Sheep River Library News

From ghoulies and ghosties
And long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us!
~Scottish Saying
As we are all aware, Halloween is celebrated on October 31st. Traditional activities include trick or treating, bonfires, costume parties, haunted houses and carving jack-o-lanterns. Most of these traditions come from the Irish and Scottish immigrants who came to North America in the 1800s. But the origins of Halloween go back much further to the ancient Celts and the festival of Samhain, which was a celebration at the end of the harvest season. The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31st the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped and the deceased would come back to life and cause havoc in the form of sickness or damaged crops. Many of the activities we participate in now had their origins in the appeasing of these spirits. Costumes were worn and bonfires lit to scare them away. The Druids were given food (treats) as they visited homes as a way to keep the bad spirits at bay. If nothing was given, then the homeowner may suffer consequences. (tricks). These days trick or treaters rarely have to resort to their bag of tricks as most homeowners have jumped on the commercial band wagon and are stocked up with enough candy to please any and all comers and their pillow cases.
This year at the library we also have something for all those little candyholics. From 5:00 to 7:00pm on October 31st we will be offering free hot chocolate and cookies to any child who drops by in their costume. Any child dressed up as a literary character will be eligible to enter one of two draws for a basket of books (pre-school and elementary.) So, put us on your route!
Our Fall programming is in full swing with some notable highlights. We received our telescope with much joy and gladness on October 14th. We are very honoured to be the first library in Canada to be part of the Lending Telescope Project. The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (Calgary Centre) did a wonderful presentation and the weather co-operated enough that we were able to see Jupiter with its four moons and the craters of our own moon. Our telescope can be signed out by patrons for one week. We also suggest you make use of some of our new astronomy guides and books to make your telescope time profitable. If your child missed the presentation, the RASC will be doing another talk on our PD day afternoon on October 28th. Our movie for that morning will be Spooky Buddies.
Gita, our resident board game expert has started a Board Game Club on Tuesdays from 4 to 5pm. So, if you have nothing planned on those cold after school afternoons come on down and join in on a game or learn a new one. There is quite a variety available to satisfy everyone from the serious budding chess champion to those who like to sink battleships.
Other upcoming courses are Mortgages for the Real Estate Investor (October 26th) and First Time Home Buyers (November 9th). Our travel talks continue with Gavin John who will share his stories and photographs of his recent trip to Iraq and the Middle East. (November 2nd – not October 12th as erroneously advertised last issue). There is also room in the teleconference on November 3rd regarding the Community Spirit Program for organizations that are registered non-profit or charitable who are considering applying for this grant.
If you are more interested in spending money than finding it come to our Lia Sophia jewellery party on Saturday, November 5th from noon to 4pm.This will be a great way to get a jump start on your Christmas shopping for all the females on your list. A portion of the proceeds will go to the library
Just a reminder to all our patrons that November 11th is a statutory day and the library will be closed.