Sunday, March 17, 2019

This has been one long winter. You deserve a break, Fond du Lac.

Enter the Friends of the Fond du Lac Public Library with the fourth Browser Open, an all-ages, family friendly mini-golf event inside the library 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, March 17. The fun-packed, 18-hole, par-three course will wend its way around bookcases, computers and furniture throughout the downtown facility’s three levels. Each hole will be unique: designed and built by a local organization, club or business.

Tickets at the door are $5 for adults and $3 for children aged 17 and younger. There will be a free-will offering opportunity for nonplaying adults accompanying children. Along with the golf, players can visit the 19th Hole Clubhouse, where they’ll find pork tacos, macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, drinks and baked goods for sale.

The downtown library will be closed to regular business on March 17 for the golf event, but the FDLPL Express branch near Festival Foods will be open regular hours, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

New at the Open this year: a raffle of nine premier gift baskets, which are on display now at the downtown library. Tickets are on sale now, too – and will be sold at the event – $2 each or 10 for $6; need not be present to win. Prizes that include alcohol can only be won by an adult 21 or older.  The winner of the Luck of the Draw basket, which includes lottery tickets, must be 18 or older.

Browser Open 2019 sponsors are C.D. Smith Construction, Fond du Lac Morning Rotary, National Exchange Bank & Trust, Culver’s West and Society Insurance. Many other businesses and individuals have donated raffle prizes.

Players this year again can vote for the honor of Players Choice – the award for best-designed and most fun hole on the course. The winner will have their name inscribed on a plaque donated by Hopper’s Silk Screening & All Star Trophy; the plaque will be displayed at the library.

The businesses, clubs, organizations and creative people vying for the Players Choice honor are a true cross section of the community: Gottfried Arboretum, Friends of Taylor Park Pool, Baha’i Faith, Parkwatch/Greenway, Ted Sewall (sponsored by Culver’s West), Broken Bread, National Exchange Bank & Trust, Fond du Lac Literacy Services, Marian University Upward Bound, Boys & Girls Club, LGBT Equality Groups, Marian University Physics Department, Smart Money Week, Fond du Lac Public Library staff, Earth Justice Now, Jerry Gordon and Friends of the Fond du Lac Public Library.

The Browser Open, named after the library’s mascot, Browser the Dog, will raise money for library programming. It’s a project of the Friends of the Fond du Lac Public Library, a nonprofit organization, founded in 1988, that promotes and encourages the use of library services by fundraising, supporting special events and providing programs for the community.

The Fond du Lac Public Library supports a high quality of life in Fond du Lac through reading, lifelong learning and community involvement. There are two locations: Main Library, 32 Sheboygan St., and FDLPL Express, near Festival Foods. For more information, visit www.fdlpl.org.

Pictured above: Having a blast at the 2018 Browser Open are, from left, Hannah Schmidt, 4; Joseph Lewis, 10; and Mark Schmidt, 5. All ages are welcome at the indoor mini-golf event set for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, March 17, at the Fond du Lac Public Library.