About CPL News
Chinese New Year, also called Spring Festival or Lunar New Year is an important traditional festival which is also celebrated in many Asian countries. Regional customs vary, but purchasing presents, decorations, food, and clothing at local markets is common practice and children receive “lucky” money in red paper envelopes. Typical celebrations might include dragon and lion dances with firecrackers or spectacular fireworks displays. The Calgary Public Library would like you to celebrate the Year of the Tiger with us!
Chinese Calligraphy
Learn about the history of Chinese calligraphy and how to write basic characters.
Thursday, Feb. 18
7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Fish Creek
11161 Bonaventure Dr. SE
Chinese Fan Dancing
Enjoy a performance by the Calgary Chinese Elderly Citizens' Association.
Friday, Feb 19
2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Thorn-Hill
6617 Centre Street North
Tuesday, Feb 23
12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
Main floor South
Central
616 Macleod Trail SE
Martial Arts Demonstration
Celebrate the grace and beauty of Tai Chi and Kung Fu as skillfully demonstrated by award-winning Mo Fan and students.
Wednesday, Feb. 24
12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Main floor South
Central
616 Macleod Trail SE
Saturday, Feb. 20
2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Fish Creek
11161 Bonaventure Dr. SE
Wednesday, Feb. 17
2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Thorn-Hill
6617 Centre St. North
Mei-Mei’s Dream
Celebrate Chinese New Year at Calgary Public Library with a story time reading of "Mei-Mei's Dream"; a Chinese adoptee who longs for a sibling, but discovers that all children are family. Written and performed by award-winning poet/playwright Dale 
Lee Kwong, and narrated by local actor and broadcaster, Barb Mitchell. This story is based on a play which was originally commissioned and produced by EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts.
Ages 5 and up
Saturday Feb 20
12:00-12:20 pm
Crowfoot
8665 Nose Hill Dr.
Sunday, Feb 21
2:00 - 2:20 pm
Country Hills
11950 Country Village Link NE
Family Storytime in Cantonese
Celebrate the Chinese New Year with songs and stories in Cantonese.
Thursday, February 11
7:00-7:30 pm
Thorn-Hill
6617 Centre St. North
See your local branch for registration and additional program information!
THE SECOND ANNUAL
MIND, BODY, AND SPIRIT WEEKEND
Join us for two days of learning and rejuvenation
Saturday, March 6th and Sunday, March 7th
SATURDAY, MARCH 6TH
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10:00 – 11:00 a.m. |
Healing with Music Listening Lorraine Kneier leads participants to experience the great works of cherished composers.
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11:00 – 12:00 p.m. |
The Art and Science of Birth Learn how to prepare for a positive birth experience with national bestselling author Gail L. Dahl.
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12:30 – 1:30 p.m. |
Restorative Vacations Discover vacations that focus on spiritual renewal
and rejuvenation. Presented by Suzanne Engster of Great Western Adventures.
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1:30 – 3:00 p.m. |
Five Minute Tools to Get Through Your Day Learn techniques for visualization, breathing, movement, and journal writing to become positive, relaxed, and rejuvenated. Presented by Amanda Wellness Resources.
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3:00 – 4:00 p.m. |
Reiki and Chakras Learn how they relate to your health and well-being.
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4:00 – 5:00 p.m. |
A Buddhist Understanding Explore how the Buddhist perspective helps bring greater contentment, joy, and enlightenment. Presented by the Akshobya Kadampa Buddhist Centre. |
SUNDAY, MARCH 7TH
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11:00 – 12:30 p.m. |
The Gift of Yoga Relax, and refresh the body, mind, and spirit. All levels welcome. Presented by Be Love Yoga Studio.
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1:00 – 2:00 p.m. |
Mindfulness Meditation Learn new ways of knowing mindfulness through meditation and stretching.
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2:00 – 3:00 p.m. |
Synchronicity and Coincidence Understand how these powerful tools guide you on life’s journey and learn how to listen to what the universe is telling you.
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3:00 – 4:30 p.m. |
AGE-tastics Celebrate your positive qualities and achieve a stronger sense
of self by exploring relationships, personal growth, and healthy life choices.
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CALGARY PUBLIC LIBRARY’S
FREEDOM TO READ ESSAY CONTEST
WHY IS THE FREEDOM TO READ IMPORTANT TO YOU!
TELL US!
Even in Canada, the freedom to read what we choose can never be taken for granted. This freedom is constantly being challenged by individuals and groups who wish to remove books from libraries, schools and bookstores.
WIN PRIZES! Prizes will be awarded to the top three essays. They will be published on our website and in the 2011 Freedom to Read Week Kit.
Contest Rules
· Contest is open to Calgary students in Grades 7 – 9.
· Entries must be 300 words, typed, double-spaced and have name, school, grade and contact telephone number attached.
· Contestants can email their completed essay to freedomtoread@calgarypubliclibrary.com or drop it off at any branch of Calgary Public Library.
· Entries must be received not later than Friday, February 12, 2010.
· Winners, whose entries are posted on the Calgary Public Library website and published in the Freedom to Read Kit, must agree to have their first names appear with the entry.
To find out more please phone us at 403-260-2600,
or go to your local branch.
Join us for these programs in celebration and recognition of Black History Month:
Drumming Circle
Enjoy a drumming experience led by the lustrous and spirited Bambalamb. Drums will be provided by Bambalamb and feel free to bring your own drum.
Wednesday, Feb 10
7:00 – 8:00p.m.
Fish Creek Library
11161 Bonaventure Drive SE
Register online, by calling 403-260-2620, or in person at your local branch.
“Pray the Devil Back to Hell”.
Join us for the screening of this movie, followed by discussion. In partnership with Afrikadey! Arts & Culture Society.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
7:00 to 9:00 pm
2nd floor +15 level
John Dutton Theatre
Central Library
616 Macleod Trail SE
No registration required.
“What is Black History?” A Panel Discussion
Join us for this symposium to share ideas about “blackness”, including what it means to be black and issues that affect cultural unity. Panel members are: Dr. David Este, University of Calgary; Francis Boakye, University of Calgary; Derrick Shirley, motivational speaker and community organizer; and Jamilah Joseph, United Way.
Friday, Feb 19
7:00 p.m.
2nd floor +15 level
John Dutton Theatre
Central Library
616 Macleod Trail SE
No registration required.
Author Reading
Join Olive Senior as she reads short stories about her home country Jamaica from her new book “Arrival of the Snake-Woman”.
Thursday, Feb 18
11:30 – 1:00p.m.
Main floor, Central Library
616 Macleod Trail SE
Saturday, Feb 20
2:00 – 3:30p.m.
Shawnessy Library
333 Shawville Boulevard SE
Register online, by calling 403-260-2620, or in person at your local branch.
“Things Fall Apart”
Join us for this actors’ reading of ‘Things Fall Apart”, a stage adaptation by Cheryl Foggo.
Friday, Feb 26
7:00 p.m.
Main floor, Central Library
616 Macleod Trail SE
Register online, by calling 403-260-2620, or in person at your local branch.
Learn more about Black History Month on Black History Canada's Website.
Have you ever wanted to travel to Egypt, the land of the pyramids? If you are planning to visit Egypt one day or if you just want to learn more about it without buying a plane ticket, come to the Library!
Embark on a journey through a world of antiquity with an expert Egyptologist. Presented by Eldowy Tours.
Tuesday, March 16
6:00 – 7:30 pm
2nd Floor +15 level, John Dutton Theatre
Central Library
616 Macleod Trail SE
Register online, by calling 403-260-2620, or in person at your local branch.
Calgary Public Library and the National Film Board of Canada present The Film Club, a monthly showcase of new documentaries.
Where: Central Library, in the John Dutton Theatre, 2nd Floor, 616 MacLeod Trail SE
When: Film starts at 2:00 pm, doors open at 1:30 pm
FREE ADMISSION
February 13: A Time There Was: Stories from the last days of Kenya Colony
“Raised on the romance of Empire, he’d imagined a great African adventure. But the look in the eyes of that dying rebel sets his life on another course.” The Mau Mau Rebellion is recounted 50 years later by participants: Donald McWilliams, the filmmaker, Mwaria Njuma, Mau Mau veteran, Achroo Kapila, activist lawyer and John Nottingham, a colonial official who embraced the cause of Kenyan independence.
88 minutes
Film Website Film Club: Upcoming screenings.
March 13: Afghan Chronicles
This documentary is about a country courageously rebuilding itself. Afghan Chronicles paints a touching picture of a land that is a work in progress, dreaming of a better future for all of its citizens.
52 minutes
Film Website Film Club: Upcoming screenings.
April 17: Waterlife
Gord Downie, lead vocalist of The Tragically Hip narrates this cinematic poem about the journey of the Great Lakes from Lake Superior to the Atlantic Ocean and the perils of taking water for granted.
109 minutes
Film Website Film Club: Upcoming screenings.
Exercise your brain and identity: Support Canadian independent filmmakers.
Drop in for one-on-one help from volunteers with Adobe: Photoshop Elements, Premiere Elements, and Audition. Edit photos, sound clips and video. Create slideshows, movies, and soundtracks. This is a great opportunity to see how these programs can work for you. No registration required.
Creation Station computers are also available for use during regular Library hours at select branches. Check your branch for Creation Station computers today.
Drop-In Coaching
Central Library
Mondays and Wednesdays, January 6 to April 28
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
3rd floor South, 616 Macleod Trail SE
Crowfoot
Wednesdays, January 27 to March 17
6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
8665 Nose Hill Dr. NW
Fish Creek
Tuesdays, Jan. 19 to April 6
6:30 - 8:30 pm
11161 Bonaventure Dr. SE
Forest Lawn
Tuesdays, January 19 to April 20
2:00 - 3:30
4807 8 Ave SE 
Louise Riley
Jan. 12, Feb. 9, March 9, April 13
2:00 - 3:30 p.m. OR
Jan. 28, Feb. 25, March 25, April 29
7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
1904 14 Ave NW
Scanners and negative scanners are available. You can also download from email, digital camera, cell phone, or digital video camera. Upload your creations to email or web site - or burn CDs and DVDs.
Bring external memory to save your files to. (USB, CD, DVD)
Are you worried about web safety? Discover how to keep safe, be confident, and stay afloat while surfing the web. Presented by Bright Ideas Personalized Learning Inc.
Ages 50 and up
Crowfoot
Wednesday, March 31
7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
8665 Nose Hill Dr. NW
Fish Creek
Wednesday, March 3
2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
11161 Bonaventure Dr SE
Forest Lawn
Tuesday, April 13
10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
4807 8 Ave SE
Shaganappi
Thursday, April 1
10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
3415 8 Ave SW
Southwood
Monday, March 1
2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
924 Southland Dr. SW
Thorn-Hill
Thursday, March 18
2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
6617 Centre St North
Register online, by calling 403-260-2620, or in person at your local branch.
Try a different cookbook monthly, eat tasty treats, and come discuss all things edible with special speakers from the food industry! For the food-lover at heart.
Thursdays, Feb 18, Mar 18, and Apr 15
1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
Fish Creek Library
11161 Bonaventure Dr SE
Register online, by calling 403-260-2620, or in person at your local branch.
In partnership with the YWCA, the Calgary Public Library is again offering affordable ESL classes at several learner skill levels this winter. Our ESL classes aim to provide new Canadians with the language skills and cultural knowledge needed for daily life and work.
There is a non-refundable fee of $45 for this program, payable at the time of registration. Registration can be done in person at the following branch locations:
For a list of Beginner Classes, click here.
For a list of Intermediate Classes, click here.
For a list of Intermediate/Advanced, click here.
For a list of Advanced Classes, click here.
Register at your branch today!
Experience the excitement of literature by attending upcoming readings and events at the Library!
KATE PULLINGER and KAREN CONNELLY
Kate Pullinger, Winner of the Governor General's Award for Fiction, will read from her book, Mistress of Nothing.
Reviews of Mistress of Nothing:
‘Absorbing, intimate, Pullinger's story of a loyal English maidservant's awakening during a journey to an 1860s Egypt in turmoil is also a subtle observation of the play of power and love’ Lisa Appignanesi
‘A highly sensual evocation of place and time…a journey down the Nile that explores the subtle complexities of power, race, class and love during the Victorian era. The book, narrated by the character of the maid, Sally Naldrett, has one of the most distinctive and memorable voices in recent literature.’ Governor General’s Award Jury Citation
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Winner of the Governor General's Award, Karen Connelly, will read from her book, Burmese Lessons; a Love Story.
This haunting story details Connelly’s involvement with the Burmese people, and her love affair with the charismatic, enigmatic dissident leader she calls Maung.
Wednesday, February 24
7:00 - 8:00 pm
Memorial Park Library
1221 2nd St. SW
No registration required.
J.B. Harkin: Father of Canada's National Parks by E.J. (Ted) Hart
Hart follows Harkin's career from his apprenticeship in the Department of the Interior to his retirement in 1936, and presents Harkin as a major force in early Canadian parks and wildlife conservation.
Thursday, Mar 25
6:00 - 7:00p.m.
Central Library
616 Macleod Trail SE
Register online, by calling 403-260-2620, or in person at your local branch starting Dec 21.
The Great Planet Robbery by Craig DiLouie
DiLouie reads from his latest science fiction novel in which two weary soldiers try to get rich by robbing an entire planet.
Thursday, Apr 1
12:00 – 1:00p.m.
Central Library
616 Macleod Trail SE
Register online, by calling 403-260-2620, or in person at your local branch beginning Dec 21.
Three Notorious Poets for Lunch: 
Thursday, Apr 22
Central Library
616 macleod Trail SE
· Too Bad by Robert Kroetsch
Governor General’s Award-winning author shows through stark lyrics how ‘every enduring poem was written today.”
12:00 – 12:15p.m.
· Memory's Daughter by Alice Major
Come and listen to the voices of the muses in a Scottish-Canadian daughter’s homage to her parents.
12:15 – 12:30p.m.
· wild horses by rob McLennan
Supple lines meander and flit over scapes of love and place, affording a lucid estrangement.
12:30 – 12:45p.m.
Register online, by calling 403-260-2620, or in person at your local branch beginning Dec 21.
Vanishing and other stories by Deborah Willis
An exploration of emotional and physical absences, the ways in which people leave, are left, and whether or not it’s ever possible to move on. Nominated for a Governor General’s award, this is Deborah’s first book.
Thursday, Apr 29
12:00 – 1:00p.m.
Central Library
Main Floor- New & Notable Area
616 Macleod Trail SE
Register online, by calling 403-260-2620, or in person at your local branch beginning Dec 21.