Events Calendar

Closed for community youth group workshop.

Sing and Dance with musician Corey Hart

Join other neighborhood families for a casual library playdate for children ages 5 and under and their caregivers. We’ll feature open-ended play materials and lots of books! Siblings welcome.

Find help navigating application processes and filling out forms required for housing, immigration, food, health, and other community support services.

In partnership with the City of Madison and Madison Public Library, the African Center for Community Development provides in-person assistance. Examples include: 

• Disability
• Employment
• Housing
• Passport
• Social security
• Unemployment
• WIC

For questions about the program or to schedule an appointment, please call the African Center at 608-957-5623 or 608-294-0066.

*Neither The African Center for Community Development nor Madison Public Library can provide legal assistance or advice.  We cannot fill out applications on your behalf or assess program eligibility.
 

Join us for a casual playdate for babies ages birth to 18 months and their caregivers. This neighborhood event will include play materials, books, and early literacy resources. Siblings are welcome and registration is not required.

In the Bedroom 

Directed by Todd Field.  Performances by Sissy Spacek, Tom Wilkinson, Nick Stahl, Marisa Tomei, William Mapother, William Wise.  Miramax Films, 2001.  132 min.  Rated R.  Tragedy / Crime / Drama

The Fowlers are a typical family in Maine. Matt is the town doctor and loves to fish, his wife, Ruth, is the school's choir leader, and their son, Frank, is home from his first year of college. Frank has fallen in love with Natalie, a mother who isn't quite divorced yet from her husband, Richard Strout, whose family runs the local cannery. It makes Richard's blood run cold to see his wife running around with another man. When the affair takes a sudden and tragic turn, the Fowlers are forced to confront the harsh reality of their situation and the inescapable consequences of their actions.

Madison Public Library will be providing free garden seeds for community members at eight locations this year! 

The library is looking for volunteers to help with packaging the seeds so library patrons can take them home. If you would like to donate your time and effort to this project, please register below or contact your local library.

Registration opens two weeks before event date.

Madison Public Library will be providing free seeds for community members at several locations again this year! 

Now the library is looking for volunteers to help with the hard part: packaging the seeds so library patrons can take them home. If you would like to donate your time and effort to this project, please register below.

Registration opens two weeks before the event, on February 8, at 9:00am.

The Munch Mobile Lunch Van will make a stop at Lakeview Library on Thursdays. All people in and around the library can get a free lunch.

Visit the Dream Bus to browse books and other library materials, place or pick up holds, and sign up for a library card.

Learn more at dreambus.org

Ready to color your way through winter with a rainbow of art projects? Join us for Warm Creativity on Cold Afternoons with Bernie & Zuzu! Returning for a mini-winter season, Bernie is back in the Pinney Library Studio from 3:30-5:30 every Thursday in Feb. and every Tuesday in March with drop-in art making projects for grown-ups, teens, and kiddos. Different surprise projects and medium(s) will be featured each week to help you add some color play to your winter day.

No registration necessary, drop-in and get creative with your friends and neighbors of all ages.

About Bernie & Zuzu:

At bernie & zuzu, we design unique, one-of-a-kind goods with bold, bright color and exuberant patterns that inspire playfulness, creativity and joy. bernie & zuzu is named for Bernie Witzack, founder and artist, and her brilliant and extraordinary cat zuzu (bios below). bernie & zuzu is run out of a studio in the Madison Enterprise Center at 100 S. Baldwin Street in Madison, Wisconsin. We screen print at Polka Press, Madison’s local printmaking collective.

Bios:

Zuzu was adopted by Bernie when she was a wee little kitten. Her favorite napping place as a kitten was a hiking boot. She has an MBA from Harvard and is a social media expert. When she’s not working as the CEO, CFO and COO of bernie & zuzu, you can find her napping in her bed in Bernie’s closet, or at the top of her cat tree. Zuzu is nineteen years young. She really, really loves watermelon.

I [Bernie] grew up in a small town south of Madison, in a home where my dad’s paintings lined the walls and my mom’s quilts covered the beds. I staged my first art show at age 9, lining my wood-paneled dining room with drawings and charging my parents’ friends a dollar a drawing. I took all the art classes I could in high school, studied Studio Art at Beloit College and earned an MFA in Fine Art from the University of Michigan. In grad school, I focused on drawing and painting, working in an improvisational and materials-based process. I never feel more connected and alive than when I am creating art. My hope is that the joy I feel when creating comes through in bernie & zuzu’s goods and inspires tiny moments of happiness, joy and wonder in our fans.

The Madison Writing Assistance (MWA) program offers free, one-to-one writing support for community members at library branches throughout the city. Our friendly, experienced writing coaches are happy to help with writing projects across a wide range of genres, including resumes, cover letters, application essays, grant proposals, fiction writing, memoirs, and more.

Schedule an appointment online with the link below, by phone, or in person.

MWA services are made possible through generous donations from the Evjue Foundation and UW Anonymous Fund, along with administrative and program support from the UW-Madison English Department, the UW-Madison Writing Center, and our Library and neighborhood center partners.

It Takes A Village After-School Enrichment sessions are created in an effort to promote community, and a safe place for youth patrons between 12 and 18 years old. We will supply various gaming activities board games and electronic games also VR gaming

Play Minecraft in both creative and survival worlds! Ability to fully use both a computer keyboard and a computer mouse required. Recommended for ages 8 and up.

Visit the Dream Bus to browse books and other library materials, place or pick up holds, and sign up for a library card.

Learn more at dreambus.org

The Madison Writing Assistance (MWA) program offers free, one-to-one writing support for community members at library branches throughout the city. Our friendly, experienced writing coaches are happy to help with writing projects across a wide range of genres, including resumes, cover letters, application essays, grant proposals, fiction writing, memoirs, and more.

Schedule an appointment online with the link below, by phone, or in person.

MWA services are made possible through generous donations from the Evjue Foundation and UW Anonymous Fund, along with administrative and program support from the UW-Madison English Department, the UW-Madison Writing Center, and our Library and neighborhood center partners.

Kids, teens, and their caregivers are invited to cook with Chef Lily at Hawthorne Library! Participants will prepare and enjoy a wide variety of recipes, while learning about meal planning, following recipes, and using kitchen gadgets and tools. The finished meal will be shared among those who cooked as well as other customers at Hawthorne Library.

Goodman South Madison is excited to continue our Dungeons & Dragons programming for youth. This is a drop in Dungeons and Dragons program for kids of all ages (kids ages 7 and under will need the assistance of an adult). Pre-developed character sheets, dice, and players manuals will be provided. Stop in for a short adventure and to learn how to play! Players can begin picking their characters and grabbing a snack starting at 5pm. Gameplay will be 5:30pm-7pm.

About D&D: Dungeons and Dragons is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game that allows each player to create their own character to play. These characters embark upon imaginary adventures within a fantasy setting. A Dungeon Master (DM) serves as the game's referee and storyteller, while maintaining the setting in which the adventures occur.

Visit the Dream Bus to browse books and other library materials, place or pick up holds, and sign up for a library card.

Learn more at dreambus.org

Madison Public Library will be providing free garden seeds for community members at eight locations this year! 

The library is looking for volunteers to help with packaging the seeds so library patrons can take them home. If you would like to donate your time and effort to this project, please register below or contact your local library.

Registration opens two weeks before event date.

Navigate this new world as Season2 comes to a close and second threat looms over the horizon will our heroes be brave enough to stop what comes? Will they be wise enough to solve the mystery? How many fart jokes can I squeak in?? Find out in A Ballad of Interesting Events. This campaign is geared towards middle and high school age youth and takes place on Thurday evenings at Meadowridge Library. 

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.

The Madison Writing Assistance (MWA) program offers free, one-to-one writing support for community members at library branches throughout the city. Our friendly, experienced writing coaches are happy to help with writing projects across a wide range of genres, including resumes, cover letters, application essays, grant proposals, fiction writing, memoirs, and more.

Schedule an appointment online with the link below, by phone, or in person.

MWA services are made possible through generous donations from the Evjue Foundation and UW Anonymous Fund, along with administrative and program support from the UW-Madison English Department, the UW-Madison Writing Center, and our Library and neighborhood center partners.

Learn to block print with local artist Bernie! Block printing is an ancient process that is widely used today in both paper and fabric applications. In this workshop we will draw inspiration from the botanical world, carve our own blocks, and learn how to print multiples on paper. No prior experience with art or drawing skills are needed.

This 2-hour workshop is ideal for adults and older teens 16+.  Space is limited and registration is required. Registration opens two weeks prior; please only register if you can confirm you will attend. If full, call Pinney Library information desk at 608-224-7100 to be placed on a short waiting list in case of cancellations. 

This workshop is being offered on two dates: 2/27/25 & 3/25/25 - please select just one, allowing space for other community members to try out.

About Bernie & Zuzu:

At bernie & zuzu, we design unique, one-of-a-kind goods with bold, bright color and exuberant patterns that inspire playfulness, creativity and joy. bernie & zuzu is named for Bernie Witzack, founder and artist, and her brilliant and extraordinary cat zuzu (bios below). bernie & zuzu is run out of a studio in the Madison Enterprise Center at 100 S. Baldwin Street in Madison, Wisconsin. We screen print at Polka Press, Madison’s local printmaking collective.

Bios:

Zuzu was adopted by Bernie when she was a wee little kitten. Her favorite napping place as a kitten was a hiking boot. She has an MBA from Harvard and is a social media expert. When she’s not working as the CEO, CFO and COO of bernie & zuzu, you can find her napping in her bed in Bernie’s closet, or at the top of her cat tree. Zuzu is nineteen years young. She really, really loves watermelon.

I [Bernie] grew up in a small town south of Madison, in a home where my dad’s paintings lined the walls and my mom’s quilts covered the beds. I staged my first art show at age 9, lining my wood-paneled dining room with drawings and charging my parents’ friends a dollar a drawing. I took all the art classes I could in high school, studied Studio Art at Beloit College and earned an MFA in Fine Art from the University of Michigan. In grad school, I focused on drawing and painting, working in an improvisational and materials-based process. I never feel more connected and alive than when I am creating art. My hope is that the joy I feel when creating comes through in bernie & zuzu’s goods and inspires tiny moments of happiness, joy and wonder in our fans.

¡Acompáñenos!  Los miembros del Grupo de Conversación en Español de University League ofrecen este programa de conversación gratis para adultos con nivel intermedio o avanzado, del segundo y cuarto jueves del mes (en el tarde del segundo, en la noche de cuarto), en la biblioteca Sequoya.  Los principiantes que quieran escuchar el idioma, serán bien recibidos.

Este evento tambien se realizará virtualmente a través de Zoom. Más información sobre este programa se le enviará por correo electrónico cuando se registre. Zoom es una plataforma de video gratuita, y puede mirar en un navegador, a través de la aplicación móvil gratuita para ios o android, o llamar para participar solo por voz.

Come join us! Members of the University League's Spanish Conversation Interest Group will host this free monthly conversation for adults with intermediate to advanced level Spanish skills on the second and fourth Thursday each month (meeting in the afternoon on the second, in the evening on the fourth). Beginners who want to listen to the language are also invited.

This event will also be hosted virtually through Zoom; more information will be emailed to you upon registration. Zoom is a free video platform, and you can watch on a browser, through the free mobile app for ios or android, or call in to participate by voice only.