Here are a few highlights from May 2025 at RDPL!
Teen Café
For Teen Café on May 20th, the teens channeled their inner 90s child and made bead animal keychains. Co-programmer Simon would like to give a HUGE shoutout to his colleague Saraf for her crafting expertise. "I wouldn’t have been able to run the program without her guidance!" The teens had a blast!
Climb Girls’ Resiliency Conference
Library staff attended the Climb Girls’ Resiliency Conference put on by the Central Alberta Child Advocacy Center and interacted with approximately 50 Central Alberta teens. We met some enthusiastic library users and encouraged feedback from everyone who visited our table.
Fun with Barrie Wilson School!
The Timberlands Branch participated in Ecole Barrie Wilson Elementary School’s open house in May. The library was hopping as families completed a school and library-wide scavenger hunt! Attendees were also encouraged to complete a craft and sign up for free library memberships.
RDPL also staff created a longlist of suggested titles for Ecole Barrie Wilson Elementary School’s second annual Bandit’s Ultimate Book Championship. This year’s theme was kindness, in support of Red Deer Public School District’s kindness and anti-bullying theme, and the winning title was Goat’s Coat by Tom Percival!
Crafternoon Clay Painting
Monday Crafternoons for school-aged kids continued throughout the month of May at the Timberlands Branch, where we focused on sculpting and painting clay. Participants really showed off their amazing creative skills through bright colours, fun patterns, and unique shapes. Those who weren’t able to attend the clay sculpting session made beautiful canvas paintings and drawings!
Let’s Speak Cree!
On May 1, we held our last Let’s Speak Cree language class of this season at the Downtown Branch. The 15 people who attended the program were extremely grateful and thrilled to hear that we will be offering even more sessions in the Fall! Elder Linda Ophus, who led the teachings of the Cree language and culture for these programs wanted to share her thanks to all of the RDPL staff who made her feel so welcome (and in particular to Library Assistant Jason Hlady, who very kindly helped to set up the space for her each week).
Red Dress Day
Red Dress Day, also known as the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People (MMIWG2S+), observed on May 5th, is a National Day of remembrance that honours and brings awareness to the thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people, and supports the communities and families left behind. Staff were invited to create Red Dress Day pins to add to the public display or to wear on May 5th to commemorate this important day. In addition, book displays were created at our main three branches – Downtown, Dawe, and Timberlands.
Brick Book Painting
On May 6th, Deb Isbister and Trish Klein (with help from Alyssa Wynia) hosted an adult craft night, painting bricks (or in our case, cement pavers!) to look like book covers. The program had full registration with a long wait list, and participants really enjoyed expressing their creativity while also talking to each other about the books they had chosen to paint, favourite titles, and favourite authors! Many took home recommended reading lists after this great discussion.
Grow Boys Event with Fifth Graders
On May 15, Red Deer Public Library proudly hosted two vibrant sessions as part of the city-wide Grow Boys event: LEGO @ Library and the Human Library. Each session welcomed over 120 Grade 5 students and their high school mentors, bringing the total number of participants to nearly 240 for the day. Through hands-on LEGO challenges and meaningful conversations with 24 Living Books, including the Mayor of Red Deer and Katja, our beloved facility dog, the event fostered creativity, empathy, and connection. It was a powerful demonstration of how the library continues to be a dynamic space for learning, inspiration, and community engagement.
Books & Bannock Book Club: Virtual Author Visit with Waubgeshig Rice
For May’s Books and Bannock Book Club (in partnership with the Red Deer Native Friendship Society) on May 20, we were thrilled to be able to host a virtual author visit with Waubgeshig Rice. The event was attended by 15 people, who asked great questions and Waubgeshig had such insightful, interesting, and sometimes humorous answers! Topics ranged from specific questions related to his works, to his writing process and how he chooses what traditional teachings/stories to include in his writing (and why he chooses not to include some of them). We were able to offer this amazing author visit with funding from the Writers’ Union through the Canada Council for the Arts.
CRA Support Clinic
On May 29, we hosted another Support Clinic with our CRA representative, Bonnie McIntyre, at the Downtown Branch. Bonnie helped 10 people with their tax and tax credit questions.
Denim Day
On May 13, RDPL staff rocked their best Canadian Tuxedos for CURE Foundation/Fondation CURE's National Denim Day to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research and patient support! Our team raised $325 in support of this great cause.
Speech and Hearing Month
May was Speech and Hearing Month in Canada. A fabulous staff member discussed and demonstrated the importance of communication with several elementary classes at École Barrie Wilson School. A dozen basic sign language words and phrases were shown and copied by the students. The students were excited trying their new skill.
Adult Literacy Program Updates
George Stever, an Adult Literacy learner, was recognized at the Literacy and Learning Symposium in Edmonton. George’s story and encouragement of learning were highlighted in front of participants from across Alberta. His journey demonstrates how the efforts of Adult Literacy create a ripple effect, transforming lives, and inspiring communities.
The Adult Literacy Program offered 8 language classes for different levels of English in the month of May. Each class accommodated the needs of 15-18 learners.
We hope you enjoyed our May 2025 highlights!
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