The Library is hosting another popular “Karaoke Party & Contest” at the Fairmount Street location on Wednesday, July 23, beginning at 4 PM. “Bee All You Can Bee Karaoke” is back with a professional sound system and numerous props to get the party started!

Children kick off the competition at 4:30, teens at 5:30, and adults at 6:30. Great prizes are up for the winning - do you have what it takes? If you are not a singer, we still want you to come and cheer on your favorite performer of the evening. This is an event you’ll never forget and it’s for ALL AGES! The kids will win your hearts with stunning renditions of tunes like the “Alphabet Song” and “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” Teens will blow your mind with their (sometimes) unusual song choices. And adults prove that there is a lot of talent in this world. Stay for the whole evening as we provide free refreshments and free fun! For more information, contact Angela at 563-888-3371. Registration not required.

Have you finished the Summer Reading Program?  There are less than two weeks left for you to finish reading in order to receive your prize and have your name entered into a drawing!  Remember when you finish, children through teens receive a free book and adults receive a free beach mat with an inflatable pillow!  HOW COOL IS THAT!  Also, upon finishing you can have your name entered into a drawing for anything from a wagon full of stuffed animals to free tickets to Tony Hawk’s Boom Boom Huckjam at the i-wireless center to a free mp3 player.  Cool prizes just for reading!  Now, just because there are less than two weeks left doesn’t mean there is nothing going on.  OH NO, just the contrary!  Programs are going stronger than ever.  In the last two weeks we have movies (for kids, teens, & adults), Family Fun Nights (featuring bug activities and roach races), Junior Theatre, story times, Jeopardy game night, a blood drive, Karaoke night, and the 21^st annual Bix Porch Party!  That’s right; in the last 12 days of the Davenport Public Library’s Summer Reading Program we have 32 programs.  ALL FREE!  To see a list of these programs go to our website at www.davenportlibrary.com and click on “Programs & Publicity” or call 563-328-6833 and ask for Steve.

Are you at risk of having a stroke or heart disease? Would you like the piece of mind knowing whether you are at risk or not and if you are, what you can do about it? According to Trinity HeartAware, “more than 90% of Quad-Citians are at risk for Heart Disease and if you don’t find out, you have a 50% chance that your first symptom will be a heart attack and death. Heart disease can largely be predicted and prevented.” On Saturday, July 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., join the Davenport Public Library – Fairmount Street (3000 N. Fairmount Street) as we team-up with Trinity HealthAwareness programs as part of our Summer Reading Program “READiscover Your Library.” There will be free HeartAware and StrokeAware screenings as well as free blood pressure checks. Stop out and READiscover Your Library! No registration is required for this free event. For more information call the Davenport Public Library at 563-328-6833 or visit us online at www.davenportlibrary.com.

The Davenport Public Library has scheduled Texas-musician, Steve Brooks, to perform at the Main Street Library (321 Main Street) on Saturday, June 28, at 2:00 PM. This family-friendly concert features American folk music, including a rich heritage of songs for kids of all ages. Brooks brings singing and storytelling to his programs, both educating and entertaining the audience at the same time. Hear classic favorites like “Froggie Went a-Courting,” to multicultural music featuring Irish, Mexican, African-American, and Native American songs that have added their colors to the tapestry of American music. Brooks also introduces the audience to unusual instruments, like the tinwhistle, accordion, and rubboard. But his shows are more than history lessons – they’re interactive! He’ll get the children singing along, clapping, tying their ears in knots and throwing them over their shoulders. Learning has never been so much fun!

Registration is not required for this free event. For more information about Steve Brooks, visit his website at: www.stevebrooks.net.

Questions, answers; answers questions… if you’re a trivia buff, you don’t want to miss Jeopardy Game Night, happening every Tuesday through July 22, at 6:30 PM at the Fairmount Street Library. We have the game counsel, three controllers, and many many questions from the always annoying yet friendly, Alex Trebek. We’ll pick from the audience at random and play as many games as we can, so there will be many opportunities for everyone to play. Did I mention prizes? Oh yeah, there will be prizes, and snacks, and bears oh my! Call 563-328-6833 for more information.

IT’S HEATING UP AT DPL!

We’re just two weeks into the 2008 Summer Reading Program and already we’ve had nearly 600 people attend our outstanding children, teen, and adult programs.  If you haven’t been to one of our “Are You Smarter Than a 5^th Grader” competitions, or to “Teen Night Transformations,” or any of our other fun programs, never fear! We still have five full weeks left of great programming opportunities. Check out our Summer Reading Program “Calendar of Events” by clicking here. We’ve got many great events coming up, like a FREE folk-song and storytelling concert from Steve Brooks on June 28! Or if you want to see some great acting, check out one of our numerous Junior Theatre performances at either the Main Street or Fairmount Street libraries. And don’t forget the Karaoke Contest on July 23, for all ages! The summer is heating up at the Davenport Public Library! While you’re at the Library attending a FREE concert, make sure you sign up for the reading program. All finishers of the program will receive a prize and be entered into our GRAND PRIZE DRAWING for MP3 players, science kits, stuffed animals and more. We hope to see you soon!

Michigan based author, Bill Jamerson, will present a music and storytelling program about the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) at the Davenport Public Library, Main Street location (321 Main Street), on Tuesday, June 24, at 10 AM. The hour-long program includes stories, video, reading excerpts from his novel, Big Shoulders, and playing original songs about the CCC with his guitar. In his talk, Jamerson will discuss his research methods, memories of the CCC boys he has met throughout the years, and some of the projects the CCC did in Iowa. Jamerson has presented his program at CCC reunions around the country. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the CCC. The Civilian Conservation Corps was a federal works program created by President Franklin Roosevelt in the heart of The Great Depression. During its ten year run from 1933-1942, over three and a half million young men between the ages of 17 and 25 years of age enlisted in this country. They planted billions of trees, fought forest fires, and built state parks, including Backbone State Park, near Dundee, Iowa. The camps not only revitalized the nation’s natural resources but also turned the boys into men by giving them discipline and teaching them work skills. Jamerson’s book, Big Shoulders, is a historical novel that follows a year in the life of a 17 year old youth from Detroit who enlists in the CCC in 1937. The enrollee joins 200 other young men at Camp Raco, a work camp in the Michigan Upper Peninsula, run by reserve army officers. It is a coming-of-age story of an angry teenager who faces the rigors of hard work, learning to cope with a difficult sergeant and facing off with a bully. For more information about this program, call 563-888-3371, or visit Jamerson’s website at: www.billjamerson.com.

BE A PICTIONARY CHAMP!
Have you ever played Pictionary for prizes? Now is your chance to do so at Davenport Public Library’s “Pictionary Night.” Join us at the Main Street Library (321 Main Street) on Thursday, July 10, at 6 PM to show off your drawing and teamwork skills. Play the updated game that has new twists and turns, such as drawing with your eyes closed, and drawing with your non-dominate hand. It’s good family fun, with free refreshments and laughter! This program is appropriate for ages 12 and up. Registration is required. Sign-up your team of up to 8 people, or sign-up individually and be randomly placed on a team. To register, call 563-328-6833 or click here.