In honor of our 50th Anniversary, the Blooming Prairie Branch Library will be hosting a series of speakers throughout the year to present on various topics focused around our local, cultural history. These presentations are all happening thanks to you, the people of Minnesota, and the funding made possible through the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Library Legacy Fund, courtesy of SELCO (our regional library system).
Annette (Dray) Drewes
CEO Wild Rice Connections
Thursday, October 22 @ 6:30pm
“Wild Rice – Gathering the Food that Grows on the Water”
Minnesota claimed wild rice as a state grain in 1977. Nearly fifty years later, the native, wild grass is threatened by climate change, loss of habitat, and mining development. Come learn about this annual plant, still growing wild in our lakes and streams. Every fall people gather wild rice into canoes, discovering the web of life that still sustains a plant which has been here for over 2,000 years. Nowhere else in the world does wild rice grow in such abundance. Find out about this food that grows on water.
Heidi Bacon
artist/illustrator
Tuesday, November 10 @ 5:30pm
“My Grandma Makes Lesfe”
Heidi will offer a reading from My Grandma Makes Lefse a book written by her sister and illustrated by her. Following the reading, Heidi will give a demonstration of traditional lefse-making techniques. Afterwards, attendees will have the opportunity to try their hand at making their own lefse.
