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Centennial Events

The party lasts all year long!

Some people call it a Centennial; we think of it as a year long celebration! There will be events in all our branches including birthday parties at all locations on March 13 and community BBQs in July. We're partnering with Movies on the Square to have a giant outdoor interactive movie in August and we're bringing back our outdoor Booksale and Library Festival EPL Squared. Last but not least we are bringing in some big names to help spread the words about why libraries will continue to rock.

This is party central for EPL's Centennial! Stay tuned for more events and more details!

Canada's favourite Information Ninja!

Who better to help celebrate the first 100 years of one of Edmonton's best institutions than one of Canada's?

Join us on Saturday, June 15 at 7 p.m. as Rick Mercer entertains, enlightens and educates us on our great country and the important role public libraries and free access to information have played in making us great. 

 

RICK MERCER rants!

 Canada: A Nation Worth Ranting About

 Live at the Westin Edmonton Ballroom
 Saturday, June 15,  7 p.m.

EPL cardholders click here to enter the draw for 2 free tickets!

Come celebrate EPL’s Centennial at the Milner Art Gallery!

From March 1- 31 the Gallery at the Stanley Milner Library will be featuring displays showcasing EPL's history.

The Poetry Route This edition of Take the Poetry Route is EPL themed! The top four winning poems will be on display on the gallery walls. 

EPL’s mobile books Did you know that EPL was the first library in Canada to offer books by streetcar? Come see our photo essay on EPL’s bookmobiles and learn more about our history! 

A hundred years of memories Ever wondered what the first library card looked like? Or how technology in the library has changed over the years? Check out an array of memorabilia from EPL’s history to find out!

See more of our historical photos on the Centennial History page.

Guess who's turning 100? We are!

Can you believe it? Your favourite place is celebrating 100 years of serving our great city. These kinds of milestones don't come around often so we want to make sure we do something to share this occasion with all our supporters.

We are hosting birthday parties and everyone is invited! Join us, as we kick off our centennial celebrations and mark our first century with cake, coffee, programs, prizes and lots of fun!

Date: March 13, 2013
Time: All day
Location: All EPL locations

Bonus fun:

Take a musical journey through time at the Penny McKee Abbottsfield branch when The Prairie Cats perform the best songs of the last 100 years. Some of the genres they'll cover are folk, country, rock, blues, jazz and novelty - there's something for everyone! Visit the library between 2:00 - 4:00p.m. to experience 100 years of music!

In Riverbend, enjoy the sweet sounds of local musician Kristilyn Robertson as she sings and plays piano during the birthday party. Catch all of these fun festivities between 3:30 - 5:30p.m.

At Woodcroft, participate in sing-alongs and indulge in on-the-spot stories performed throughout the day. You may even win a door prize!

Visit the downtown Shelley Milner Children's Library to hear Michelle Sabourin and Friends. From 11:15a.m. - 12:15p.m., this lively group will be playing fiddle, upright bass and guitar and singing children’s/family songs.

Find the location nearest to you!

Hope to see you there.

The Princess Bride - interactive and outside!

Inconceivable? Not at all! We've had so much fun revamping this movie classic that we simply must do it again.   

Celebrate this beloved family film by joining us for EPL's audience-participation version. Declare your murderous intentions along with Inigo, show your love of Buttercup and your hatred of Prince Humperdinck, rhyme with Andre the Giant and more.

Better still, this year we are partnering with Movies on the Square to take our audience-participation spectacle outside to Churchill Square. Enjoy this completely outrageous, totally Edmonton experience with 1000 like-minded citizens, on the big screen and under the stars.

Devoted fans are encouraged to dress as the character they love, or love to hate.

We have more planned to make this year's showing even bigger and better.

August 2, Churchill Square.

Stay tuned for more details.

Your library inside out - reloaded!

The Edmonton Public Library is taking over Churchill Square once again for our third annual EPL Squared outdoor library festival. There will be loads of activities and programs targeted to kids, families and adults all day including storytimes, live music, games, prizes, food and more.

And, of course, we'll have our ever-popular Books2Buy book sale where you can pick up some great books, CDs and DVDs all for a buck or two! 

Come for the book sale, stay for the fun...it's a great day for all ages!

Whether you're old or young, a boy or a girl, EPL Squared will have something for everyone...we're the library, after all!

New programs. Old programs. Centennial programs.

With over 12,000 fun and educational free programs, EPL really does have something for everyone. To help celebrate our first century, several of our popular programs will have a centennial theme added to them in 2013.  Some of the great programs we have planned are listed below.

Interested in other programs? Search our full program list here.