Kick off an Amazing April at Your Library!

Spring into an Amazing April at Your Library

April is shaping up to be an awesome month in more ways than one, with another Tuneful Tuesday, an Astronomy Night for eclipse awareness, Spoken Word class for poetry, Board Game Day, and more for all ages at the Rock Island Public Library.

Free Choral Concert April 2

On Tuesday, April 2, the library's Tuneful Tuesday noontime music series welcomes the Rock Island High School choir. The free performance starts at noon in the Downtown Library Community Room, 401 19^th Street, and concludes by 1:00pm. Under the direction of Scott Voight, the RIHS choir will perform songs suitable for all ages. This is the final Tuneful Tuesday in the 2023-2024 Winter/Spring Tuneful Tuesday series, all made possible by a generous sponsorship from Carol and Jim Horstmann.

Spoken Word Class For National Poetry Month

Just in time for National Poetry Month in April, Narratives QC and the Rock Island Public Library have partnered to offer a Spoken Word Poetry class on 6pm, Wednesday, April 3, at the Rock Island Watts-Midtown Branch, 2715 30^th Street.

Normally, these Narrative QC classes are only open to young adults ages 17 to 25. The organization has agreed to open it up for one night only to ages 13 and up through adults. Learn from Narratives QC poet and teacher, Chris Britton. Write your own poetry with us, or listen to what others are inspired to create. Prior experience writing or performing is not necessary! Along with poetry, Narratives is also providing pizza!

Learn about eclipses, view the night sky Thursday with the Popular Astronomy Club

A partial eclipse is coming to our area! To prepare people of all ages, the Rock Island Public Library and Popular Astronomy Club of the Quad Cities are partnering to offer a family astronomy night from 7:30 pm to 9 pm Thursday, April 4, at the Watts-Midtown Branch.

The Popular Astronomy Club will offer a talk about eclipses and eclipse safety. Both the Popular Astronomy Club and the library will offer eclipse glasses and viewers for attendees. Two per family are available while supplies last. Following the brief talk, the fun moves outside, weather permitting, to view the night sky in spring with the help of club members high-powered telescopes.

Bring a jacket, and enjoy an evening out with family while learning about the night sky in spring.

The library will offer additional glasses for use by the public on Monday, April 8, and show the NASA eclipse livestream at all locations from noon to 3 pm.

Play some Board Games, Saturday, April 6

Board games fans, plan to gather at the Rock Island Downtown Library on Saturday, April 6 to celebrate the upcoming Board Game Day. From 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, the library will offer a variety of board games for all ages and levels of play in the Community Room. Bring friends or family, or meet new people while you learn new games, or rediscover old favorites. If you like your game, some will be available for checkout at the event. The event is free and open to all ages.

National Board Game Day is celebrated annually on April 11. It's a great time to put away the screens, and try some old-fashioned fun with friends or family.

All events are free and open to the public. For other questions, contact the Library at 309-732-READ, visit the library website, or follow Rock Island Library on Facebook and Instagram.