At the Library 12/14/23

AT THE LIBRARY

By Cary Ann Siegfried, Washington Public Library

We think that one of the most magical places to be in Washington, Iowa this month is the 2nd floor of the Washington Free Public Library. Our windows overlook Central Park with a beautiful view of the Lights of Love memory trees and also offer a bird’s eye view of the holiday decorations all around the square. The view is especially beautiful as evening is falling. Some of you might want to add a some falling snow to pump up the magic a little.

We like to think of our second floor reading lounge as our community’s “living room.” We have comfortable chairs, books and also something many of us don’t have in our living room—a grand piano! And this month we’ll be hosting several musical events that you won’t want to miss!

Instead of our standard two concerts a month, we have THREE musical events in December. On Thursday, December 14 at noon, Gary McCurdy will be bringing us another performance of his tuba quartet—Downward Spiral. If you can’t imagine four tubas in one room, you really don’t want to miss this! Then on Thursday, Dec. 21 at noon, Abby Brewer will be showing us the magic of that grand piano. Abby is a pianist, performing with many local music ensembles in the Cedar Rapids area and also teaches piano, music theory and music history at Coe College.

Finally, on Thursday, December 28 we’ll once again offer piano music all day by bringing back the Piano Marathon! From morning to evening, we’ll offer local pianists an opportunity to play for 20-30 minutes. We encourage holiday tunes, but any type of music is allowed. All ages and skill levels are welcome and signups are open now. Either give us a call, stop by or signup online through our Event Calendar and we’ll find you a place. And for those of you who don’t have the skills to play, feel free to bring a book and a cup of coffee, maybe even your favorite blanket and just soak in the beautiful music for a few hours.

Whether there is music playing or not, we hope you’ll stop by and enjoy your living room this month!