What's New!

Take and Makes for this project are available starting today, Oct. 8, 2021, at area PPLD libraries.

Supplies and Directions:

Materials Provided: White Tissue Paper, Balloon
Materials you Provide: Scissors, Head of Hair, Marker, Spooky Music (optional), tape (optional)

Directions:
Cut several ghosts out of your tissue paper. Each ghost should be about 1.5 inches long. Draw eyes on each ghost with your marker.
Place your ghosts on a flat surface.
Blow up your balloon and tie the end. Rub it through your hair really fast for about 10 seconds to add a static charge.
Move the balloon near your ghosts. They should begin to rise toward the balloon. See if you can get them to rise, move, and dance around. You should be able to get the ghost to move from several inches away.
If you want the ghost to rise without sticking to the balloon, try taping just the tip to your surface.

The Science behind it:
As you rub the balloon through your hair, you are building up negatively charged electrons on the surface of the balloon. They are then able to pull light positively charged items toward them.

Welcome the Pikes Peak Region's new Poet Laureate!

Please join us in welcoming the Pikes Peak Region's new Poet Laureate! This hour long event will feature poetry readings from a variety of local poets, including past Pikes Peak Poet Laureates.

• When:Sat., Oct. 23 from 6 - 7 p.m.
• Where: The Hall at PPLD (formerly known as Knights of Columbus Hall): MacLaren Hall
• Click here for more.

The evenings activities will be emceed by former Pikes Peak Poet Laureate, Susan Peiffer.

The program will feature:

• Opening remarks by Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD) Chief Librarian & CEO, John Spears
• Performances by local poets (TBD)
• Past Poet Laureate Performances by Price Strobridge, Aaron Anstett (invited), and Susan Peiffer
• Installation Ceremony, and performance by Poet Laureate, Ashley Cornelius

El Pomar Foundation honors Peggy Shivers with Inaugural Excellence in Arts and Culture Trustee Award

Award Presented as part of El Pomar’s Annual Awards for Excellence

On Friday October 1, 2021 Peggy Houston Shivers was recognized by El Pomar Foundation Trustees as the recipient of the inaugural Excellence in Arts and Culture Trustee Award, which honors an individual who has demonstrated a commitment to the advancement of arts and culture in Colorado. In a ceremony with other Awards for Excellence honorees at The Broadmoor Hotel, Shivers was introduced by El Pomar Trustee Colonel Gail Colvin, US Air Force (Retired), before delivering her own remarks. As a part of the award, a $10,000 grant was given to the Shivers Fund at Pikes Peak Library District.

From a young age, Peggy Houston Shivers studied voice. She was selected by Duke Ellington to be the featured soloist in his Sacred Concert II at Grace Cathedral and was the featured artist for the Bicentennial Celebration sponsored by the United States Embassy in Spain. Peggy also worked in the public school system in the United States, helped develop a program for dyslexic children of American families living in Spain and a crisis line program for Torrejon Air Force Base. She moved with her husband to Colorado Springs in 1979.

Peggy Shivers helped create the Shivers African American Historical and Cultural Collection at the Pikes Peak Library District to address the lack of information about African American history in Colorado Springs. The Shivers Fund at Pikes Peak Library District has also been established to ensure that funds will be available to maintain the collection for years to come. The Shivers Fund sponsors a concert series which allows young artists the opportunity to perform in a professional setting, awards grants, scholarships and financial support to students and provides educational activities to encourage young people to participate in and enjoy the classical arts. A choral group, the Celebration Multicultural Ensemble, has also been organized as an extension of the Shivers Fund. In addition, she has served on many boards including NAACP, Urban League, United Way, Colorado Springs Symphony, Colorado Springs Dance Theatre, Colorado Opera Festival -- where she served as president -- and the Pikes Peak Library District Foundation.

About El Pomar Foundation’s Awards for Excellence Program

El Pomar Foundation’s Board of Trustees developed the Awards for Excellence program to honor the commitment of Spencer and Julie Penrose to excellence in the nonprofit sector. The program recognizes individuals and organizations from across Colorado who serve their communities with distinction. Honorees are selected by a committee of community leaders, council members from El Pomar’s Regional Partnerships program and El Pomar Fellowship Alumni. Since its inception in 1989, Awards for Excellence has provided more than $6.5 million in grant support to more than 500 nonprofit organizations throughout Colorado.

About El Pomar Foundation

El Pomar Foundation is one of the largest and oldest private foundations in Colorado. El Pomar contributes approximately $25 million annually through grants and Community Stewardship programs to support Colorado nonprofit organizations involved in health, human services, education, arts and humanities and civic and community initiatives. Spencer and Julie Penrose founded El Pomar in 1937 with the mission to enhance, encourage and promote the current and future well-being of the people of Colorado.