Join other piano music lovers on Sunday, March 17, 4-5 pm at the Downtown Library to hear original selections from the recent recording project, Sweet Geriatrics by pianist/composer Waleed Howrani. From “Bifocal Boogie Woogie” to “Balding Balalaika,” the pieces cover a wide range of topics and musical styles with aplomb. “Old to Joy” reflects on the happy free time of retirement via Beethoven backwards in a minor key, while the joyful “Great-Grandsonata” winds six elements of a sonata into 27 playful seconds. “The journey through life into middle age and beyond is a lot like a symphony,” said Howrani. “It takes place in movements and phases and has many different tones and moments along with recurring themes." You will be amazed and thoroughly entertained by how Howrani tickles the ivories and plays with mother time right before our very eyes!

Saturday March 16, 2013: 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm -- Downtown Library: Training Center

This is your chance to compete for the ultimate prize...your lives! The Hunger Games is a hit YA book series and a popular competitive game in the world of Minecraft.

AADL's Minecraft server is up and running! We're hosting our own Minecraft server and we need you to help us build "Ann Arbor." Feel free to play Hunger Games or just join this meeting and help us build Ann Arbor. It's a great way to meet people you've seen on the server and coordinate new builds.

This event is for teens (grade 6 and up) and adults.

Saturday, March 16 | 11:00-11:45 AM | Malletts Creek Branch | Ages 6 mos. – 2 yrs. w/ an adult

Join us this Saturday for a morning of sign language for infants and toddlers! Certified instructor Kathy Brady of Signing Smart will be presenting, and sharing her knowledge. She’ll talk about how to add signs into songs and play, and how to make signing easy and fun for both children and their caregivers. This event is designed for hearing infants and toddlers, ages 6 months to 2 years, with an adult. No older siblings, please.

For additional resources on sign language for children, check out this list of materials to get you started, as well as these titles for more information on signing.

The deadline for submitting stories to the Teen Short Story Writing Contest is Friday, March 15, so, you still have time to put on those finishing touches and submit to: allwrite@aadl.org.
Only electronic submissions will be accepted.

Prizes are awarded for 1st ($250), 2nd($150), and 3rd($100) place in three categories: Grades 6-8, 9-10, and 11-12. "It's All Write!" is cosponsored by the Friends of the Ann Arbor District Library.

You will receive an email verifying that we have received your story, and then the process begins of screening the stories and having the final judges select the winners. This year the impressive line-up includes, Matt de la Pena, Lauren Oliver, Frances O'Roark Dowell, Steve Amick, Don Gallo, Lara Zielin, and Mac Barnett. All stories are judged anonymously and finalists will be notified by mail.

Winners will be announced at an Awards Program on Saturday, May 11 at the Downtown Multi-Purpose Room. Awarding winning author, A. S. King will be announcing the winners and discussing the craft of writing.

Good Luck!

C Jason & Robot: C Jason & RobotBeep Bleep Boop!

Do you love robots? Artist C. Jason DePasquale digs robots too! As a teacher and longtime robot fan, Jason has had plenty of chances to perfect his robot drawing — through his work with Liberty Street Robot Supply and Repair and beyond!

Saturday, March 16, 2-3 pm, come to the Downtown Library and watch Jason draw some simple robots, get ideas, follow along, and create colorful robo-drawings of your own to take home!

Have fun and get challenged at Traverwood this Sunday, March 17, from 1:00 - 4:00 pm with some rousing games of chess.

We supply the chess boards. All ages and abilities are welcome!

You might want to check out some recent new materials Chess Puzzles for Kids or Chess in Action : From First Attack to Checkmate,
to refresh your game and learn some new tips.

Wednesday March 13, 2013: 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm -- Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

Pianist Mr. B performs at the Opening Concert of America's Music, a film/discussion/concert series, presented by the AADL!

Hosted by Martin Bandyke, this event includes a preview and film montage and remarks by UM Prof. of Musicology Mark Clague.

Enjoy this concert and then attend the rest of the eight-week series, America’s Music: A Film History of Our Popular Music from Blues to Bluegrass to Broadway. Events include film discussions at the AADL and concerts presented by the Library and Kerrytown Concert House.

The Ann Arbor District Library is one of fifty sites nationwide to host the America’s Music series, a project of the Tribeca Film Institute in collaboration with the American Library Association, Tribeca Flashpoint, and the Society for American Music. The AADL series is cosponsored by Kerrytown Concert House, UMS, WCBN 88.3 FM, and the Friends of the AADL.

America’s Music has been made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.

Thursday March 14, 2013: 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm -- Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

AADL joins with The Performance Network Theatre for a delightful evening of Boston lore and cooking tips with the return of Boston television stars and heirloom cooking experts Marilynn and Sheila Brass. This event is designed to give colorful insight into the food and lore of Boston - the setting for the Performance Network's March production of the play, "Good People”.

Boston's Brass Sisters are cookbook authors, television personalities and culinary historians. They also won a Throwdown on the Food Network with Bobby Flay (with their heirloom recipe for Pineapple Upside-Down Cake)! Their cookbook, "Heirloom Baking” also received a James Beard nomination in the Dessert and Baking Category. This event will include a book signing and books will be for sale.

Sunday March 10, 2013: 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm -- Malletts Creek Branch: Program Room AB

Tilian is a local business incubator, where the businesses are four-season farms! It has helped launch five new successful farms in its first two years of operation.

Learn how Tilian, a 44-acre campus for new farms on Pontiac Trail was formed, about their mission to assist new farmers in starting and establishing farm business during the critical first years, and their "farmer residency" training programs. There will be time for audience questions.

This event is for adults and teens (grade 6 and up).

Saturday March 9, 2013: 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm -- Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

March is a blustery month, so it's a perfect time to make a new windsock for your yard! This project will take the entire time to complete.

This event is for adults and teens (grade 6 & up).