PORT WASHINGTON — A monthly crafting event at a Port Washington library is creating more than art — it's building a year-round safe space for the LGBTQ+ community in Ozaukee County.
Work in Progress Wednesdays, a collaboration between the W.J. Niederkorn Library and Port Washington Pride, launched this year and takes place on the fourth Wednesday of every month. The sessions are open to all teens and adults and welcome any kind of creative work, from cutting and drawing to knitting and cross-stitching.
Alyssa Jurgens, the library's adult services librarian, said the event grows out of a longstanding relationship between the two organizations.
"We want to be welcoming to everyone. This is a strong partnership to be able to invite people in the LGBT community into the library," Jurgens said.
The focus of the event is less about what participants create and more about the environment in which they create it. Beth Farrell, a Port Washington Pride volunteer who has lived in Ozaukee County her whole life, attends one Wednesday each month to work on personal projects. She said the space is designed to accommodate everyone.
"You can be a quiet person or a loud person, and there's room for both of those," Farrell said.
For Port Washington Pride, recurring events like this one are central to a broader goal: ensuring safe spaces exist beyond June. Farrell said the availability of resources like this in Port Washington reflects how much has changed over the decades.
"I'm actually super impressed by the resources available in Port Washington and having Port Pride. It's not something I would have seen coming 30 years ago," Farrell said.
Work in Progress Wednesdays are held on the fourth Wednesday of every month at the W.J. Niederkorn Library in Port Washington, in the library's newly refurbished community room. TMJ4 spoke with the library director about the renovations last year.
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