Calendar of Events

One way The Friends invests in the library is by connecting readers and writers statewide through a range of programs. For more than 30 years, we have offered programs that entertain, enrich, and nourish curious minds.

Our events are always open to the public and most are free. Browse our calendar below.

Captioning is provided for our livestream events; ASL interpretation is available upon request with at least seven days’ notice. Contact [email protected] or 651-222-3242.

Full Calendar of Events

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Books & Bars: “Olga Dies Dreaming” by Xochitl Gonzalez 6:30 pm
Books & Bars: “Olga Dies Dreaming” by Xochitl Gonzalez @ Sociable Cider Werks
Mar 13 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Books & Bars: "Olga Dies Dreaming" by Xochitl Gonzalez @ Sociable Cider Werks
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez Wednesday, March 13 6:30 p.m. Discussion Sociable Cider Werks 1500 Fillmore St. NE Minneapolis This event is FREE and open to the public. — It’s 2017, and Olga and…
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Books & Bars: “Olga Dies Dreaming” by Xochitl Gonzalez 6:30 pm
Books & Bars: “Olga Dies Dreaming” by Xochitl Gonzalez @ Urban Growler
Mar 19 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Books & Bars: "Olga Dies Dreaming" by Xochitl Gonzalez @ Urban Growler
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez Tuesday, March 19 6:30 p.m. Discussion Urban Growler 2325 Endicott St St. Paul This event is FREE and open to the public. — It’s 2017, and Olga and her…
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Ongoing Series

Books & Bars

With The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library, moderator Jeff Kamin brings his unique take on a public book club show to our computer screen every first Wednesday of the month.

Even if you don’t like the featured book, he “guarantees a good time at our entertaining discussions.” All are welcome to try this moderated reinvention of the book club.

Mar
19
Tue
Books & Bars: “Olga Dies Dreaming” by Xochitl Gonzalez @ Urban Growler
Mar 19 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

Tuesday, March 19
6:30 p.m. Discussion

Urban Growler
2325 Endicott St
St. Paul

This event is FREE and open to the public.

It’s 2017, and Olga and her brother, Pedro “Prieto” Acevedo, are boldfaced names in their hometown of New York. Prieto is a popular congressman representing their gentrifying Latinx neighborhood in Brooklyn, while Olga is the tony wedding planner for Manhattan’s power brokers.

Olga and Prieto’s mother, Blanca, a Young Lord turned radical, abandoned her children to advance a militant political cause, leaving them to be raised by their grandmother. Now, with the winds of hurricane season, Blanca has come barreling back into their lives.


With The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library, moderator Jeff Kamin brings his unique take on a public book club show to Saint Paul. Even if you don’t like the featured book, he “guarantees a good time at our entertaining discussions.” All are welcome to try this moderated reinvention of the book club.

Fitzgerald in Saint Paul

The Friends stewards F. Scott Fitzgerald’s legacy through programming that celebrates the life and literature of the revered author and inspires people to reflect on both his historical and contemporary significance.  Learn more here.

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Fitzgerald In Saint Paul: The St. Paul Stories with Klecko @ Highland Park Library - Community Room
Apr 11 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Fitzgerald In Saint Paul: The St. Paul Stories with Klecko
Story: Winter Dreams

Thursday, April 11 | 6:00 p.m.
Highland Park Library – Community Room | 1974 Ford Parkway, St. Paul, MN 55116


Explore F. Scott Fitzgerald’s St. Paul stories in a casual environment with St. Paul and Fitzgerald enthusiast, Klecko. Your host will take advantage of his eclectic network to shine a light on the present-day resonance of the themes in Fitzgerald’s short fiction. Special guests in April are: Julie Pfitzinger and Kate St. Vincent Vogl.

ASL interpretation is available upon request with at least seven days’ notice. Contact [email protected] or 651-222-3242.

Fireside Reading Series

Cozy up for four weeks of readings with great writers. Fireside Reading Series, in partnership with Saint Paul Public Library for 30 years, highlights some of Minnesota’s finest writers who have published new work. Events this season will take place Wednesday evenings in January at 6:30 p.m. at Rondo Community Library and via Zoom.

The 2024 season lineup includes:

January 10 | Nigar Alam, Under the Tamarind Tree

January 17 | Mona Power, A Council of Dolls

January 24 | Jody Lulich, In the Company of Grace

January 31 | Raymond Luczak, Far From Atlantis

Captioning will be provided for all four Zoom livestream events; ASL interpretation will be provided for the 1/31 event and is available upon request for the other events with at least seven days’ notice. Contact [email protected] or 651-222-3242.

These programs are made possible in part through an appropriation from the Minnesota State Legislature to The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library as the Minnesota Center for the Book.

 

Previous Seasons:
Watch the 2023 recordings here.
Watch the 2022 recordings.
Watch the full playlist of events from 2020.
Listen to podcasts from previous years.

 

 

Read Brave Saint Paul

Read Brave Saint Paul is a citywide, intergenerational reading initiative that centers the power of books to help us think of big ideas to move Saint Paul forward. The 2023 Read Brave theme was mental health. The 2024 title and theme will be announced early next year.

Sign up for the Read Brave e-newsletters to learn how to access books and events.

The 2023 Read Brave primary book is YA Fiction book Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram. The nonfiction selection is My Grandmother's Hands by Resmaa Menakem. Learn more about the books, the authors, and the program here.

The need for a strong library is greater than ever.