2nd Annual Manga Drawing Contest Winners!

Tue, 08/05/2008 - 9:50am by erin

Our 2nd Annual Manga Drawing Contest has drawn to a close! This year our hard working judges were Jerzy Drozd and Shannon Towsend. They each spent hours judging the entries and providing feedback to each and every entry - thank you! In case you don't know what manga is click here. If you missed this year and are looking to find other places to post your work Jerzy made a great resource sheet. You can check out all the entries in this year's contest in our image gallery.

Click Read More to see the list of the winners!

Grades K-2 Category:
1st Place – Angela Wang
Runner-Up – Susanna Wu
Honorable Mention – Desiree Lu
Best Fan Art – Kareem El-Tawil
Best Original Character – Oliver Mayman

Grades 3-5 Category:
1st Place – Rosa Chen
Runner-Up – Natalie Liu
Honorable Mention – Alice Wu
Best Fan Art – Eric Ren
Best Original Character – Sally Lee

Grades 6-8 Category:
1st Place – Angela Wang
Runner-Up – Angela Huang
Honorable Mention – Zbyszek Sikora
Best Original Character – Genna Liu
Best Fan Art – Rujia Zha
Best Comic Strip – Connor Quigg

Grades 9-12 Category:
1st Place – Caitlin Dooley
Runner-Up – Lena Ji
Honorable Mention – Tracey Fu
Best Original Character – Lauren Houser
Best Fan Art – Stephanie Mannheim

Music in Manchester

Thu, 07/31/2008 - 3:36pm by Maxine

Drive or bike to Manchester this Saturday for the 7th Annual Riverfolk Music and Arts Festival. Some of the featured musicians will be singer/songwriter, Vienna Tang who won rave reviews at the Ann Arbor Folk Festival a few years ago, Tumbao Bravo, a Cuban jazz ensemble, local acts, a fiddle contest and special activities for children. And all for only $12 at the gate ($10 in advance). Kids twelve and under admitted free. Begin the party Friday night with a "Boogie Woogie Barbeque and Cash Bar" plus entertainment.

3rd Annual LEGO ® Contest Winners!

Thu, 07/31/2008 - 10:35am by erin

Once again our annual LEGO® contest was a blast! Families dropped off their entries on Tuesday night and all day Wednesday, the judges deliberated for almost 3(!) hours and then we packed the house with people wanting to look! This year we had over 130 projects entered into the contest - making it tougher for the judges to decide. Thanks to our judges Eli Neiburger, AADL Associate Director of IT and Product Development, Eric Klooster, AADL IT Component Developer and finally Duane Collicott, local LEGO® enthusiast and Brick Bash Master. Those that placed 1st Place, Runner-Up and Honorable Mention each got gift cards to Toys R Us, plus an award medal. Award medals were also given to those who placed in the special categories. NEW this year! Stay tuned later this summer for the LEGO® Contest Photo Gallery of every project submitted!

Without further ado behold the winners!

Fine Binding: Extra Work, Extra Results, Presented by Book Conservator Julia Miller

Wed, 07/30/2008 - 6:55pm by Liberry Shortstack

Thursday August 7, 2008: 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm -- Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

Over the course of her career as a professional conservator, Julia Miller has had extensive experience with various aspects of bookbinding and historical preservation of print collections. She will present on the topic of historical book binding in conjunction with the Downtown AADL exhibit, "Design Bindings Presented by the Kerrytown BookFest." The exhibit is on display through August. This event is cosponsored by the Sixth Annual Kerrytown BookFest, which takes place on Saturday, September 7, 2008. The theme of this year's bookfest is Honoring Fine Binding and Ernest Hemingway.

Miller has recently shifted her work from bench treatment to independent scholarship, studying and recording the historical style and structure of bindings in the rare collections at the University of Michigan. She will discuss historical 'fine' binding, what makes such bindings special, and how they relate to the current exhibit at AADL. She will bring some examples and images of different levels of 18th- and 19th- century historical binding for illustration.

Before the presentation begins, please feel free to enjoy the fine bookbinding exhibit on display in the lower level.

German Park Picnic

Sat, 07/26/2008 - 10:24am by Caser

Festival lovers, fear not the end of July, for the ">German Park Picnic is back for the summer! Located at 5548 Pontiac Trail, the annual festival is held from 4-11pm on the last Saturday of June, July, and August. Like an Oktoberfest, but with warmer weather, the festival is best known for its authentic German fare, live music and dancing, large buckets of cold beverages, and abundance of lederhosen. Looking for some Volksmusik to get you in the spirit? Try Songs for Oktoberfest, or a Wagner opera available at the AADL. See you at the bratwurst stand!

An Enchanted Afternoon

Thu, 07/24/2008 - 5:53pm by StoryLaura

Float through fairy dust to the Downtown Ann Arbor District Library on Sunday, July 27th at 2:00 pm for fairytale storytime and fairy treats. You can make a sparkly bookmark and create a fanciful garden for the wee folk but whatever you do, don't forget to stop at the fairy door and see the new sign the fairies put up!

YoYo Genius of Michigan

Thu, 07/24/2008 - 5:14pm by lola

Calling all kindergarteners through 5th graders to take a glimpse at a Yo-Yo master. Come to the Pittsfield Branch at 11 AM Wednesday, July 30 for a great show with YoJake. During National Turn Off the TV week, YoJake picked up a yo-yo and has not been able to put it down since. See the latest yo-yo tricks and skills from someone who has competed all around the nation! Extreme yo-yoing is not just "walk the dog" any longer!

Learn your own crazy yo-yo moves from these cool books:
Awesome Yo-Yo Tricks by
Yo-Yo’s: Tricks to Amaze Your Friends by Ingrid Roper

Abrakadoodle at the Library

Wed, 07/23/2008 - 5:34pm by StoryLaura

Join talented Mike Murphy, director of Abrakadoodle, for a fun evening of art and create your own Pueblo Storytelling doll. On Friday, July 25 at 7:00 pm at the Downtown Library, we will be playing with Model Magic and sculpting tools and learning to create, imagine and explore!

CANCELLED PROGRAM

Wed, 07/23/2008 - 3:00pm by iottJen

The July 23 program at the Downtown Library, The Waters of Michigan with Authors Dave Dempsey and David Lubbers, has been cancelled due to circumstances beyond our control. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Chelsea SummerFest!

Wed, 07/23/2008 - 8:32am by amy

If Ann Arbor's Art Fairs and Summer Festival weren't enough, you'll have another chance to look at art, listen to music, and eat elephant ears this Friday and Saturday, July 25-26, at the Chelsea SummerFest. Now in its 30th year, the SummerFest includes ARTicipation, a juried art show and art activities for kids; a variety of musical events at three different stages; an antique car show; and plenty of activities for kids, including a Pet Parade and tours of the Teddy Bear Factory. On top of that, the Chelsea Toy Museum makes its debut this weekend.