Community Calendar

The Tallest Dwarf follows filmmaker Julie Forrest Wyman as she searches for her place in the little people community and unpacks rumors of dwarfism in her own family. Through intimate stories, creative collaborations, and archival history, the film delves into identity and medicine, asking whether society should change people or the structures that limit them. The film is 60 minutes, not rated, and is made possible through Independent Lens.

What do you do when the company that employs your town is also making it sick?

This powerful investigative documentary follows the small, working-class town of Crossett, Arkansas, where decades of pollution from Georgia-Pacific, one of the nation’s largest paper mills and chemical plants, have left residents facing serious health consequences. Georgia-Pacific is privately owned by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch through Koch Industries, a corporation that produces many familiar household brands, including Brawny paper towels, Quilted Northern, Angel Soft toilet paper, and Dixie paper cups.

Crossett’s story is not unique. It represents countless American communities caught in a painful bind: economic dependence on major employers whose operations may be harming public health and the environment. Often unseen and unheard, these towns bear the hidden costs of industrial pollution. The film documents one man’s determined fight to protect his community, and asks urgent questions about corporate responsibility, environmental justice, and who pays the price for everyday products.

The film is 1 hour and 30 minutes, not rated, and made possible through Kanopy. The program is free and open to the public.

Plant seeds with the Hispanic Association of Bilingual Language Acquisition (HABLA) during a lively bilingual story time! This empowering event celebrates the joys of speaking more than one language and encourages children to embrace their cultural identity.

Don’t miss this special storytelling event filled with language, creativity, and community.

This program is for pre-K children through 5th grade. No registration is required.

For additional information, please contact Theresa at theresaw@dkpl.org or at (815) 756-9568 ext. 3350.

Siembra semillas con HABLA, Asociación Hispana de Adquisición de Idiomas Bilingües, durante una emocionante lectura de un cuento bilingüe. Este evento celebra la alegría de hablar más de un idioma y motiva a que los niños acepten su identidad cultural.

No se pierdan este evento de lectura lleno de idioma, creatividad y comunidad.

Este programa es para niños de preescolar hasta 5º año de primaria. No se require registración para participar.

Para información adicional, por favor contacta a Theresa en theresaw@dkpl.org o al (815)756-9568 ext. 3350.

If flowers could speak, what would they say? Sarah Taylor from the Colonel Palmer House will kick off our Prairie Roots program series to discuss the origins of plant taxonomy, symbolic and historic meanings of flowers, flower arrangements through history, symbolic gardens, and more.
Attendees will have the opportunity to create a “Tussie Mussie” craft (a historic bouquet with a secret special message using fresh flowers).

Advance registration is required. Free to attend.

April is Citizen Science Month, and the Library invites the community to take part in hands-on projects that contribute to 2.5 Million Acts of Science, a national America250 initiative celebrating civic participation and discovery. Citizen science empowers everyday people to support real scientific research by observing and sharing information about the world around them.

Featured projects include Stream Selfie, which helps document the health of local streams through shared photos; Globe at Night, an international effort to measure and raise awareness of light pollution; and iNaturalist, a global platform for recording plants and wildlife to help scientists monitor biodiversity. Information on how to participate in all three citizen-science projects is available at the Library. All projects are free and open to the public and are suitable for adults and families alike.

Lowden Gallery Artist: Ellen "Ellie" R. Bartels
March 1 - April 30

​Ellie has a BA degree in Education and a BFA in Studio Art , both from the University of Washington. She taught art, K – 12, in Orangeville, Il for 12 years. She currently lives in Freeport, Il.

Ellie states, “ The process of transforming paint and canvas into an appealing and effective image scares, frustrates, excites and inspires me.

My work starts out with a subject or theme in mind, usually based on my personal response to nature or a past experience, and a general plan on how to accomplish my goal. As it progresses spontaneity and intuition take over and my unconscious becomes the director.
​
I have found that both oils and acrylics work well as vehicles for translating my inner vision to outer reality. Both comply with my enjoyment of layering paint and working the canvas by scraping, rubbing, scratching through, dry brushing, etc., to create depth and texture and to bring the surface to life.

It is my wish that the viewer will want to spend time with my work, to contemplate its meaning, discover its complexities, or to just enjoy the colors and shapes.

Live music very Wednesday thru Saturday. Artists are listed on the Anderson Gardens website. This is event FREE and open to the public!

Healing the body can heal the soul. Daerielle Balika, owner and operator of Balika Balanced Acupuncture, will explain the history and techniques of traditional medicine including acupuncture, cupping, and other methods.

This program is intended for adults. No registration is required.

For more information, please contact Leah at leahh@dkpl.org or at (815) 756-9568 ext. 2112.

This hands-on program celebrates bees and other pollinators through storytelling and a creative activity. Participants will create pollinator seed bombs using clay, soil, and seeds, offering a fun and meaningful way for the community to learn about and support a healthier environment. This program is geared to youth ages 5 and older and is free and open to the public.

Fresh water. Imagine a day without it. It sustains life - our food, communities, and economies – yet nearly half of U.S. rivers, lakes, and streams are so polluted they are unsafe for people or wildlife. While the 1972 Clean Water Act made major progress in reducing pollution, it has not kept pace with modern threats such as toxic chemicals, agricultural runoff, microplastics, and climate change.

These impacts continue to fall disproportionately on disadvantaged communities and threaten drinking water and watershed health nationwide. Upstream, Downriver is a documentary that follows community activists fighting for water justice and equity, weaving their stories with the history, and unfinished work, of the Clean Water Act. From rural Alabama to the Nez Perce Tribe in Idaho, the film highlights the ongoing struggle to ensure clean water for everyone. The film is 54 minutes, not rated and made possible through Kanopy. The program is free and open to the public.