The library Board of Directors and staff extend warm wishes to our patrons around the parish for a happy, healthy, Easter Celebration! Monday, April 1st, the Mamou Branch library will host an Easter Egg hunt that was cancelled last week due to rain at 2 pm for kids ages 1 – 12! At the main library on Monday, April 1st,  a “Chair Exercise” program will be offered at 10:30 am in the multipurpose room. We will offer it again on Wednesday, April 3^rd at  the same time but this time we will host a Food Coach speaker from Ville Platte, Neil Ortego.  Mr. Ortego will talk about a concept called “Primal Living” and introduce his program called “Making Peace with my Plate”. You can visit his website @ buildhealthcoach.com. Please share this good news! The public is invited. 

Tuesday, April 2^nd, the main library will host another “Adults Only Bingo” at 10:30. It will be followed by our “Let’s Talk French” @ 1 pm and “Coffee Talk” @ 2 pm. Then on Saturday, April 6th, the main library in Ville Platte will host an “Author Talk” with Dr. Phyllis Donatto who will share her new children’s book called, “Mom, There’s a Rooster in the House”.  Please share this good news too!

We just had a grand opening for the “Nurturing Nook”. This service is provided by Family Tree’s Healthy Start program. The Nurturing Nook is a free community pantry for mom and baby items to be available for residents of Ville Platte “as needed” for those moments when stores are closed or not available to the moms. Please share this good news.

Get ready for a new program at the main library that will encourage kids and adults to learn about planting vegetables and flowers! Staff member Madeleine has set up a “Seed Library” using an old card catalogue cabinet. It will house a variety of seeds donated by seed companies. We will partner with LSU Ag and Evangeline Soil and Water Conservation and over the next few months and offer educational workshops! Keep an eye out for updates. We will kick this program off on Earth Day, April 22^nd.   We are offering this program to anyone with a valid library card.

EARLY NOTICE: Our Spring Library Fest is slated for Saturday, May 4, 2024. Please The deadline for submitting vendor participation forms for all types of participants is April 19, 2024. Contact Keishia Ford or any employee of the library for more information. This is a FREE family fun event and is a way for the Library to say Thank You to its patrons and to show support for local cooks, artists, performers, authors and civic organizations! Look who is coming so far: AUTHORS: Debby Lawson, Patricia Williams, Kristal Ben, Pam Ardoin Funderburk, Jasonnaye Wilson, and Rhonda Brasseaux. VENDORRS: Jalaina Freeman & Adrienne Griffith, Betsy Pitrie, Barbara Batiste, and Lori Butler. COMMUNITY: The Henry Farm Petting Zoo,  the St. Landry / Evangeline United Way, Evangeline Parish Library “Show Me The Money” – Unclaimed Money Table, Children’s Tent with lots of crafts and The Seed Library table.  COOKS: Natasha Edwards, T’Nay – Ha U Want It, and John Vidrine aka Earth Angels Honey. WE’D LOVE TO PROMOTE MORE PARTICIPANTS!! We will also have our usual Book Sale and this year we have lots of Audio Book sets to sell! KVPI will be with us for a live show from 10 am – noon.

Visit the Facebook page of your favorite library branch to see information about programs unique to them. Also, visit our website www.evangelinelibrary.org for updates. You can always call the main library @ 337-363-1369 or send an email to [email protected] for more information and never forget that libraries do change lives…. even in the cloud! Suzy Lemoine.

Freya Lockwood is shocked when she learns that Arthur Crockleford, antiques dealer and her estranged mentor, has died under mysterious circumstances. She has spent the last twenty years avoiding her quaint English hometown, but when she receives a letter from Arthur asking her to investigate–sent just days before his death–Freya has no choice but to return to a life she had sworn to leave behind.

Joining forces with her eccentric Aunt Carole, Freya follows clues to an old manor house for an advertised antiques enthusiast’s weekend. But not all is as it seems. It’s clear to Freya that the antiques are all just poor reproductions, and her fellow guests are secretive and menacing. What is going on at this estate and how was Arthur involved? More importantly, can Freya and Carole discover the truth before the killer strikes again?

And this bestseller…

Fourteen years ago, the Palmer sisters–Emma, Juliette, and Daphne–left their home in Arden Hills and never returned. But when Emma discovers she’s pregnant and her husband loses his job, she has no option but to return to the house that she and her estranged sisters still own . . . and where their parents were murdered.

Emma has never told anyone what she saw the night her parents died, even when she became the prime suspect. But her presence in the house threatens to uncover secrets that have stayed hidden for years, and the sisters are drawn together once again. As they face their memories of the past, rivalries restart, connections are forged, and, for the first time, Emma starts to ask questions about what really happened that night.

The more Emma learns, the more riddles emerge. And Emma begins to wonder just what her siblings will do to keep the past buried, and whether she did the right thing staying quiet about what was whispered that night: “Noone can know.” 

We’ll begin this last week of March on Monday, 25^th, with another fun “Chair Exercise” session at 10:30 am at the main library. In Mamou, a big Easter Egg Hunt is being planed for Monday afternoon @ 2 pm! Please share this good news!

Our big news this week is the ribbon cutting event on Tuesday, March 26th at 11 am at the main library in Ville Platte when Healthy Start, a branch of the Family Tree, will introduce their community Nurturing Nook for new moms in Ville Platte and surrounding areas! Please come to the ribbon cutting to discover the wonderful products that will be available for new moms in need of baby items even when stores and  the library are closed! Sponsors for this program are Steel Magnolias of Louisiana and Rotary International.

Stay for the afternoon to enjoy our weekly French Talk, Coffee Chat, and Grief Counseling which will follow. Then on Wednesday, March 27the Mystery Book Club will meet @ 10:30 am to discuss their book and choose a new one. New members are always welcomed. The main library and all branches will be closed on March 29^th and 30^th to celebrate Easter.

Get ready for a new program at the main library that will encourage kids and adults to learn about planting vegetables and flowers! Staff member Madeleine has set up a “Seed Library” using an old card catalogue cabinet. It will house a variety of seeds donated by seed companies. We will partner with LSU Ag and Evangeline Soil and Water Conservation and over the next few months and offer educational workshops! Keep an eye out for updates. We anticipate offering this program to anyone with a valid library card in early April.

Reminder: This year all of the libraries around the state are required to implement new policies

EARLY NOTICE: Our Spring Library Fest is slated for Saturday, May 4, 2024. Please The deadline for submitting vendor participation forms for all types of participants is April 19, 2024. Contact Keishia Ford or any employee of the library for more information. This is a FREE family fun event and is a way for the Library to say Thank You to its patrons and to show support for local cooks, artists, performers, authors and civic organizations!

Visit the Facebook page of your favorite library branch to see information about programs unique to them. Also, visit our website www.evangelinelibrary.org for updates. You can always call the main library @ 337-363-1369 or send an email to [email protected] for more information and never forget that libraries do change lives…. even in the cloud! Suzy Lemoine.

Mom, Dad, Weslie, Maddox, and Zaia groove through the ups and downs of a typical day, from spilled milk at the breakfast table to a tough day at school to a rained-out game. A reminder of the power of dance, this Boss Family Groove embodies the importance of spreading love and kindness with every song.

And this one too…..

Lotti isn’t sure she wants to make friends. She’s shy, and she doesn’t really know how. While everyone around her is playful, outgoing, and loud, Lotti prefers a quiet place and a book to read. Lotti LOVES books. To her, books are full of magic and aren’t as scary as new friends. But perhaps Lotti’s books can show her how to find magic in everyday moments, and maybe the friends she can share this magic with are closer than she thinks.