UPCOMING EVENTS
THURSDAY, MARCH 26: CELEBRATE BEETHOVEN’S BIRTHDAY WITH THE TAMARACK QUARTET 5:30-7 pm, Winthrop Library
On the anniversary of Beethoven's death we will commemorate his life and contribution to Western music with a special presentation by the Tamarack String Quartet! They will play a program of music written and influenced by Beethoven and present a short accompanying educational program about his lasting impact on modern music.
TUESDAYS IN APRIL: JAZZ APPRECIATION MONTH April 2 - 5:30 pm; April 9 - 5:00 pm; April 16 - 6:00 pm; April 23 - 5:00 pm, Winthrop Library
In celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month, join us at the library every Tuesday in April for a series of live performances featuring homegrown, Methow Valley musicians!
FOR WINTHROP LIBRARY EVENTS - CHECK OUT THE NCW LIBRARIES EVENTS PAGE & THE COMMUNITY ROOM CALENDAR
PAST EVENTS
Saturday, October 21st: WHAT YOUR FOOD ATE: A Conversation About Soil & Impact
Join FOWL and Bluebird Grains and meet What Your Food Ate authors David R. Montgomery and Anne Bikle. We’ll host a conversation that explores what is possible in the intersection of both quality and quantity in our food supply and the incredible need to heal our land and reclaim our health. Read ahead and check out books by these authors at the Winthrop Library or for sale at the Trails End Bookstore.
Saturday, August 12th: NATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL COMMUNITY WATCH PARTY 8:45 am-3 pm, Community Room
Celebrate and participate in the Library of Congress National Book Festival online event with a community watch party. at the Winthrop Library. The agenda is jam packed with provocative and diverse authors, poets and readings. Agenda:
Poverty, by America with Matthew Desmond 8:45 am
Chasten Buttigieg Has Something To Tell You (Hint: It's About Finding Yourself) 9:45 am
The World Offers Itself to Your Imagination: Nature Poetry with Camille T. Dungy and Joy Harjo 10:45 am
The Family You Need, the Family You Create: Literary Fiction with Esmeralda Santiago and Luis Alberto Urrea 12:00
Medicine and the New Human with Siddhartha Mukherjee 1:15 pm
2023 LOC Prize for American Fiction Winner George Saunders 2:15 pm
Saturday, August 12th: OUTDOOR LIBRARY WEED-A-THON 9-11 am, Outdoor Library
Hate weeds? Want to get your hands dirty and support the Winthrop Library and our new Outdoor Library? Bring your gardening gloves and buckets and let’s get weeding. Join for as much or as little time as you can spare. To volunteer, please sign up here.
Friday, August 18th: GAME NIGHT! 5-7 pm, Winthrop Library
Back by popular demand - it’s time to play! Join the Winthrop Library and FOWL for a night of fun and games. Want to learn a new game - we’ve got it! Want to show your skill with a game you’ve mastered - check! Want to play in the Library after hours - we’ve got that too! Bring yourself, your family, your friends and your sense of adventure and we’ll provide games for all ages and snacks!
Saturday, August 19th: RESOURCE FAIR & SUMMER CELEBRATION 1-3 pm, Community Room
Come meet the wonderful resource organizations in our area and help the Winthrop Library celebrate their end of our Summer Library Program with prize drawings and games! Staff from Room One, Jamie's Place, The Cove, Methow at Home and more great support organizations will be here to tell you about their services.
Thursday, July 13th: Book Club: What Your Food Ate 5:30-7pm, Community Room
Join FOWL and Bluebird Grains as we discuss the new book by David R. Montgomery and Anne Bikle, What Your Food Ate. We’ll explore what is possible in the intersection of both quality and quantity in our food supply and the incredible need to heal our land and reclaim our health. This will be the first of two book clubs discussing What Your Food Ate, the second to be scheduled in September.Read ahead and check out books by these authors at the Winthrop Library or for sale at the Trails End Bookstore.
Tuesday, July 18th: WOMEN WRITING WAR - LAUREN K JOHNSON IN CONVERSATION WITH SHANNON HUFFMAN POLSON 6-8pm, Community Room
Join authors and veterans Lauren K Johnson and Shannon Huffman Polson as they discuss Lauren’s memoir The Fine Art of Camouflage and their experiences of being women in war. Read ahead and check out books by these authors at the Winthrop Library or for sale at the Trails End Bookstore.
JUNE ONE-YEAR CELEBRATION EVENTS
POETRY WORKSHOP & READING FEATURING SUZANNE EDISON
Do you love nature and poetry? Join poet Suzanne Edison for this 1.5 hour poetry writing workshop where you’ll explore, through writing prompts and “persona” perspectives, something in the Methow Valley environment, and what it might say to us as humans. Bring something from your natural environment and we’ll create poems together! Afterward the workshop, Suzanne will read from her collections and answer questions.
BOOKS & BLANKETS - ALL TOWN READ & OUTDOOR LIBRARY OPENING
Join local authors to celebrate the opening of the new Outdoor Library and the rich heritage of writing in the Methow Valley. From 10-noon, receive a guided tour of the Outdoor Library. At noon, bring your blankets and sit in the Outdoor Library as we read from works by Hannah Viano, Shannon Huffman Polson, Richard Hart and Sally Portman. Free ice cream will be served! Read ahead and check out books by these authors at the Winthrop Library or for sale at the Trails End Bookstore.
FIRE-WISE GARDENING WITH EXPERT AL MURPHY
Living in the Methow Valley makes us all fire aware. Further your knowledge of fire-wise gardening and join Master Gardener Al Murphy, a retired forester who spent his 37-year career with the Forest Service. Al spends most of his energy and knowledge working with fire departments, wildland agencies and homeowners on protecting homes in the Wildland Urban Interface. He has written books on fire-resistant landscaping to reduce the losses from wildland fires. Bring your questions and be prepared to learn from an award winning expert!
POETRY IN THE PARK
Join local poets presenting works inspired by the terrain, landscape, library building and amazing surroundings of the Methow Valley. Rotate through the poetry stations situated throughout the Outdoor Library. This informal event is designed to welcome all ages to listen to and engage with the poets as they share new and original works.
AN EVENING WITH RENA PRIEST, WASHINGTON STATE POET LAUREATE
Join Washington State Poet Laureate, Rena Priest, for an evening of poetry and selected readings from, “I Sing the Salmon Home.” Rena is an enrolled member of the Lhaq’temish (Lummi) Nation. She served as the 6th Washington State Poet Laureate (2021-2023) and was named the 2022 Maxine Cushing Gray Distinguished Writing Fellow. Priest is also the recipient of an Allied Arts Foundation Professional Poets Award and fellowships from the Academy of American Poets, Indigenous Nations Poets, Nia Tero, and the Vadon Foundation. Her debut collection, Patriarchy Blues, received an American Book Award. Her second collection, Sublime Subliminal, was published as the finalist for the Floating Bridge Press Chapbook Award.
GAME NIGHT!
School’s out and it’s time to play! Join the Winthrop Library and FOWL for a night of fun and games. Want to learn a new game - we’ve got it! Want to show your skill with a game you’ve mastered - check! Want to play in the Library after hours - we’ve got that too! Bring yourself, your family, your friends and your sense of adventure and we’ll provide games for all ages and snacks!
NCWL AUTHOR READINGS FEATURING ERIK BROOKS & SARAH CONOVER.
Join author/illustrator Erik Brooks as he shares some examples of his work, draws with the kids, and also "connects the dots" between his love of making art and all of the different ways that you can communicate with words and pictures. Kids will also get started on their own piece of mailable artwork.
Later that day, join us for a special visit with author Sarah Conover. Sarah will read from her newly-published memoir, "Set Adrift: A Tragic Loss, and Orphaned Childhood, and the Eventual Unstorying of a Life," detailing the story of her family's disappearance while sailing in the Bermuda Triangle in 1958, with time afterward for discussion and questions.
APRIL 23 - APRIL 29, 2023
NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK
Monday, April 24: Right to Read Day, the State of America's Libraries Report is released, including Top Ten Frequently Challenged Books of 2022. Things to Do: Stand up for books and celebrate your right to read freely. Check out this action toolkit for more ideas.
Tuesday, April 25: National Library Workers Day, a day for library staff, users, administrators, and Friends groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers. Things to Do: Share your support for Ree and Ali on your social channels. #NLWD23. Nominate them to be Library STARS.
Wednesday, April 26: National Library Outreach Day, a day to celebrate library outreach and the dedicated library professionals who are meeting their patrons where they are. Things to Do: Make your support known: thank library staff, write a letter or e-mail to the Winthrop Library, or voice your support to community leaders. #libraryoutreachday
Thursday, April 27: Take Action for Libraries Day, a day to rally advocates to support libraries. Things to Do: Tell Congress to fund libraries. #fundlibraries
WEDNESDAYS JANUARY 11 - MARCH 15, 2023
HISTORY OF UKRAINE AND RUSSIA with Bill Hottell
Putin's invasion of Ukraine is writing the history of Russia and Ukraine every day. The progress and outcome of this war is affecting not only the two countries but the entire world. Join Bill Hottell to discover how the long and rich histories of these countries have led to the current conflict. Bill has been teaching history in the Methow for 50 years as well as leading study tours for the Smithsonian Institution in Greece, Turkey, Italy, Sicily and Malta.
It's been three years since Bill’s classes have met in person due to the pandemic. This year the class will held in person and will not be conducted on Zoom.
How to register: send an email to billhottell@gmail.com. Give your name(s), telephone number, and email address. Your space(s) in the class will be reserved on a first come, first served basis by the date you registered with Bill. Once registered, you’ll receive a confirmation with complete details on parking, how to pay and more.
The fee is $50 for the 10-week course, payable to FOWL. FOWL will in turn pay Bill Hottell a stipend for teaching the class. You can pay in advance by credit card or by check here or you can pay in person by cash or check at the end of the first class on January 11th. Please consider an extra donation to FOWL to show your appreciation for the work required to help prepare for the class. Proceeds will benefit planting the library landscape in spring 2023.
9:00 - 10:30 am
Community Room @ Library
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19th @ 6:30 pm
POETRY SLAM with local poets!
Hear our talented valley poets perform original short works as they battle it out for top honors! The evening starts with 15 poets; judged elimination rounds will whittle the field to three finalists, who’ll each win a gift certificate from Trail’s End Bookstore. Will it be entirely fair? No. But it will be subjective, and it will be art that is thought-provoking and entertaining! Poets: Let your voice be heard! Audience: Don’t miss it! More info: fowl98862@gmail.com.
Community Room @ Library
The annual Ski Swap—organized by North Cascade Mountain Guides and benefitting the Methow Valley Nordic Team—is back! This year, FOWL will again host the goodies and munchies and sweets and savories to help fuel shoppers as they seek hot deals on ski gear. All bake sale proceeds will help fund the library's outdoor plantings. SORRY to say, we won't be hosting a book sale at this time.
BAKERS -- can you donate a baked goodie or help at the sale? We can also use volunteers at the sale. Drop us a line at: fowlvolunteer@gmail.com and we'll tell you more details.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30 @ 10-12
Bake Sale @ The Ski Swap @ The Red Barn
CELEBRATE THE NEW LIBRARY! Schedule & activities on June 11th
As of 5.31.22; subject to change and times approximate.
10:30: Meet, mingle and music with Friends! Coffee from Lariat Coffee Roasters.
Getting there: Walk, bike or park at the Town Trailhead. There will be no parking on site. If you have special accessibility needs, please write us at fowl98862@gmail.com.
Prepare for the weather — many events are outside. We will have tents and seating.
11:00: OPENING CEREMONY
Noon: DOORS OPEN! Come on in! Explore all the new library will offer and these highlights inside:
Book-themed quilt show and online auction. Bidding starts June 8th and ends June 18th.
Clean Air Methow’s “Fifth Season” exhibit explores the season of smoke and its impacts on the lives of Methow Valley residents.
The Makerspace: See what NCW Libraries makes possible in this creative lab for hands-on learning!
Meet the architects and artists to learn what inspired the library and its integrated art.
Exhibit of Methow Valley library history by the Shafer Museum.
1 p.m. Outside BBQ lunch benefits the Kiwanis and free cupcakes from Sun Mountain Lodge, and cookies, too. Lunch: $5 and up.
1:00 and 3:00 p.m. Tour the Outdoor Library! Buy a plant to help fund the landscape, which features pollinator and firewise gardens.
1:00 - 4:00 p.m.: Activities for children and families, including scavenger hunts, make a LED bookmark, nature discovery table, and arts & crafts! Buy a special memento to celebrate and support FOWL’s funding of the plantscape at the new library.
4:00 Library closes
6:00 AT THE BARN: Sorry, SOLD OUT!!! Timothy Egan, author of THE BIG BURN. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
OPENING WEEK - June 11 - 18th
For programs organized by NCW Libraries, click here. Check out cool technology, learn about beavers, paint with robots and more!
FOWL EVENTS - Saturday, June 18th:
10-3: Last day to see the Methow Valley Quilters’ book-themed & bid online for a beautiful quilt! The show runs June 11-18 during regular library hours. Bidding closes at 3:00 p.m. on June 18th. Shown here: The Smiling Country, inspired by former librarian Sally Portman’s book.
10-3: Book & Bake Sale. Benefits the landscaping at the new library.
Wednesday, March 9th @ 5:00 p.m.
Art in the New Library
Our new videos will give you the inside story on art-in-progress with artists Hannah Viano and Tori Karpenko! Hear and see how art will beautify and inspire in the new library spaces and how it is integral to the building’s architecture. Join FOWL, architects Ray and Mary Johnston, Hannah and Tori for this interesting evening and sneak preview.
SEE THE VIDEOS ON OUR HOME PAGE
Thursday, March 3 @ 5:00 p.m.
Programming & Education in the New Library
What will you be able to do in the new library? How does it expand opportunities for learning?
This presentation includes an overview of what educational courses the library's exciting new partner, Wenatchee Valley College, expects to offer to our community. Also, North Central Washington Libraries (NCWL) outlines how its programs will expand in the new spaces. FOWL also shared a project update.
Click here to watch the recorded presentation.
Sunday, October 17th
Sunday, October 24th
TOUR THE LIBRARY!
Take a tour of the new library while it’s under construction. Get a sense of its fantastic spaces and functions. Bring your ideas to share with librarian Ree West—what do you want from your new library? Details:
Date: October 17th or October 24th
Times: 9:00, 9:30, 10:00,10:30, or 11:00
Who: Adults 18 and older.Sorry, no children! We welcome fully vaccinated or masked guests to respect the health of others.
RSVP, only! Click on winthroplibrarytours@gmail.com with your preferred date, times and other info. We’ll confirm your tour!
April 12-May 9, 2021: Kids’ Activity Booklet and Raffle!
FOWL created a distributed a fun activity booklet to help kids learn about our new library and libraries in general. There’s also a weekly raffle! For $5, kids get a chance to win two books—one for themselves and one for a favorite teacher or librarian. Visit the Winthrop or Twisp libraries to learn more, pick up a booklet or enter the raffle.
October 23, 2019: Meet & greet with Ree West - our new librarian!
Scroll down and click on a yellow button to join - let’s give Ree a warm welcome via Zoom. Have your questions ready or send in advance to fowl98862@gmail.com.
Adult Story Time - on Zoom!
Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. until July 2nd
Join us at the cocktail hour (beverages optional) every week for readings and Q & A with many notable authors like Nancy Pearl, shown here! Scroll down to see schedule and link to Zoom. We welcome your questions in advance for these authors! Send to fowl98862@gmail.com. On Zoom, you will create a user name and email, but we promise to never share your info and we will keep your identity safe.
April 23 - J. Anderson Coats
J. Anderson Coats will read from her new book, Spindle and Dagger. This rich historical novel—for middle grade, young adults and older—is set in medieval Wales and deals with power dynamics and complicated relationships. It follows Elen, who must live a precarious lie in order to survive among the tribe that killed her family. Coats is an award-winning author of numerous books for young adult readers; she is also a librarian. Visit jandersoncoats.com.
May 14 - Carol Cassella
Carol Cassella is a practicing physician and the national bestselling author of three novels, Gemini (2014), Healer (2010), Oxygen (2008). Her books have been finalists for the Washington State Book Award. Carol lives on Bainbridge Island, Washington with her husband and two sets of twins. Visit carolcassella.com for more information.
April 30 - Gregory Spatz
Spokane author Gregory Spatz will read from What Could Be Saved, a collection of linked stories that delves deeply into the world of those who build, play, and sell (or steal) violins. This is a realm of obsession, high-stakes sales and thefts, all told with the intense force and beauty of chamber music. Spatz (gregoryspatz.com) has earned high praise for his work, which has been published in many publications. He teaches at Eastern Washington University.
May 21 - Q & A with Ann Patchett
Ann Patchett is the author of seven novels, The Patron Saint of Liars, Taft, The Magician’s Assistant, Bel Canto, Run, State of Wonder, and Commonwealth. She was the editor of Best American Short Stories, 2006. In 2012 she was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. For more information visit annpatchett.com.
May 7 - Q & A with Nancy Pearl
Nancy Pearl is a best-selling author, librarian, and literary critic, but first and foremost, she is a reader and has spent her life promoting reading as one of the most beneficial and joyful experiences anyone can have. Among her many honors are the 2011 Librarian of the Year Award from Library Journal and the 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association. Visit nancypearl.com for more information.
May 28 - Tara Conklin
Tara Conklin will read from her second novel, The Last Romantics, a sweeping yet intimate epic about one American family. Conklin is a writer and former lawyer based in Seattle whose first novel, The House Girl, was a New York Times bestseller, #1 IndieNext pick, Target book club pick and has been translated into 8 languages. For more info visit taraconklin.com.
June 4 - Eliot Ackerman
Red Dress in Black and White (Knopf) is a stirring, timely novel that unfolds over the course of a single day in Istanbul. It’s the story of an American woman attempting to leave behind her life in Turkey–-without her husband. Ackerman is a former Marine who served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Visit elliotackerman.com for more information.
June 25 - Melissa Pritchard
Melissa Pritchard is the author of eleven books, including a biography and collection of essays. She a five time winner of Pushcart and O. Henry Prizes and consistently cited in Best American Short Stories. Melissa was most recently named the 2016 Marguerite and Lamar Smith Fellow at the Carson McCullers Center for Writers and Musicians in Columbus, Georgia, where she now lives and writes. For more information visit melissapritchard.com.
June 11 - Erica Bauermeister
Bauermeister’s House Lessons is a mesmerizing memoir-in-essays about renovating a trash-filled house in eccentric Port Townsend, Washington, and the journey of discovering the ways our spaces subliminally affect us. She is the author of four novels that have been translated into 25 different languages. For more information visit ericabauermeister.com.
July 2 - Martha Brockenbrough
IUnpresidented is an unvarnished biography of Donald Trump, his family history, his business history, the key points of his campaign and his first year and a half in office as President. Brockenbrough (rhymes with ‘broken toe’) is the author of two books for adults and ten books for young readers. She lives in Seattle with her family. For more information visit martha-brockenbrough.squarespace.com.
June 18 - Phil Klay
Klay will read from his short story collection Redeployment, which takes readers to the front lines of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, asking us to understand what happened there and to the soldiers who returned. Klay is a graduate of Dartmouth College and a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and Newsweek. Visit philklay.com.
SEND A CARD TO SALLY!
April/May 2020
After 34 years of dedication to our the community, Sally Portman’s retired as the Winthrop librarian on March 31st. The nice send off we’d planned for Sally was turned upside down due to the corona virus crisis that has closed our libraries. So instead, please send a wonderful card to Sally! FOWL will collect and deliver them to Sally when it is safe to do so. Send to:
Sally Portman
c/o Friends of the Winthrop Public Library
PO Box 592
Winthrop, WA 98862
Confluence Gallery - Twisp, WA
THE COLOR OF WORDS
January - February 2020
THE COLOR OF WORDS exhibit to benefit FOWL
Artists will present art that reflects a favorite work in literature. The show will feature paintings, sculptures, jewelry and handmade, one-of-a-kind books from widely respected artists throughout the country, as well as from the brightest talents the valley has to offer.
Each week, during the exhibit, the gallery will become a literary salon where you can hear the color of words! Events include:
Friday, January 17th, 7pm: Confluence Poets will read from the works of William Stafford, the late U.S. Poet Laureate. The public is invited to recite from a favorite Stafford work as well.
Thursday, January 23rd, 6pm: Reading: Greg Wright and Peter Donahue will read from their published works.
January 30th, 6pm: Local student poets competing in the Poetry Out Loud will perform.
February 6th, 6pm: Local authors Cindy William Gutierrez and Sam Lucy read from their works.
February 15th, 7pm: Wild Word Poetry Slam! Local poets reveling in the power of the natural world will perform.
February 20th, 6pm: Julie Tate-Libby will read from her soul-searching memoir The Good Way: A Himalayan Journey in which she shares her journey toward wonder, awe and forgiveness through wild and unfamiliar places.