On Friday, August 3rd, teens attended the Teen Lock-In event and rocked the night at Hillview Branch Library! They had a fun and memorable time hanging out with friends, dancing, playing games, making cool crafts and enjoyed the food as shown in the photos below.
 

Check out the Teen Events Calendar to learn more about upcoming events for teens!

On Friday, August 3rd, teens attended the Teen Lock-In event and rocked the night at several San José Libraries! They had a fun and memorable time hanging out with friends, dancing, playing games, making cool crafts and enjoyed the food as shown in the photos below. 

Check out the Teen Events Calendar to learn more about upcoming events for teens!

Bienvenidos! Welcome to Salsa! Come to the Community Room at Edenvale Branch Library on Tuesday June 19th, 2012 at 6:00 PM in order to learn the basic hand motions, foot placement and dance style of salsa. If you are a beginner or looking to improve your salsa basics, this is the class for you. Partner not required. Students should wear comfortable clothing and comfortable shoes or dance appropriate shoes. This program is for adults of all ages as well as teens ages 16 and up.
 

This program is made possible through the generous contributions of the Friends of the Edenvale Branch Library.

Would you like more information about salsa dancing?   Check out these instructional DVDs!

Salsa Footwork and Styling

Dance off the Inches. Sizzling Salsa

Learn to Dance in Minutes. Salsa & Merengue

San Jose Public Library has many other instructional DVDs that you may be interested in.   Come on by, and visit!    Any DVD that you check out from one SJPL location may be returned to any other SJPL location.

As both May and the end of the school year draw to a close, hopefully many of you are starting to think about spending the summer at a San Jose library near you. We are celebrating our annual Summer Reading Celebration at all SJPL locations with many events and reading incentives for kids, teens, and adults. Our theme this year is travel and world culture, and for the kids, we are exploring "One World, Many Stories", so why not join us at West Valley Branch Library for a unique display of a fascinating culture?

All ages are invited to join us on June 18 from 1-2pm as we kick off the start of the Summer Reading Celebration in the West Valley Library Community Room with Celtic Day, an exciting and free celebration of Celtic music, dance, food, and culture. The Friends of the West Valley Libraryand the South Bay Scottish Societyhave teamed up to offer a fantastic lineup of performers, including young dancers from the San Jose School of Highland Dancing, folk singer and guitarist James McWhirter, Scottish pipers and drummers, and more! You will also be able to sample an authentic Scottish dish. Bring the family!

In the meantime, you can practice your Scottish greetings RampantScotland.com if you'd like: May the best ye hae ivver seen be the warst ye'll ivver see.

Willow Glen Library visitors were recently treated to a delightful free performance by Grupo Folklorico Los Laureles, who presented several dances in the authentic traditional style of Mexico. The San Jose-based dance company offers classes for all age levels; for more information visit Grupo Folklorico Los Laureles website. San José Public Library also has a selection of books and videos featuring Mexican folk dancing that you may enjoy. Check the library events calendar often for other performances and activities of all types -- everything is free and open to the public!

Show off your unique talent and win prizes, too!

Do you sing, love to dance, do stand-up comedy or have a unique talent??? Compete in our first round of Teen Talent Show competitions to win prizes and a spot at our final talent show event on Saturday, May 21st at the Almaden Branch Library. 

Visit a participating library to sign-up!

Registration packets will be available at all San José Public Library locations. Participants must submit their registration form at the one location where they want to compete.

Check out pictures of past Teen Talent Show Competitions

Regional Competitions: Prizes 1st place $50, 2nd place $25, 3rd $10 

Saturday, April 23

Berryessa Branch Library @ Noon

Joyce Ellington Branch Library @ 2 pm

Santa Teresa Branch Library @ 2 pm

West Valley Branch Library @ 2 pm

Saturday , April 30

Cambrian Branch Library @ 2 pm

Evergreen Branch Library @ 2 pm

Final Competition:   Prizes 1st place $250, 2nd place $150, 3rd place $50   

Saturday, May 21 from 3-5 p.m.

Join us for the grand finale of Teen Talent Show 2011 at the Almaden Branch Library.

The first and second place winners from our local contests will compete for the honor of becoming the San José Teen Talent 2011.  Come early and bring your family and friends to cheer on your favorite talent!

Here is a list of the finalists:

• Sandra Henschke, age 18, singer
• CA Lights Knight (musicians): Preston Yeung, age 15 -Stephanie Wu, age 15 -Ying-Tsung (Mike) Liu, age 16
• Oscar Cruz, age 16, dancer
• Cameo Walker, age 17, singer
• Nicole Adams, age 17, rap artist
• Paul Arellano, age 15, graphic novel story teller
• Daniel Vo, age  12 , card tricks
• Mitchell Lujan, age 17,  singer/guitarist/songwriter
• Aline Hoang & Alison Tran: violinists (both age 13)
• Saee Bhide , age 16,   singer/guitarist/songwriter
• Saba Gebremedhin, age 14, singer

Thank you to all the talented teens that participated in this year's talent show!

The 2011 Teen Talent Show winners are ....

• First place: Saee Bhide, singer/guitarist/songwriter
• Second place: Sandra Henschke, singer
• Third place: Mitchell Lujan, singer/guitarist/songwriter

Congratulations to the winners!!