Wampanoag Culture Through Stories and Song: For Kids

Kitty Hendricks-Miller, from the Mashpee Wampanoag education department, will offer an exciting program for kids during April Vacation Week on Tues., April 16 at 3:00 p.m.

During this presentation, Kitty will demonstrate hand-made Native American artifacts and share stories and songs with them as insights into Wampanoag history and culture. It also will include a craft where they'll make a corn husk doll. This program is geared toward children ages 5-8.  

Registration is required so please stop by the Library or call 508/946-2470 to sign up.

A Glimpse Into Wampanoag Foodways and Cooking Demonstration: For Teens and Adults

Later on April 16, at 6:00 p.m., Kitty will offer a presentation for teens (ages 14-17) and adults. She'll speak about agriculture from pre-spring planting to produce drying after the fall harvest. She'll also do a live cooking demonstration where she'll make Quail Soup with Vegetables and Spring Greens. There will be plenty of time for questions from the audience. 

It also will be offered virtually over Zoom so you can cook along with Kitty from home with her recipe sent in advance.

Registration is required, so please email Adult Services/Reference Librarian Libby Fox, or call 508/946-2470, to sign up.

These programs are both supported in part by a grant from the Middleborough Cultural Council, a local agency, which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. Additional funding was provided by the Friends of the Middleborough Public Library.

Next Up in Our Virtual Author Talk Series

Register for one of our upcoming 60-minute virtual author talks here and submit your questions for the author, or you can watch here, at any time, any of the previous programs archived back to July 2022.

The Foods, People, and Innovations That Feed Us–A VIRTUAL Sweeping History of Food and Culture with Smithsonian Curator Paula J. Johnson, Tues., April 2, 2:00 p.m.

You’re invited to log on to hear Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History (SINMAH) Curator Paula Johnson discuss the book Smithsonian American Table: The Foods, People, and Innovations That Feed Us. It's a sweeping history of food and culture that offers a fresh look at the people, ingredients, events, and movements that have shaped how and what we eat. Johnson will discuss several stories featured in the volume, with an emphasis on those that intersect most directly with the Smithsonian’s research, collecting, and programming around food history. She'll also discuss:

• How immigration and migration has shaped (and continues to shape) American tables,
• How food companies have influenced home cooks through advertising, from Jell-O salads to Crock-pots.
• How individuals from Brownie Wise to James Beard and Julia Child inspired generations of cooks and eaters across the United States.
• How uniting in the kitchen can change the shape of our collective futures, highlighting growers and chefs who are reclaiming and reinventing regional and cultural traditions, including Indigenous ingredients and cooking techniques.

Johnson, a Curator in the Division of Work and Industry at SINMAH, and 30-year veteran with the organization, is responsible for strengthening and maintaining the food history and marine resources collections. She's the Project Director for the Smithsonian's multi-faceted American Food History Project and is working on a book about Julia Child’s home kitchen.

Register here.

From Murder to Atonement–Confronting My Son’s Killer: A VIRTUAL Conversation with Diane Foley & Colum McCann, Tues., April 9, 2:00 p.m.

Join us online for a one-of-a-kind conversation with National Book Award-winner Colum McCann and Diane Foley, the inspiration behind the heartrending book American Mother. It's the story of a mother who, in the course of confronting her son’s killer, gets to the elemental heart of violence and forgiveness. Foley's son Jim was a freelance journalist captured and beheaded by ISIS in 2014, an image that became one of the most iconic of the 21st century.

Seven years later, Diane gets the chance to spend three days with the murderer of her son in a Virginia courthouse, inspiring her to tell her life story. What unfolds is one of the most compelling narratives in recent literary history, channeled into searing reality by McCann, who brings us on a journey of strength, resilience, and radical empathy.

McCann is the author of seven novels, three collections of stories and two works of non-fiction. Born and raised in Dublin, he's received many honors, including the U.S National Book Award, the International Dublin Literary Prize, a Chevalier des Arts et Lettres from the French government, election to the Irish Arts Academy, several European awards, the 2010 Best Foreign Novel Award in China, and an Oscar nomination. His work has been published in over 40 languages.

Foley is the mother of five children. She founded the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation in 2014, less than a month after Jim's public execution. Since then, she has led efforts to fund the start of Hostage US and the International Alliance for a Culture of Safety. In 2015, she actively participated in the National Counterterrorism Center hostage review which culminated in the Presidential Policy Directive-30.

Register here.

Homeschool Board Game Day

Join us on Thurs., April 4 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the downstairs meeting room.  Try a new board game or play an old favorite from among the library’s collection of games for kids and teens. Families are invited to bring their own games to share.  

This event is geared towards ages 9+ but all ages are welcome, and no registration is necessary.

Homeschool Needle Felted Bunny Workshop

Join us at our Homeschool Needle Felted Bunny Workshop on Thurs., April 11 at one of two sessions offered from either 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. or 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.

Greek Quest: Poseidon's Fury

Help defeat Poseidon and save the world in a live-action, role-playing game Greek Quest: Poseidon's Fury, created and run by The Story School, on Thurs., April 18 from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. on the Town Hall lawn.  

The Story School brings the characters and legends of Greek mythology to life. In this story, Poseidon stands poised to flood the great libraries and summon his Kraken to destroy knowledge in a bid to take over the human realm. Legendary figures, gods and heroes are being called to stand against Poseidon’s fury. Players are transformed into Greek heroes through an immersive and interactive adventure with escape room elements. They will battle with foam swords, solve puzzles, and uncover secrets.  

This event is open to ages 10-14.  Attendees under the age of 18 must have their parent or legal guardian sign/submit a Waiver Agreement to participate. A link for the online waiver will be sent after you've registered.    

Call the Library at 508/946-2470 to register.



Thank you to the Friends of the Middleborough Public Library for sponsoring this program.

Lego Afternoon

Drop in the Large Meeting Room for Lego Afternoon Tues., April 2 and 9 from 3:45-4:45 p.m. Create a Lego masterpiece using the Library's bricks. Space is first come, first served. 

This program is supported by the Friends of the Middleborough Public Library.

Family Game Night

Stop by for Family Game Night on Tues, April 2 at 6:00 p.m. featuring board games of all kinds. No registration is necessary.

Games and puzzles for families with kids of all ages will be provided.

This program is supported by the Friends of the Middleborough Public Library. 

Sharebrary Item of the Week:

Bird Watching Kit

Sharebrary: Borrow. Try. Experience.

Have you heard all the birdsong in the air these days? Grab our Bird Watching Kit and get outside to enjoy all of spring's approaching beauty.

The kit comes in a green backpack complete with binoculars and instructions, a Peterson bird field guide, and a New England birds pocket guide.

The bird watching kit is one of 40 different items we have in our Sharebrary collection. Check them all out!