All Ages

Enjoy polka music, animated trivia, and magic tricks with Mike Schneider!

Sit down and sing along with Adam Miller, award-winning folksinger and storyteller.  This popular, multi-cultural sing-along program features traditional holiday folksongs from an American English-speaking folk tradition. Well-known (and not-so-well-known) folksongs and carols for New Year’s, Hanukkah, Christmas, and the Winter Solstice.

This 45-minute live program is an introduction to the crocodilian family. Bruce Shwedick begins his presentation by comparing the skulls of these iconic reptiles and then the audience will meet four live crocodilians from around the globe. A 15-minute question and answer session will follow his presentation.

G'day! Didgeridoo Down Under is a high-energy, Australia-themed show that combines music, culture, comedy, character building, and storytelling. The didgeridoo has been played by Aboriginal Australians for at least 1,500 years and is known for its otherworldly sound. But DDU is more than music. It’s educational, motivational and super fun. You’ll learn about Aussie culture, animals and more, all while moving & grooving to the pulsing rhythms of the didge!
(for all ages)

Per Governor Evers' Safer at Home Order all public libraries are closed until further notice. Scheduled programming will either be rescheduled or previously distributed Beyond the Page funds will be reallocated to humanities collection development.

The Easy Days Quartet has been entertaining audiences for a number of years and has been together with the current group since March 2008. Enjoyed by audiences of all ages, Easy Days has established a reputation as a good singing, entertaining and full-of-fun quartet. They impart their knowledge about the history of barbershop quartets and how they fit into history in general, and punctuate that knowledge with the performance of songs of the times.

Local history buffs Pia Kinney James and Char Braxton pay tribute to their legacies in Madison through a discussion of Madison past, present and future.  James was the first African American woman police officer and Braxton is on staff with the Odyssey Program. Both are from African American families who have lived in Madison for generations.  There will also be a Soul food meal featuring African American food from local African American caterer, Ruthie’s Chili Spot.

This is a tribute to Wisconsin civil rights activist Joe McClain, community activists, and our elders.  Learn why elders are important and necessary to Black legacy with additional information about the Committee for a Black History Museum in Madison. Joe McClain testimonials are welcomed.  Precious Memories Choir, a choir made up of people with memory loss, their caregivers, family and friends, will sing.  A Soul food tribute, with historical African Americans dishes from local African American caterer, Ruthie’s Chili Spot, will be offered.

Farmer Robert Pierce and Chef Ruthie Allen will discuss good food and the roles food and farming play in Madison’s African American community, past and present. The event will include famous Black love songs, food from Chef Ruthie and a chocolate tasting from CocoVaa, and information about the Committee for a Black History Museum in Madison.

This event will feature remarks from five artists who will be present: Jerry Butler, Jerry Jordan, Linda Mathis Rose, Henry Hawkins and Freida High Tesfagiorgis.  They will share their art, its connections to African American history and culture, and their partnership with UMOJA.  The event will feature a performance of Lift Every Voice by Pam Soward and a short movie about the history of UMOJA and its founder, Ms. Milele Chikasa Anana.  A dinner reception will feature African American food from local African American caterer, Ruthie’s Chili Spot.