Dine with Confidence in Mexico

Join Barbara Stefanyshyn-Cote and her family as they talk about their experiences living in Mexico and Chile and offer insight into how to take a break from Canadian life and immerse yourself and your family into another culture. They’ll tell you about what happened when the Stefanshyn-Cotes decided to go to a country where none of the family spoke the language, they weren’t accustomed to the food and they don’t have a house, a job or a school? Relive the experiences of this family in an entertaining tale of living in Mexico and prepare yourself for one of the most delicious places on Earth.

Dancing in My Bones

Help celebrate Aboriginal Storytelling Month by coming to see Saskatchewan Book Award winning author Wilfred Burton.

In this beautifully illustrated sequel to Fiddle Dancer, Nolin continues to discover his Métis heritage and takes readers on a journey to discover Moushoom’s first moose hunt, red lipstick kisses, Uncle Bunny’s fiddling, and the return of the “Bannock Jig.” By the end of the story, readers feel like they too have dancing in their bones.

Please check back for more information about this up coming event.

Looking for great atmosphere, great food and great music to celebrate the most romantic day of the year with that special someone? Look no further!

Moving Forward: The Journey of Paralympian Colette Bourgonje.

In June 1980, with her high school graduation just around the corner, Colette Bourgonje was a small-town girl with big dreams. She had already recorded great successes in track and field, basketball, volleyball and badminton and was on the road to becoming a world-class athlete. Then a car accident changed her life – forever. Colette did not let her new circumstances as a paraplegic stand in her way. She became the first disabled student to graduate from the College of Physical Education at the University of Saskatchewan and she competed in her first Paralympic Games at age 30. Now, 18 years later, she has became one of Canada's most successful disabled athletes. As a teacher and world-class athlete, Colette Bourgonje is a role model and an inspiration. Her next challenge – Vancouver 2010 – is waiting.

Roy Anderson (Lumsden, Saskatchewan) and Darrell Burko (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) will be performing at McNally Robinson on February 20. The duo recently released their debut CD, ‘Enjoy the Show’, which includes ten original tunes written by the duo. The recording is rounded out with cover tunes from Fred Eaglesmith and Diamond Joe White.

Their musical style is best described as roots – a blend of folk, blues, and old country … with a bit of pop where appropriate. In addition to selections from the CD, the show includes the duo’s take on selected songs from great songwriters such as Neil Young, Paul Kelly, John Prine, and Steve Earle.

Tasting Rain

Do you think it’s possible to have the life we dream of? Do you think that by simply changing your thoughts, you can have a better way of life? Do you think it all comes down to luck, fate or being born with a silver spoon in your mouth to experience ‘the sweet life? Or better yet, have you ever asked yourself any of the following questions? “Am I truly happy with the direction of my life? Is this how I expected my life would unfold? Will I ever be able to pull myself out of this depression? Why do I find myself in the same situations time and time again? When will I finally get a break?”

Tasting Rain is filled with the choices the author has made along her own personal journey in life. It’s a story about discovering purpose -- of strength and courage, despair and grieving, of moving forward and rediscovering life. Winnipeg’s Kim Malchuk hopes that by sharing her experiences, she can help readers examine their own lives and challenge themselves as they travel on their own path.

Calling all Saskatoon Photographers

McNally Robinson is running a contest for all local photographers. Submit a photograph celebrating the theme: Freedom to Read. Entries will be displayed in McNally Robinson at the end of Freedom to Read Week, February 25 - 27. During the display, the public will be asked to vote by secret ballot on the photo they think best expresses the theme and winners in the two categories (youth or adult) will receive a McNally Robinson gift card. Winning photos will also be published on the McNally Robinson website and will be submitted to the Book and Periodical Council for publication on the Freedom to Read website and in Freedom to Read 2010.

Gift of Thanks

In town as part of the University of Saskatchewan’s Whelen Visiting Lectureship, Margaret Visser will be signing copies of her thought provoking and insightful books.

Whether her subject is the food on your dinner plate or your table manners, Margaret Visser has been able, in five award-winning works of nonfiction, to uncover and explain the intriguing and unexpected meanings of everyday objects and habits. Now she turns her keen eye to an exploration of another custom so frequently encountered that it often escapes attention: saying “thank you.” What do we really mean by these two simple words? What are the implications of gratitude, and why are we so enraged when we meet its opposite?

Backpacking Europe

Students, Backpackers, and budget travelers are welcome to attend this free information session to get tips and ideas for backpacking around Europe. Learn how to plan the adventure of a lifetime from the staff at Travel CUTS

Are you Crazy for Lewis Carroll? Mad as A Hatter for the March Hare? Do You Think Alice is Awesome? Well join us in the Kids Bookstore for an Everything Alice in Wonderland Mad-Hatter Tea Party!

Wear your most outrageous HAT, and join us for fun and games upstairs in the Kids Bookstore, Saturday, February 27, from 1-3pm.

Enjoy a slice of cake and a beverage, while listening to readings from Alice In Wonderland. Enter to win a McNally Robinson gift card, and try your hand at our Alice trivia and word search challenge.

Come in for a lively discussion of poetry and poetic forms. The monthly poetry discussion group is a partnership initiative between the Saskatoon Public Library and McNally Robinson Booksellers and is facilitated by Saskatoon Public Library Writer-in-Residence Anne Simpson. Each time the group meets it will look at a particular poetic form, for which Anne will give an exercise that people can take away. This meeting will focus on the glosa, a form that originated in Spain in the late fourteenth to early fifteenth century. The group will look at how this form works and how other poets employ it. And discuss why one poet might use another poet's words as a springboard.

Anne Simpson is a poet, novelist and the latest Writer in Residence at the Saskatoon Public Library.