown Branch auditorium. Participants are invited to bring a short slideshow on any topic. If you don't have PowerPoint, feel free to use Google Slides or any other format. The topic can be serious or silly (and the sillier, the better), and does need to be suitable for a family audience. Each presenter will have five minutes. To sign up, visit the library website or call. Slideshows can be sent to the library in advance so they're ready to roll. Instructions are available at the library website.

All Rock Island Public Library locations are closed on Thursday, June 19, in observance of Juneteenth.

On Friday, registration is still open for a weekly event for teens, STEAM on Wheels, offered June 20 from 3 pm to 5pm in the Watts-Midtown Branch conference room. The event with STEAM on Wheels educators features hands-on practice with science, technology, engineering, art and math equipment and projects. Sign up is open to ages 12 to 17, and is available at the library website or by calling. It is free.

Friday also features the opening of a new library art exhibit made possible by Quad City Arts Dollars grant funding. Titled Explorations, the exhibit at the Watts-Midtown Branch features paintings and other two-dimensional works by local artists Zaiga Thorson, Stacey Replinger, and Raphael Iaccarino. The exhibit opens on June 20 with a free reception from 4 pm to 6 pm in the Watts-Midtown Branch auditorium. The exhibit remains open through July 31, with paintings in the auditorium available for viewing when the room is not in use.

The Rock Island Public Library will host three art exhibits at the Watts-Midtown Branch in 2025, with support from Quad City Arts, through the Arts Dollars re-granting program, supported by The Illinois Arts Council Agency, a state agency, The Hubbell-Waterman Foundation, and the Quad Cities Community Foundation - Isabel Bloom Art Education Endowment.

The week wraps up Saturday, June 21, with a monthly grief circle meeting from 11 am to 1pm in the Watts-Midtown Branch conference room. The open discussion group features cake and honest conversation, and is facilitated by Jackie Hauer of Sacred Mournings.

For more upcoming events for all ages, visit the library website at www.rockislandlibrary.org, call 309-732-READ, or follow the library on Facebook and Instagram. All Rock Island Public Library events are free and open to the public. The Level Up at Your Library Summer Reading Challenge is also open to anyone, of any age.

Level Up at Your Library summer reading challenges and 150 free events run through July 31. Move ahead one space to any Rock Island Public Library this summer for reading, great all-ages fun, and free experiences for all ages.

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