The Bookmarks & Landmarks collaboration between SoCoCulture.org and the King County Library System is back.
The series, in its fourth year, links readers with interesting books and notable sites around South King County. It’s free to participate. The only prerequisite is that you read the assigned book in advance.
The Kent, Des Moines, and Burien libraries are participating in the 2019 version of Bookmarks & Landmarks, which launches on Saturday, April 13, when the Kent Historical Museum, at 855 E Smith St., hosts the first program at 10:30 a.m.
For the event, readers need to ask staff at any of the three libraries listed above for a copy of the book “Slick as a Mitten” – or place a book on hold and have it sent to their own library – and then read the book ahead of time.
“Slick as a Mitten” chronicles local pioneer Ezra Meeker’s experiences during the Klondike Gold Rush. He started a business in the Yukon that provisioned the miners with tons of canned goods and fresh vegetables grown and processed in the Green/White River Valley.
At the April 13 program, a KCLS librarian will lead a book talk about how that get-rich-quick period in the Far North influenced development in the local area.
Immediately following the book talk, participants can take a guided walk of historical downtown Kent to see buildings that were built with Gold Rush funding. Today, the Meeker name is attached to local schools, streets and buildings.
To participate, please pre-register on the KCLS website or by contacting the Kent Library at 253-859-3330.
There will be similar tie-ins between local sites and books at two additional programs.
On May 21, the Port of Seattle at the beehives at SeaTac Airport hosts the second Bookmarks & Landmarks program. The book that participants can check out and read in advance is a new novel, “The Honey Bus.” The program will include a book talk, a discussion by Port of Seattle biologists and a tour of the beehives led by beekeepers. To register, visit the KCLS website or call the Burien Library at 206-243-3490.
On June 15, the Normandy Park Arts Commission hosts the Bookmarks & Landmarks program at a home designed by notable architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The book to read in advance is Ada Louise Huxtable’s biography of Frank Lloyd Wright. The program will include a discussion of that book and a tour of the architectural gem. To register, call the Des Moines Library at 206-824-6066.
All three libraries mentioned will hold copies of these books behind the counter. Please ask staff for a copy to check out. You can also register for the program at the counter.
The Bookmarks & Landmarks program is a collaboration between SoCoCulture.org, its member organizations, and the King County Library System. The program also receives support from 4Culture, the cultural funding agency of King County.
For more information about the program, visit sococulture.org.
Talk to us
Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.
To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.
