For most people, the word "library" evokes images of index cards, befuddling decimals and dusty tomes, but it is a little different at the Stettler Public Library.
The library has transformed over the past few months into a hub for kids and teens in the community with some amazing programs geared towards various age groups and interest levels, the recent ones being perler bead crafting on Friday, Nov. 4 and cooking sessions on Saturday, Nov. 5.
The cooking clubs returned to the Stettler Public Library on this past Saturday, originally formed during the summer break for the kids to engage in something more fun.
"The cooking club was a part of our Summer Reading program," said Elaine Hoekstra, program manager. "The cooking club is a free program but requires pre-registration. These events were extremely popular, especially for the 8-12 age group."
Both cooking clubs made pancakes from a simple recipe to follow.
"We had to ensure all participants had a chance to prepare the recipe from start to finish," Hoekstra added. "Even though most cooks had previously made pancakes from scratch prior, the groups worked collaboratively and shared all the duties except eating, of course."
According to Hoekstra, each member creatively changed the colour of their pancakes as they ate blue, teal, red, tie dye pink and blue pancakes, just to name a few colours. "Some even added cherry flavour too, they topped off their pancake stacks with pure Quebec maple syrup and whipped cream," she said. "The syrup was donated to the Cooking Club by Darren and Joanne Champigny of Alix, so thank you to them."
Perler bead crafting afternoonDuring the afternoon of Professional Development days, the Stettler Public Library will be hosting a variety of events throughout the school year.
"On Friday when we hosted a perler bead crafting afternoon for two hours, we had 25 children participating and creating works of art with them," said Hoekstra. "These beads were set on pegboards to create whatever design one desired and melted into place with an iron. The library staff had the privilege to melt their projects that included poppies, turtles, flowers, dreamcatchers, snakes and geometric designs."