Poverello Center’s 50th anniversary celebration at library

This year’s Summer Learning Program at Missoula Public Library welcomes explorers of all ages to embark on an exciting journey of discovery, imagination, and learning. The theme for this year, Adventure Begins at your Library, invites children, teens, and adults to go on a quest for knowledge, creativity, and fun. The program will feature hands-on activities, engaging presentations, and entertaining programs for everyone. Starting from June 1, you can come to the library to pick up a printed reading log (for young readers) or Library BINGO card (for teens and adults) to start the 2024 reading challenge. For full details and programs of the Adventure Begins at Your Library Summer Learning Program, visit our website at: missoulapubliclibrary.org/summer-learning-program. The Summer Learning Program is made possible with support from The Foundation for Missoula Public Library.

Join Youth Services librarians when they read a selection of engaging stories geared toward teens through adults with cognitive or other disabilities. This program is held twice a month, with the next Story Time happening on June 3 from 1 to 2 p.m. in the Art Box on Level Two of the library.

Tiny Tales is back at Empower Place! Tiny Tales uses sounds, rhythms, and movement to help your child learn to read. Participants will sing songs, learn finger-plays and nursery rhymes, and hear stories. This program takes place every Tuesday, with the next program set for June 4 from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in the conference room on the 2nd floor of EmPower Place located at 1720 Wyoming St.

On June 5 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in Cooper Room A/B on Level Four of the library, enjoy a discussion and reading with author Rebecca McCarthy from her new book, “Norman Maclean: A Life of Letters and Rivers.” McCarthy will be joined by O. Alan Weltzien, editor of The Norman Maclean Reader. “Rebecca McCarthy’s intimate portrait of Maclean draws on her long friendship with the author from the time she became a student at the University of Chicago through the rest of his life. Irrepressible as a teacher, Maclean shared guidance, advice, campus and city rambles, and loyal friendship with generations of students. A vivid evocation of an iconic figure, Norman Maclean reveals the forces and events that shaped the author-educator and formed the bedrock of his beloved stories.”

Get your game on at MPL! Switch games and controllers will be available for gamers to use every Thursday. Prove you are master of Rainbow Road or smash your opponents in Super Smash Bros.! This gaming time is intended for children/youth 16 and under. We want to ensure that everyone has a great time, so please no food or drinks while gaming, players must share and play with other gamers, and players must be respectful of the gaming equipment and each other. The next Game On! session is on June 6 from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the Imaginarium on Level Two.

Kids can learn how to make tasty treats, simple meals, and fun food at your local library! Kid-friendly recipes will be shared with young chefs who will get the chance to make their own food to enjoy and take home. The next program is on June 6 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Demonstration Kitchen on Level Three of the library.

After School Meals are available at Missoula Public Library! MPL will serve meals to children 18 and under, courtesy of the Missoula Food Bank & Community Center, every Friday in the Imaginarium on Level Two of the library from 2:30 to 5 p.m. The last After School Meal will be available on June 7.

2024 marks the Poverello Center’s 50th anniversary! Poverello Past & Future is an interactive exhibit displayed during June on Level Four of Missoula Public Library. The exhibit features a glimpse into Missoula as it was in 1974, the calling to serve felt by Missoulians throughout the years, and the ability to provide food, shelter, help, and hope for the next 50 years. Visitors have the opportunity to view locally-made art, testimonies from Poverello staff from over the years, and to contribute to the vision of the future at the Poverello Center. The First Friday Opening Reception will take place on June 7 from 5 to 7 p.m. on Level Four of the library, and will include a chance to make hygiene kits and explore the Poverello’s history.

Yarns @ MPL will be hosting World Wide Knit in Public day on June 10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the library lawn. Join fiber artists around the globe bringing attention to knitting, crocheting, and other crafts. Don’t knit or crochet but might like to give it a try? If the weather is not suitable, meet in the Blackfoot Room on Level Four. There will be free kits available that will include needles, yarn, and a pattern.