Original Published 10:46 May 06, 2022

By Ian Croft, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Taber Public Library is going to be running a plethora of events throughout May and the beginning of June. The first of these events is a month-long book and garage sale. 

“Some of it is just stuff from around here that we need to get rid of like old computers, tables, and chairs — stuff like that, but also a few donations from the staff and some of our friends,” said Dawn Kondas, program coordinator at the Taber Public Library. “Just to raise more money because we want to do more things. Our building is 11 years old now, we have ideas of what we want to do, make the outside better.” 

The library will also be hosting another month-long event in the form of making cards for senior citizens in the preparation for Seniors Week in June. 

“In June, it’s Seniors Week, so I actually started this in March, I reached out to four schools and we are going to make cards for all the seniors that are living in Taber in district housing plus extended care at the hospital,” said Kondas. “So, they’re all going to get a card. There are four schools involved and I think that’s close to about 170 and I need 200 and something. The rest of the cards I’m hoping are going to come from the public and they can come here, I’ll have a basket of all the supplies that they need and I have some samples and some pictures of cards of they can make. If we get more than that then will hand out more. I’m really excited about that. It’s something that they don’t even know what’s coming so it’s just to let them know that we appre- ciate them and everything that they’ve done.” 

Kondas also discussed a pre- sentation that the library will be hosting on June 1 at 1:30 p.m. 

“Also for Seniors Week, we got a grant and we got a lady by the name of Freddi Dogterom coming to speak,” she said. “She’s pretty  well-known in southern Alberta and she’s going to be doing a one-hour session on ‘Your Retirement Prescription – It Takes More than Money’. We got this grant before the pandemic started, we’ve been holding onto this money and now we want to spend it. We finally get that chance to.” 

When asked about the grant and who gave it to the library Kondas said, “I think it’s community foundations. It was from our old library manager that applied for it, and the new one is trying to scramble and figure out what exactly it was applied for, and how we’re going to spend it.” 

Besides the events that will be occurring throughout the entirety of the month of May, the library will also be having single day events. The first of these will be a presentation in part- nership with Taber Family and Community Support Services on the topic of loss and grief. The presentation will be led by Tanie Reid-Walker and begins at 1:30 p.m. Refreshments will be provided and the library asks for you to pre-register with them or with Taber FCSS, who can be called at 587-370-8518. 

“We are just carrying on with our old favourites: computer help, kids crafts, open mic, the Mario Kart tournament for kids,” said Kondas. “We’re doing that (Mario Kart tournament) once a month which is really popular, and we’re starting back with our coffee and cookies. We used to do that before the pandemic — once a month have coffee, juice, and cookies. People can come and take whatever and it’s just a little bonus treat of when they come and browse. They always say ‘I’m coming on that certain day.’ So, hopefully  we can get those people back into the library, not that they haven’t been already.” 

A three-day span of these events will start on Thursday, May 12 with basic computer help. It will start at either 2 p.m. or 3 p.m. and the library requests you to pre-register at the front counter and for you to indicate what you need help with so the instructor can better tailor the lessons to your needs. The children’s crafts will be happen- ing on Friday, May 13 from 2-3 p.m. This craft event is open to anyone who would like to come through, the library requests that you pre-register because they will be providing the sup- plies for the crafts. The open mic will be on Saturday, May 14 from 1-3 p.m. Anyone is welcome to play, perform, or to just listen to the local talent. This event will be back again in two weeks at the same time on May 28. Finally, Thursday, May 16 will be coffee and cookies day and will be returning until 4 p.m. With school being out on May 20, the library will be hosting a Mario Kart tournament for ages 8-11 and it will be starting at 10:30 a.m. The tournament will run till noon and there will be a small prize for the best driver at the end of the tournament. As with other events, please pre-register at the front counter of the library.” 

Kondas finally discussed some of the upcoming plans for events in early June and beyond. 

“We have a list of plans coming up in June for pride week. We have booked in so far Queer 101,” said Kondas. “We have done that program before and that’s just explaining to people what LGBTQ+ is. Yesterday I was talking to a lady who works with the GSA groups at Horizon School Division. She’s looking to come in to do a presentation for parents for when your kids come out. They obviously have a lot of questions and they need help. So hopefully that will happen that first week of June as well. Other than that, we got a grant to hire for the summer reading program.” 

This item reprinted with permission from The Taber Times, Taber, Alberta