Traditionally, ringing in the new year leads people to set resolutions — new things that they want to try, do or experience over the next 365 days. At the Prince Edward County Public Library & Archives we have hopped on that bandwagon, providing area youth with the opportunity to try six new activities over the course of January and February. Who knows, maybe you’ll discover a new passion or talent!
The “New Year, New You” series runs every Saturday from Jan. 13 to Feb. 17 from 2-4 p.m. at the Picton library branch. Each Saturday, we will offer an introduction to a new skill offered by a local artist, athlete or community member.
This Saturday Jan. 13, youth aged 6-15 have the opportunity to join youth programming assistant, Autumn, to try out Zumba! Zumba is an exercise fitness program created by Colombian dancer and cyclist/choreographer Alberto “Beto” “Power Pedal” Perez during the 1990s. It’s a high-energy program but can easily be modified to include participants of all skill levels. This class is designed to introduce the basics of Zumba. If you like what you try, there are a number of local fitness studios that offer Zumba instruction throughout the week.
Jan. 20 brings the opposite end of the energy spectrum. Entrepreneur, and fitness guru, Vicki Emlaw, will be guiding youth ages 8 and up through various Hatha-style yoga poses and introducing them to the concept of mindfulness. Mats and materials are provided, and zero experience is required.
Jan. 27 switches gears to a more artistic side of things. Crafter Ruth Forget, will be leading a scrapbooking workshop for youth ages 8 and up. Forget will be teaching how to create a visual record of your most important memories. Materials are all provided, but Forget suggests that you bring 4-6 photos to the workshop to include in the scrapbook pages.
Feb. 3 offers youth of all ages the chance to get their hands a little dirty! Lise Bois of the Prince Edward County Horticultural Society will be sharing some basic gardening tips and introducing concepts that can be applied in the Spring once we’ve all thawed out a little.
Feb. 10 brings the work of local artist, Angela Lavender. Lavender frequently hosts “Art with Ang” nights (think paint night, but local and in your own home), and will be transferring those skills to the library for a slightly younger crowd. Youth aged 6-15 are welcomed to try their hand at acrylic painting on canvas for a small fee of $10 per participant.
Finally, Feb. 17 finds local potter David Drown of Wellington Pottery bringing his clay to Picton for a change of scenery. Drown will show youth 6-15 the basics of clay pottery, and each student (after Drown takes the pieces back to his studio for firing) will have their own fully functional bowl to slurp soup or munch cereal from. The cost of this program is $40 per participant.
Each program does require registration, and some of them have a maximum number of participants due to spatial requirements. If you or a household member is interested in any (or all!) of these exciting opportunities, please visit www.peclibrary.org/register.
-Whitney Shantz