Kids & Family

CL Library Offers Fine Forgiveness to Benefit Food Pantry; EPIC Event is Saturday

Now's the perfect time to pay library fines with donations to the Crystal Lake Food Pantry.

The Crystal Lake Public Library is once again offering the Pay-It-Forward Fine Forgiveness promotion to benefit the Crystal Lake Food Pantry. 

The library holds the program to support the Crystal Lake Chamber's annual Community Harvest, an area-wide food drive held throughout the month of November that culminates Thanksgiving morning when hundreds of volunteers gather to sort, pack and store the donations. 

"This program usually generates between $6,000 to $7,000 for the Crystal Lake Food Pantry," said Linda Price, public relations coordinator for the library. 

Find out what's happening in Crystal Lake-Carywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Patrons can settle overdue fines by visiting the Crystal Lake Public Library at 126 Paddock St. between Nov. 1 to 15, and writing a check (or pay cash) to the Crystal Lake Food Pantry for at least one-half the amount of their fines. 

The library will waive the remaining portion of patron's overdue fines, Price said. 

Find out what's happening in Crystal Lake-Carywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Simon's Getting Married     

Last year's mascot for the Community Harvest was Simon Crow, a dashing young scarecrow. Word is Simon has met a special scarecrow gal, Simone Strawmonis, and the two plan to marry. 

The wedding ceremony for the couple is planned for  Nov. 16, during the upcoming EPIC Exploration Event at the library. Patrons should keep an eye on the library's website at www.clpl.org for more information about the EPIC event and the wedding. 

EPIC Exploration Event, Nov. 16

The Crystal Lake Library will host an EPIC Exploration Event from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16.  

This will be the final event in the library's series of 100th Anniversary programs. The library will hold a birthday celebration complete with cake for all guests.

Local experts in a number of fields will be on hand talking about a multitude of hobbies, crafts and disciplines.  There also will be prizes, giveaways, and other surprises for all guests.  

Presenters and topics include: 

  • Bee Talk by Dr. Lawrence Dubose, Expert Beekeeper from Kline Creek Farm

  • Chess Strategy: Bob Cairone, Chess Master

  • Devil in the White City and Related Chicago Historical Tours: Cathy Ferguson, Crystal Lake city councilwoman, and Karen Coleman. 

  • Introduction to Fishing and Fishing for Muskies; Bob Paine and Pete Gaic, Crystal Lake Anglers

  • Flannel Board Teachers, the library Youth Services storytime and craft teachers.

  • History of Crystal Lake Public Library, Sue Riegler, CLPL librarian. 

  • Knitting, Bonnie Drew from Cultured Pearls of McHenry County.

  • Paper Envelopes, Linda Gullo, Delight in Living.

  • Holiday Patio Planters, Wreaths, and Centerpieces: Kim Hartmann from Countryside Flower Shop, Nursery and Garden Center.

  • Rubber Band Ball; Theresa Schroeder, CLPL Craft Master

  • Scroll Sawing; Don Peters, library trustee and woodworking expert.

  • Sewing; Alice Hayes, CLPL staff, former Singer Sewing trainer and award-winning seamstress. 

  • 3-D Printer; Chris and Janet Lukas and Dan Delaney. 

  • Zentangle; Linda Cannizzo.

About the Crystal Lake Public Library

The library first opened on Nov. 15, 1913, in a vacant home on the corner of Grove and Pomeroy Streets with 200 books in the collection. Today, CLPL circulates more than 1,000,000 items each year including regular and large-print books, DVDs, eBooks, audio books, CDs, video games, magazines and foreign-language materials, Price said.

The library in 2013 also offers electronic resources on the website and a wide array of educational programming for all ages, and has been at the forefront of the trend toward lifelong learning.     

  


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