UPDATED: The tarot card event has been canceled, after organizers learned the city has a prohibition against such activity. Read the article below:
“In popular culture, tarot cards are seen as a fortune-telling instrument predicting death, doom and gloom,” says cartomancer Kaite Stover.
But that’s not the whole story. She will tell all about tarot and give some sample readings at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 16, at the Iola Public Library.
She will also display different decks of the cards for attendees to examine.
Tarot emerged in Milan mid-15th century and spread across Europe where it remains a popular game played with four suits of 13 cards. Eventually people came to use card symbols as indicators for past, present or future.
The cards themselves are known for their intricate and colorful imagery, which Stover will explain.
Stover, a student and reader of the tarot for more than three decades, has been reading cards at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival since 2007. Her day job is director of reader services at Kansas City Public Library.
SEVERAL OTHER projects are in store for next week, coinciding with spring break for many area schools, including Iola USD 257.
Jen Tarter will lead an In Stitches crochet class at 6:30 p.m. Monday.
Tarter then will host a Shrinky Dinks craft party for children 8 and older at 2 p.m. Wednesday in the library’s Flewharty Annex at 211 East St.
For the uninitiated, Shrinky Dinks are unique pieces of plastic that transform drawn-on or transferred images when baked to shrink according to instructions. Attendees will use retro art to create bookmarks.
Snacks will be served.
Then at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 18, the meeting room will be open for a Stay and Play event for parents and children up to age 5. Special play stations will be set up for parent-child engagement.
IOLA isn’t the only community with special activities for spring break.
LaHarpe Health and Wellness will host youngsters from 2 to 4 p.m. next Monday through Friday at City Hall.
Storytelling is set for Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Physical activities are in the offering on Tuesday and Thursday.
