Events Calendar

Central Library Madison and the American Red Cross are hosting an upcoming blood drive.

Please join our lifesaving mission and schedule an appointment today!

• Race to give this September and get a coupon for free haircut by email, thanks to Sport Clips Haircuts! Plus, a chance to win a trip for two and VIP NASCAR experience to the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series & Xfinity Races at Darlington Raceway. Terms: rcblood.org/win

Drive Details:
Site: Central Library
Address: 201 W. Mifflin St, Madison, WI, 53703
Room Name: Community Room 301
Date: Thurs September 21, 2023
Time: 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM

The need for blood is constant and only volunteer donors can fulfill that need for patients in our community. Nationwide, someone needs a unit of blood every 2 to 3 seconds and most of us will need blood in our lifetime.

Thank you for supporting the American Red Cross blood program!

Join artist Amy Mietzel for hands-on art activities inspired by picture books! We'll start by doing a read-aloud of the book - then create art using unique materials and fun supplies. Additional books that fit the theme will also be available for caregivers and youth to read together and check-out. For ages 2-5. Siblings & groups welcome. 

Sept: Toadstools -- Mushroom Lullaby by Kenneth Kraegel

Oct: Building and Construction -- Bigger, Bigger by Leslie Patricelli

Nov: Cats -- 10 Cats by Emily Gravett 

Dec: Hats -- Very Good Hats by Emma Straub

Come play in the children's area while local musician, Rin, plays a variety of songs on her fiddle and mandolin. This is informal music, meant to be enjoyed while playing, drawing, or reading in the children's area! ​For families/all ages.

Color Play: Making the world a little more rainbow

bernie & zuzu's residence term at Pinney Library Studio: February 2023 - October 2023

bernie & zuzu's in-Studio work time: Thursdays from 12-2 pm

bernie & zuzu's drop-in open Studio time: Thursdays from 2-4 pm at Pinney Library

bernie & zuzu wants you to come make the world a little more rainbow! Bernie invites the Madison community to explore color at weekly open studios and drop-in art making sessions that focus on color, shape, and mark-making in abstraction through the mediums of drawing, collage, block printing, stenciling, screen printing and painting. Throughout the residency, Bernie will invite the community to assist her with making the art studio into an installation and exhibition space that explodes with color: a rainbow room! Come play and be part of the fun!

bernie & zuzu is named for Bernie Witzack (she/her, a human) who is the creative force behind bernie & zuzu, and the extraordinary zuzu (a cat) who takes care of the business side of things. At bernie & zuzu, we create handmade, hand-painted, and screen-printed goods in small batches. We specialize in unique, one-of-a-kind art, home goods, accessories and prints with an emphasis on bright, bold color and playful shapes. bernie & zuzu is run out of a studio in the Madison Enterprise Center and we screen print at Polka Press, Madison’s local printmaking collective. We hope our artwork and goods inspire tiny moments of beauty, wonder and joy. 

Bernie studied Studio Art at Beloit College and has been making and exhibiting her art ever since. She earned an MFA in Fine Art & Design from the University of Michigan in 2013, focusing on improvisational drawing and painting. She then went on to study graphic design at Madison College, falling in love with screen printing along the way. She was working full time as a graphic designer and pursuing her art on the side when the pandemic hit in spring 2020. She left the design field in spring 2021 to focus on her art full time, launching bernie & zuzu in fall of 2021.

You can find bernie & zuzu’s goods at the Dane County Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings from April-October, at Little Luxuries, Hatch Art House, and Communication Madison. They also vend at local art markets such as The Eastside Winter Market, Femmestival, The Crafty Fair and the Madison Maker Markets. bernie & zuzu have an online shop at www.bernieandzuzu.com

Join us every Monday and Thursday at Goodman South Madison Library for teen time. Teens can choose what they'd like to do each time, but we'll have activities available to engage them from 4-6PM. Board games, art + maker projects, crafts, video games, and enrichment opportunities like vision boards and STEM experiments coordinated by Teen Librarian Will G. and featuring various community partners. Meet other teens from your neighborhood and enjoy community after school. 

This event was canceled; open studio will take place on 09/19 from 5:30-7:30 instead

All are welcome to join Maria and create a space for wishing within the Bubbler Room. Each week, Maria will be in the Bubbler Room on Thursday evenings, hosting sessions to create enchanting art together. We will explore the magic that exists in the natural world, our community, and in ourselves. We will focus on combining words and images using printmaking, collage, and sculpture. We’ll delve into questions such as:

What are we wishing for (something we’ve never had or something we’ve lost or…)? 
What does it take for our wishes to come true?
Who or what grants them?
What kind of collective magic can we summon?
What offerings do we leave in return as we make our wish?
What rituals do we create around making wishes? 

All ages and abilities are welcome! Drop in, no registration required. 

When we wish, we wish for something just out of our reach of what seems possible. What would it take to bring it to make them come true?
Read more about her residency here: https://www.madisonbubbler.org/residencies/central

Join us for a mystery book group discussion of "Leave the World Behind" by Rumaan Alam. Books are available at the library. New members always welcome!

"Amanda and Clay head out to a remote corner of Long Island expecting a vacation: a quiet reprieve from life in New York City, quality time with their teenage son and daughter, and a taste of the good life in the luxurious home they’ve rented for the week. But a late-night knock on the door breaks the spell. Ruth and G. H. are an older couple—it’s their house, and they’ve arrived in a panic. They bring the news that a sudden blackout has swept the city. But in this rural area—with the TV and internet now down, and no cell phone service—it’s hard to know what to believe.

Should Amanda and Clay trust this couple—and vice versa? What happened back in New York? Is the vacation home, isolated from civilization, a truly safe place for their families? And are they safe from one other?" -- Amazon.com

Gathers most Thursday evenings! Middle and high school students can meet other aspiring authors, bounce ideas off one another, share their stories, and feel the creativity flow! Writing club is led by local author Carole Madrzak.

Join friends and neighbors for a game night! Revisit old favorites or try something brand new from the library's collection of board games and card games such as Monopoly, Lotería, Mahjong, Yahtzee, Scrabble, puzzles, and more! Beverages and snacks will be provided.

Meets the third Thursday of each month from 6:00pm-7:30pm.

No registration required.