ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

Those looking for some musical fun in the near future will soon have just that thanks to Liberal Memorial Library and the summer reading program.

Musician Monty Harper will be bringing his show to Liberal Memorial Library at 1 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, and as he tells it, music has always been a big part of his life.

“Music’s always been big for me. I took piano lessons when I was young, and I was in marching band playing the trumpet,” Harper said. “Sometime along the way, my parents gave me a guitar for Christmas, and just for fun, I started writing songs with it, so it's always come a little bit naturally to me. I think that makes me unique as a children's performer – a lot of children's performers start off as educators using music in their teaching, and then become full-time musicians, or they start off as musicians for adults, then they have their own kids, then they start writing music for kids. I got my degree in mathematics, and then I just started writing music for kids.”

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

Renée Fleming is an artist I’ve been a fan of for a long time due to her absolutely incredible voice and overall career, so when I heard she was releasing a collaborative album with banjo player Béla Fleck and other music stars, I figured it would be an album worth listening to, especially since the album has apparently been in the works for multiple years at this point.

And I was ultimately proven VERY right. With 10 songs at slightly less than 45 minutes, the album, titled “The Fiddle and the Drum,” is very sweet and calm and features multiple Americana standards.

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

Those looking for some good family entertainment need look no further than Liberal Memorial Library later this week.

As part of the summer reading program fun, musician Mike Schneider will be bringing his Pint Size Polka show to the library Thursday with everything starting at 1 p.m.

As Schneider tells it, his polka roots run pretty deep.

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

Those looking for blockbuster entertainment this summer should look no further than the local movie theater.

Mitchell Theaters owner Brian Mitchell said this summer is coming off of a good fall and winter.

“The first quarter of 2026 was up more than 30 percent from the first quarter of 2025, which we were pleased to see. There was a much better selection of movies for the moviegoing public, and that’s what we needed, a steady stream of good movies,” Mitchell said. “The holiday season ended up being really good for us, we had movies like ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ and ‘Wicked: For Good’ and ‘Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere,’ among many others, and we were glad to see that success too. Then, starting with this first quarter, we had ‘I Can Only Imagine 2,’ ‘Hoppers,’ ‘Project Hail Mary,’ and ‘The Super Mario Galaxy.’ We had some really strong movies the first quarter of 2026, so everybody's very, very pleased with that.”