When’s the last time you visited the Glen Park Branch Library? If it’s been a while, you’re definitely missing something!
Try to stop by prior to the end of the month for your last chance to take in the over 90 individual pieces of artwork your neighbors and friends contributed to our first ever Tiny Art Show. We like to think of this as our hyper-local version of the De Young Open. And, like the De Young Open, contributing artists utilized multiple media although we constrained them to a 3” x 3” canvas. Just in case you’re not able to make it in, we’ve put together a short video that includes many of the pieces.
While you plan your trip to the library, we’d appreciate it if you bring a contribution for our community ofrenda celebrating Día de los Muertos. You can choose anything that serves as a remembrance for a loved one. including flowers, photos, letters/notes, sealed food/drink or any small keepsake or our community-built ofrenda will be on display through November 7th.
Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is celebrated on November 1st and 2nd. On this holiday we celebrate and remember the lives of those loved ones we have lost. Day of the Dead celebrations take place in cemeteries, public spaces and residences in Mexico, Mesoamerica and in now throughout the US as well. Altars to the dead are made at home and in community spaces in order to welcome and remember our departed. An altar is an offering to them and includes all the things they loved when they were alive. The creation of an ofrenda (or offering) is very special to families and communities. Death is seen not as “the end” but as a transition. The brightly colored smiling skulls are a playful reminder of the inevitability of death and the importance of living life to the fullest.
Text from Anita De Lucio — San Francisco artist, dancer and cultural educator
Along with these neighbor-driven displays, we’re also offering a wide variety of programming for adults, teens, youth, and families throughout the month. Join us November 1st from 6-7pm for a Filipino Self-Defense Workshop. The following week, Wednesday the 8th at 6pm, we’re excited to welcome one of the two artists responsible for the forthcoming Burnside Mural+ Tiled Stairway. Aileen Barr will share her process for designing and handcrafting the tiles for some of San Francisco’s most gorgeous stairways. You’ll also get to see a preview of our Burnside tiled stairway, a project of Burnside Mural+, fiscally sponsored by the SF Parks Alliance. Along with our familiar 2nd Sunday Swap and movie night, we’re debuting a new songwriting circle, Sunday, November 19th from 2pm.
Did you know that we offer a different drop-in activity every Saturday between 10:30 and 12:30 for 1-5 year olds? This month you can look forward to parachute games, toddler trucks & trains, and magna-tiles free play. We’ve also got an introduction to the Ohlone Stick Game with National Parks Ranger Fatima Wednesday, November 8th at noon, make your own leaf people comics Friday, November 17th at 4:30, and a family dance party Monday, November 6th at 10am.
Are your late elementary and middle school youth looking for something fun to do? We currently offer two graphic novel clubs including the Middle Grade Graphic Novel Book Club for ages 8-12 meeting Monday, November 13th at 4:30, and the Tween Graphic Novel Club for 11-12 year olds meeting Monday, November 27th at 4:30pm. Many 12-16 year olds have also had a ton of fun stretching their imaginations with two-hour introductions to roleplaying games (RPGs). This is an excellent way to try out RPGs without committing to a multi-week story or learning all the rules of a system like Dungeons and Dragons. We’re getting together Tuesday, November 21st at 3:45 to populate a dystopic future that combines magic and cyberpunks. If they’d prefer to stretch their creative wings on paper, we also offer an engaged Young Writers Group that meets the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month from 4:30-5:30. And if music is more their thing, we’re encouraging anyone 14 and older to join us for the songwriting circle.
As you can see, there are a wealth of options available to you at your community library, including many more options we couldn’t fit here. We hope you stop in this month to check out a book or one of these events, get a new library card, renew your current free membership, or just to say “Hi!”