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In this issue: Cooler Concord Climate Festival - Concord Wetland Wildlife - Adult Programs - - Virtual Films at Fowler - Poetry at the Library - Teen Programs - Children's Programs - Special Collections Highlights
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Cooler Concord Climate Festival | |
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Cooler Concord Climate Festival
Saturday, April 20, 12:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Front Lawn, Main Library
Dive into the vibrant tapestry of community-driven climate action at the Cooler Concord Climate Festival - a gathering for all generations - Gather practical information, immerse yourself in hands-on demonstrations, and connect with passionate community members actively working to make a difference. Participants of all ages will be inspired by educational activities, engaging performances and collaborative art projects. The Concord Free Public Library's event table will include our fourth annual Native Tree Seedling giveaway. This event is made possible by the generous support of the Friends of the Concord Free Public Library, a patron-supported non-profit organization. [Read More About the Festival]
[View More Earth Month Programs]
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Concord Wetland Wildlife: A Special Collections Program | |
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Concord Wetland Wildlife: Close Looks at the Animals of Thoreau’s Favorite Swamp - with Ron McAdow
Sunday, April 21, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Goodwin Forum, Main Library
This slide presentation will feature videos and photos of wildlife from Well Meadow, the pristine wetland off Fairhaven Bay, on Concord’s southeast boundary. Well Meadow was a frequent destination for Henry David Thoreau. Ron’s trail camera monitors traffic on a beaver dam that crosses the swamp. We will see images and videos of the wide variety of animals that use this bridge: mink, otter, bobcat, and many other species. Thoreau kept an appreciative eye on Well Meadow vegetation—we will hear his observations about some of the plants that anchor this rich natural community. Sample one of Ron's wildlife videos here.
Ron McAdow is the author of The Concord, Sudbury, and Assabet Rivers, Emerson’s Nature, Concord Village, and other books. He served for a decade as Executive Director of Sudbury Valley Trustees. His Adult and Community Education course offerings include Fairhaven History and Hike.
[Register for Ron McAdow Talk] [Sample One of Ron McAdow's Wildlife Videos]
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Fowler Afoot: A Walking Book Club
Wednesday, April 24, 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Fowler Branch
We will meet at the Fowler Branch Library at 10 am, and then walk together on the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail. The plan is to walk the trail for about twenty minutes and then turn around. Don't forget to wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather. If the weather doesn’t cooperate, we will meet inside. For April, we will discuss Sy Montgomery's recent book, Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell. Copies are available for pick up at Fowler and the audiobook and ebook can be downloaded on Libby. [Register for Fowler Afoot]
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Seed Starting Workshop
Friday, April 26, 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
Fowler Branch
As part of our Concord Seed Lending Library, we are partnering with Codman Community Farms in Lincoln to offer a Seed Starting Workshop. This workshop will be led by Jess Myles, Codman's Outreach, Education, and Volunteer Manager. She will lead participants through planting a variety of seeds using a variety of potting materials. You will leave the workshop with a tray of your own seedlings, ready to grow in your home. [Register for Seed Starting Workshop]
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Fowler Afternoon Tea Book Club
Friday, April 26, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Meeting Room, Fowler Branch
On the fourth Friday of each month, enjoy a selection of teas and discuss a blend of historical and contemporary fiction. Copies of the selected book are available at Fowler. Please feel free to bring in food related to the recipe theme. [Register for Afternoon Tea Book Club]
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Writing a Book When You Don't Know Where to Start
Saturday, April 27, 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.
Meeting Room, Fowler Branch
Have you thought about writing a book, but believe it is only for professional writers? In this lighthearted presentation by Dora Farkas, she will show you how everyday life, such as parenting, career challenges, pets, and health issues, can be an inspiration to write your first (or next) book, even if you never had any training in writing. You will also have a chance to check out Dora's debut novel Choice, (rated 5/5 by Readers' Favorite), a mother-daughter story from the perspective of a service dog. [Register for Writing a Book]
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Author Talk: Motherhood and Writing with Dora Farkas
Wednesday, May 1, 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
Goodwin Forum, Main Library
Motherhood is one of the biggest changes in a woman's life, but how does it affect one's writing career? A mother of two girls and the author of two books, Dora Farkas will show how motherhood is one of the richest sources of inspiration to help women break through writer's block. Using personal stories from her life and that of her students, Dora will demonstrate how the unique challenges of motherhood can give you the structure you need to write and publish books and stories. [Register for Dora Farkas Talk]
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Past Lives (2023)
Wednesday, April 24, 7:00 p.m.
(Discussion Date on Zoom)
In writer-director Celine Song’s awardwinning first film, Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), two deeply connected childhood friends in Seoul, are torn apart when Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Two decades later, they are reunited in New York where they confront notions of destiny, love, and their choices in life.
Please watch the film on Kanopy before the discussion. To register for the discussion and receive a Zoom link, send an email to the Coordinator of the program Randall Warniers at FilmsatFowler@concordlibrary.org. This series is sponsored by the Friends of the Concord Free Public Library.
[View Spring 2024 Films at Fowler Calendar]
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Poetry at the Library: Charles Coe, John Hodgen & Henry Walters
Sunday, May 5, 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.
Goodwin Forum, Main Library
Join us at our capstone event for the 2023-24 season with nationally acclaimed poets Charles Coe, John Hodgen, and Henry Walters. The poets will read and engage in a Q & A, followed by book signings and light refreshments.
Charles Coe, poet, prose writer, musician (vocals and didgeridoo) and filmmaker, reads from his newest collection, Purgatory Road (Leapfrog Press 2023), “a contemporary urban Spoon River Anthology” writes poet and critic Richard Hoffman.
John Hodgen, the Writer-in-Residence at Assumption University in Worcester, MA, and Advisory Editor for New Letters at the University of Missouri in Kansas City, reads from his sixth collection, What We May Be (Lynx House Press 2024) described as “a cry of love and pain (and he makes them almost indistinguishable) on behalf of the human race, its history, its future, its lovely possibilities that seem always out of reach."
Henry Walters reads from his second poetry collection, The Nature Thief (The Waywiser Press 2022), finalist for the Sixteenth Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize. In its praise writes poet Sherod Santos, “THE NATURE THIEF gives proof to Faulkner’s famous adage: ‘The past is not dead, it is not even past."
Poetry at the Library is sponsored by the Friends of the Concord Free Public Library. [Register for Poetry Reading]
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Teen Library (Robot) Fight Club
Tuesday, April 23, 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.
The Workshop, Main Library
First rule of Library (Robot) Fight Club: tell all your friends about Library (Robot) Fight Club. Join us every fourth Tuesday of the month to build, hack, and battle remote-control bots. For makers ages 11 to 18. [Register for Robot Fight Club]
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Children's Programs at the Main Library | |
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Spring Storytime Schedule
All storytimes are drop-in.
Mondays: Musical Monday at 10:30 a.m.
Tuesdays: Crafty Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. and Sensory-Friendly Storytime at 4:00 p.m.
Wednesdays: Toddler Time at 10:30 a.m. and Baby Snugglebugs Storytime at 11:30 a.m.
Thursdays: Storytime at 10:30 a.m.
Fridays: Alphabet Storytime at 10:30 a.m.
Saturdays: Yoga & Movement Storytime at 10:30 a.m.
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Musical Monday: Sulinha Boucher Trio
Monday, April 22, 10:30 - 11:15 a.m.
Goodwin Forum, Main Library
Sulinha's trio performs educational children’s music influenced by traditional Brazilian music. You will hear Itzy Bitzy spider in a Bossa Nova beat, as well as many original songs with topics that matter to children like brushing teeth, counting, the 4 seasons, and crossing the street. This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Concord Free Public Library. No registration required.
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Make-It! Club
Wednesday, April 24, 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.
The Workshop, Main Library
Join us every Wednesday afternoon for an awesome craft, art project or engineering puzzle. Recommended for kids ages 5+ and their caregivers. If your child is ages 5-9, please be prepared to stay with your child for the duration of the event. No registration required.
For more Children's programs at the Main Library, visit here.
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Fowler Branch Children's Programs | |
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Fowler Sustainability Studio with Mothers Out Front
Friday, April 27, 11:00 - 11:45 a.m.
Meeting Room, Fowler Branch
Join us a special edition of Fowler's Saturday Studio in collaboration with Mothers Out Front. This month's theme is Earth Day, and we are excited to welcome guest reader Representative Simon Cataldo. Through a mix of stories, songs, and hands-on crafts, we will help young readers explore the history and significance of Earth Day. Our hands-on craft activity will help kids and grown-ups express the vision of the future they want to inherit. No registration required.
For more Children's programs at Fowler, visit here.
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Highlights from Special Collections: “I wish to speak a word for Nature” | |
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“I wish to speak a word for Nature, for absolute freedom and wildness, as contrasted with a freedom and culture merely civil—to regard man as an inhabitant, or a part and parcel of Nature, rather than a member of society. I wish to make an extreme statement, if so I may make an emphatic one, for there are enough champions of civilization: the minister and the school committee and every one of you will take care of that.” - “Walking” by Henry David Thoreau.
The William Munroe Special Collections holds Henry David Thoreau's manuscript of "Walking.” The manuscript was published posthumously in the Atlantic Monthly in June 1862 and later in the collection Excursions in October 1863; Thoreau based the essay mainly on his journal entries for 1850-1852 and lectures Thoreau delivered in the early and mid-1850s. Close to his death, he revised this material in preparation for publishing the manuscript in the Atlantic Monthly. As a result, the manuscript contains numerous deletions and emendations by Thoreau; portions of it are in the hand of Thoreau’s sister Sophia. Publisher, editor, and poet James T. Fields presented the manuscript in honor of Concord Free Public Library's opening in September 1873.
Special Collections at the Concord Free Public Library holds the largest and most important collection of primary Thoreau material in New England and extensive collections documenting Concord as Thoreau knew it. Special Collections include close to 200 land and property surveys by Thoreau, his volume of surveying field notes, and a series of more than 350 letters from early Thoreau scholar Samuel Arthur Jones to Alfred Winslow Hosmer of Concord. Concord's collections also include important examples of Thoreau iconography, such as the 1854 crayon portrait by Samuel Worcester Rowse and photographic records of Thoreau's Concord, among thousands of images by Alfred Winslow Hosmer and Herbert Wendell Gleason. In addition, the H.D. Thoreau Collection includes more than forty books, many presented by Thoreau’s sister Sophia, once belonging to Thoreau or members of his family.
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