Library Lines: Games galore at Cheboygan Library
The Cheboygan Area Public Library’s Library of Things collection is growing! The selection of board and card games is growing fast. Currently, the selection covers Apples to Apples to Yatzee, from Catan to Ticket to Ride, plus there is a Dungeons & Dragons starter kit, Bananagrams and Suspend, Clue and Monopoly, Exploding Cats and Cobra Paw, and dozens more.
And the collection will be expanded in the coming months. Be on the lookout for the fantastic outdoor games which will include Yard Yatzee, Bean Bag Cornhole Toss, Kanjam, travel Badminton, and others.
Right now, the collection boasts lots of other great items in addition to the nearly 50 card and board games. There are various kitchen appliances including a food dehydrator, a mini cake pop maker, some cookie cutters and a bread machine. Did you know that with a food dehydrator you can make some delicious dried fruit snacks or homemade veggie chips or hearty meat or tofu jerky or even Kombucha scobys (a kombucha starter)?
Want to get crafty? There are also several craft supplies items available in the Library of Things collection including a serger sewing machine and rubber art stamps (and lots of them for all occasions) as well as The Cinch, which is a book-binding tool.
Maybe you prefer to be outdoorsy? There are five Discover Cheboygan Backpacks that are fun kits for the whole family. Each backpack is made for one of five specific locations: the Cheboygan State Park, Ocqueoc Falls State Park, Black River Recreation Area, the Headlands Dark Sky Park, and Gordon Turner Park. In each backpack there is a collection of exploration tools and reference material such as a compass, nature log, specimen jars, binoculars, maps, and more. If just exploring isn’t enough, the Library of Things collection also has a few fishing rods with tackle that can be borrowed for a day on the water.
Want to explore what is in the Library of Things collection? We have made it easier to do so. Just visit the Library website at cheboyganlibrary.org and click on the “Looking For” tab at the top of the page. A drop-down menu will appear, which will have two listings for the collection: “Library of Things: Games” and “Library of Things: Miscellaneous Items.” The second listing has all the kitchen items, craft supplies, STEAM kits, Explore Cheboygan Backpacks, ukuleles, fishing poles, Verilux Happy Light, braille kit, wi-fi hot-spots, rock-polishing kit, and anything else not listed as a card or board game. Although the catalog shows a “Place Hold” button, these items cannot be placed on hold. They are on a first-come, first-served basis, but looking at the catalog online will show you if something has already been checked out.
Well, if that isn’t too much fun for you, be sure to check out the upcoming events happening at the library. First, throughout the month of February, there will be a free, self-guided exhibit of all things "Star Wars" and superheroes during the 2022 Comic Expo. This display will be in the gallery on the lower level of the library and open during regular library hours.
The gallery will also be open to anyone interested in hanging out and playing some games as there will be some family-friendly games available for use every day throughout February.
Ready to be a Jedi? The Cheboygan Area Public Library will also be hosting two Jedi Nerf battles. The first will take place on Friday, Feb. 4, and the second will be Friday, Feb. 18. The battles will be 4-7 p.m. both nights. The Nerf nights are family-friendly events open to all ages. All supplies will be provided but sign-up is requested. And yes, participants can enjoy both nights of fun. To sign up, call or stop by the library. The library can be reached at 231-627-2381.
There will also be two nights of "Star Wars" movie marathons. “Star Wars: Episodes IV: A New Hope” (the original "Star Wars") and “Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back” will play 10:15 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 5. The second night of "Star Wars" films will take place on Saturday, Feb. 19, again starting at 10:15 a.m., and will feature the side stories “Rogue One” and “Solo.” All movies are just over two hours in length and rated PG or PG-13. The movie nights are free to attend, and popcorn will be provided. Participants may also bring their own movie snacks if they want.
The Cheboygan Area Public Library will also be hosting guest speaker David Kaplan who will be presenting “Survivors, Victims, and Legacies: The Rest of the Story” at 6 p.m. Feb. 10 in person at the Cheboygan Area Public Library. This presentation will share some stories of the survivors and the victims of the Titanic disaster that took place in April 1912. The event is free and open to the community.
Be a hero — give blood. The Cheboygan Area Public Library will be hosting a blood drive with Versiti Blood Centers of Michigan 1-6:45 p.m. Feb. 15. As hospitals are experiencing an ongoing blood shortage, the need for donations is crucial. And you can help by being a blood donor. Appointments are preferred, but walk-ins will be accepted. You can sign up to donate in one of three ways:
- Call the library at 231-627-2381 and a staff member can sign you up over the phone.
- Call Versiti at 866-642-5663 to sign up over the phone with the blood center staff.
- Go online to versiti.org/michigan (search for sponsor code “Cheboygan Public Library”) to sign up online.
Double-Red donation appointments will also be available. Please help us meet our goal of 24 donors — sign up today and be a superhero.
Looking ahead, the Cheboygan Area Public Library will host the annual Community Quilt Show during the month of March. Anyone interested in displaying their quilted work may drop their item(s) off at the library after Feb. 20. Please make sure to fill out a quilt show registration form, which will be available at the front desk. We look forward to seeing all the amazing quilts.
— Emily Clare is program director of the Cheboygan Area Public Library.