Summer 2024
Celebrate art, nature and reading this summer! Gather at the Art Benches, listen to stories, participate in art & nature activities with National Park Service Rangers, and take home free gently used and new books!
Free and open to the public.
Tuesday, June 18, 10 a.m.
Larry Forrest Memorial Park – Somerset, Wisconsin
– in partnership with Somerset Public Library
Rain date: June 19, 10 a.m.
Tuesday, June 25, 10 a.m.
Croixdale Senior Living – Bayport, MN
– in partnership with Bayport Library
Rain location: inside Bayport Library
Wednesday, June 26, 10:30 a.m.
Mill Pond Park – Osceola, Wisconsin
– in partnership with Osceola Public Library
In case of rain, event will move to library
Friday, June 28, 10:30 a.m.
Freedom Park – Prescott, Wisconsin
– in partnership with Prescott Public Library
Rain location: Great River Road Visitor Center
Books & Benches is a project of the Somerset Elementary Family Book Drive in partnership with the Phipps Center for the Arts and local libraries to increase summer reading and promote community art in the St. Croix Valley. Special thanks to W.H.O. Books, with their mission to spread social awareness of diversity, equity, and acceptance, for donating new books to give away free. To learn more, go to whobooks.org.
The Art Bench Trail is a program of the Phipps Center for the Arts, Hudson, WI, in partnership with the St. Croix Valley Foundation and the National Park Service.
Questions? Contact Erin at ehoff@somerset.wi.k12.us or Lee Ann at lpomplas@thephipps.org.