2026 marks the 50th anniversary of the Blooming Prairie Branch Library!
The theme for our year-long celebration is: Bloom (Again) with Books!

Welcome to the page dedicated to all the fun events happening this year in honor of our golden anniversary! Many of these events were made possible by a Community Collaboration Grant we were awarded by SELCO. Funds for this grant are provided by MN’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Legacy Fund.

Upcoming Events

Community Read

Join us for a Community Read! What is a Community Read? Think of it like a community-wide book club! We are reading the 1976 bestseller Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie in honor of our library opening that same year. Check out the Community Read page for all the details and information on how to get your hands on a copy. We’ll meet for a Community Discussion on Thursday, November 5.

70’s Party

Looking for something to do with the kids over MEA? Come celebrate the Blooming Prairie Branch Library’s 50th anniversary with a 70’s Party on Thursday, October 15! There will be games, crafts, activities, and snacks! This event is FREE and open to the public. Activities will be geared towards kids 5+ and families. More details available on the 70’s Party page!

Local Cultural History Series

This fall we have two more presentations in the Local Cultural History series. First, on October 22, Annette (Dray) Drewes will be here to discuss the cultural and historical significance of wild rice in Minnesota. Then, on November 10, Heidi Bacon will be presenting “My Grandma Makes Lefse” which will include a reading from the book she co-created with her sister and a lefse-making demonstration. More details on both events can be found on the Local Cultural History Series page.

Headshot of Annette Drewes in the woods.
Annette (Dray) Drewes
Heidi Bacon pictured with her landscape artwork.
Heidi Bacon

Stay up to date on all our anniversary events by signing up for our monthly newsletter!

Past Events

Blooming Prairie’s Old Fashion 4th of July

The library booth at the park gave away over 200 free books to kids! Adults with library cards were able to spin a prize wheel and win some of our awesome new logo items!

Kids and their parents/grandparents peruse the table of free books at the library's 4th of July park booth.
The library's booth was located just on the edge of the craft fair and saw a lot of foot traffic throughout the day.

Anniversary Social and Family Picnic (May 1 & 2)

2026 Minnesota Book Award winner Allen Eskens gave an author talk at our Evening Social that was held at the Servicemen’s Club Friday night. The next day, families were invited to our Family Picnic where we had a food truck, bounce houses, games, and the chance for people to contribute to our community quilt.

Guest speaker, Allen Eskens, gives author talk at May 1st Anniversary Social.
Allen Eskens
During the May 2nd Family Picnic, kids can be seen drawing with chalk on the street and climbing in and out of bounce houses in the background.
Family Picnic
The finished Community Quilt is full of bright colors and hand-drawn memories. It proudly hangs in the library near the children's area.
Community Quilt

Cultural History Presentations:

We have been hosting a series of presentations throughout the year about our local MN cultural history! In March, we had Jason Lee Willis come and talk about the MN Folklore and Legends that inspired his book series The Alchemist Chronicles. In June, we had a double feature by historian/photographer Doug Ohman who discussed both the history of farming and the history of public libraries in Minnesota.

Jason Willis presented on the historical folklore of Minnesota that inspired several of his novels.
Jason Willis, March 24
Doug Ohman presented on the history of libraries in America but particularly of libraries in Minnesota.
Doug Ohman, June 25

Tie Dye!

On August 6, to honor our 70’s history, we hosted a tie-dye event! People were able to receive a plain white shirt with our new logo on it to dye however they wanted. Pictured below on the left is part of the crowd that came out that day. Altogether, 139 shirts were dyed that afternoon! Pictured on the right is a group of kids from the local youth club who surprised the library by all wearing their newly tie-dyed shirts to an event later that summer.