Meow, meow and meow, everyone. It’s Cosmo the library cat again. Few things get me in the holiday spirit like listening to music from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, and if you feel that way too, you’re going to love our next Musical Story Hour! The world-renowned pianist Ilya Ramlav will perform a 20-minute solo piano piece from The Nutcracker Suite, while Michael Barret, co-founder of the Moab Music Festival, narrates as Uncle Drosselmeyer.

Four times a year, the Grand County Public Library partners with the Moab Music Festival to offer a Musical Story Hour featuring different artists. We’ve saved this very special program for the end of the year. I hope you can join us on Saturday, December 9 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Francis Episcopal Church at 250 Kane Creek Boulevard for the Nutcracker Story Hour.

As a music lover, I am quite keen to hear this beautiful, seasonal classic performed by such a great musician. But, spoiler alert ahead, I have to warn you that the tale is not all sugar plum fairies and anthropomorphized dancing pastries. Okay, here it is: There is a giant evil mouse king in the story! When I say giant, I mean at least 8 to 10 times the size of your humble correspondent. A human-size mouse with Napoleonic ambition. Yikes! I am surely not the only one with issues around rodents of unusual size (aka R.O.U.S’s) so I thought you should know. Without giving away too much, I can assure you that everything turns out fine in the end. Somehow, they manage to defeat this regal vermin, albeit without the help of any cats. Weird, right?

As always, our musical story hours are free and geared towards children three to nine years of age and their caregivers. However, all ages are welcome. I hope to see you there!