The Weyburn Public Library has a spring basket full of activities during April and new materials for every age group.

It's important to have a variety of programming for the community, said head librarian Michele Fedyk recently. "We have our regular story-time for very young children but we would like to include programs for school age children, as well as seniors and adults." Something for teens is coming, too, she said. Interested patrons should pre-register for all the programs.

The special programming season begins with a gardening series which offers gardening advice from John Grigg at Prairie Greenhouse.

Two free gardening programs will be held, the first on Wednesday, April 16 from 7-9 p.m., about gardening on the prairie. The topics will include bed and water preparation, proper selection of vegetables and flowers for certain areas, and a question and answer period.

The second gardening session will be held on Tuesday, April 29, from 7-9 p.m. John Grigg will show how to make your own baskets, urns, and containers with appropriate flowers and greenery.

Easter fun begins with Easter Egg-citement on Saturday, April 19 from 9-10 a.m. when the library will hold its very own Easter egg hunt. Participants also will have the opportunity to listen to some entertaining stories and create a craft to celebrate the arrival of spring. The program is for children ages 5-12. Space is limited.

The Fantastic Food program, to be held on Tuesday, April 22 from 2-3 p.m., is a chance for children 2-5 years old and their parents or caregivers, to treat themselves to a tasty serving of stories, crafts and activities all about food.

On Wednesday, April 23, from 10-11 a.m., the library invites children 5-12 years of age to celebrate spring with wonderful stories about the wind. Participants can make a pinwheel out of paper, and a juggling ball using a balloon.

The Spring Fling will be held Thursday, April 24, from 2-3 p.m. when children five years and older can learn, through crafts and stories, about things that fly - like butterflies and airplanes.

On Wednesday, April 30 from 7-9 p.m. a different kind of program will be held. Lawyer Greg Bobbitt will explain what a will is and the important points to remember when writing one. Writing a will is one of the most important things you may ever do in your life. A properly drafted will can ensure that your property is divided the way you intended and benefits the people you intended.

Fedyk notes there also is a good selection of new children and adult paperbacks available for patrons New material is displayed on a trolley near the front desk and on the bookshelf above the videos. "I want to give patrons an idea of what's new so they will look regularly for new material," she said. "I order books every month and we're hoping to have a regular flow of new materials."

The newest additions include books by V.C. Andrews, Catherine Cookson, Ruth Rendall, Max Brand, Stephen King and Anne Perry.

Children's paperbacks include titles like the Return of the Grundstone Ghosts: a Moose Jaw Mystery by Arthur Slade, Girl of Kosovo by Alice Mead, and Go Jump in the Pool by Gordon Korman.

Other new materials are the reference book Videohound's Golden Retriever 2003, the Complete Guide to Movies on Videocassette and DVD; and videos like Lilo and Stitch, Islam: Empire of Faith, Chocolate, and the Long Way Home.