Jul
27
Wed
Learn the Ukulele with Julie Stepanek!
Jul 27 @ 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm

This session is for teens and adults. Registration is required. In-person with a max of 24 participants. Click here to register.

Julie will be teaching campfire songs on the ukulele! No experience necessary. She’ll teach participants how to hold, strum, fret and read chord diagrams – everything one needs to know in order to play the ukulele. Bring your own ukulele or use one of Julie’s.

This program was funded in part by Emily’s Friends of the Library.

Aug
3
Wed
Crimson Canary Concert on the Lawn!
Aug 3 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Crimson Canary Concert on the Lawn!

Crimson Canary is BACK and playing a lovely evening concert for us on the Library lawn. They will be performing classic vocals from the 40s, 50s and 60s in several languages. Bring a blanket or chair, relax, and let the music move you! (Rain date Friday, August 5th, 6-7pm)

Crimson Canary consists of guitarist/vocalist David Chu and vocalist Lonnie Chu, known for their vintage music sung in various languages. They also perform and educate about flamenco music.

David Chu began his music career as a teen playing piano and percussion, but soon switched to guitar. An accomplished soloist, he provides accompaniment and is the group’s arranger and composer. He delights audiences with the variety of genres he plays on either guitar, including flamenco, jazz, blues, Brazilian, and even Beatles.

Lonnie Chu, manager and singer, has also played folk guitar and bluegrass mandolin and enjoys singing in various languages and genres. A retired professor of Spanish, she delights in teaching audiences how to participate in flamenco’s rhythmic hand-clapping (palmas).

Read more about Crimson Canary on their website at crimsoncanary.com

This program was funded in part by Emily’s Friends of the Library.

Sep
28
Wed
Valley Bloomers Lecture: Mushrooms-More Than Pizza Toppings
Sep 28 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

The Valley Bloomers gardening club offers an expert lecture from Marty Klein on the life cycles of mushrooms, their roles in the environment, and a few local species. This presentation will include a Q&A, and will take place on the lower floor of the library. Please remember to wear a mask.

Apr
18
Tue
“Women in Clothes” Discussion with Susan Berry
Apr 18 @ 6:00 pm – 7:15 pm
"Women in Clothes" Discussion with Susan Berry

Pick up a copy of the book at the Library. Please RSVP at tinyurl.com/ewml-women-clothes

Join us for an informal discussion about how women use fashion/clothing as a means of self-expression, self-care, as armor or disguise, to reinvent themselves, to transform how others see them, to communicate, or to enhance confidence and individuality. Please book-mark your favorite sections of “Women in Clothes,” and share your thoughts about your relationship with clothing, shopping, and what influences your daily ritual of getting dressed.

“Women in Clothes,” the 2014 book edited by the ­novelist-critics Sheila Heti and Heidi Julavits and the artist Leanne Shapton, is a compilation of lessons, fears and wishes. It pushes against the prevailing rules that have governed women’s self-presentation for thousands of years.

As mentioned in this 2014 New York Times article, Sheila Weiss writes, “The book began as a survey consisting of an “ever-evolving” list of questions that the editors sent out to more than 600 women… The questions are provocative and psychological. They suggest that a closet is an archive of emotion. The questions also resist the idea, commonly held, that paying too much attention to dress is frivolous… Clothing is as much a means for defiance and privacy as it is a vehicle for pleasing self-presentation.”

Susan W. Berry MS, MFA, CHC, CIC is a Certified Holistic Health Coach and Certified Personal Style, Wardrobe and Image Consultant. She resides in Easthampton, MA.

Jun
30
Fri
Writing Memoir: Voice and Passion
Jun 30 @ 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm

Attend one or both! Please RSVP at tinyurl.com/epl-voice-passion so we have an idea of how many folks will be attending. Recommended but not required.

Explore your life experiences in this writing workshop that focuses on the elements of voice and passion in memoir. We will write in workshop to prompts, and discuss and share in a safe and supportive group. Writing tools and handouts will be provided. No writing experience necessary.

Facilitator Laurie McMillan leads writing workshops of all genres and encourages people from all walks of life who want to write.

Find Your Voice is sponsored by the Easthampton Public Library, Emily’s Friends of the Library, the Massachusetts Library System, the Boston Bruins, and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.
Jul
7
Fri
Writing Memoir: Voice and Passion
Jul 7 @ 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm

Attend one or both! Please RSVP at tinyurl.com/epl-voice-passion so we have an idea of how many folks will be attending. Recommended but not required.

Explore your life experiences in this writing workshop that focuses on the elements of voice and passion in memoir. We will write in workshop to prompts, and discuss and share in a safe and supportive group. Writing tools and handouts will be provided. No writing experience necessary.

Facilitator Laurie McMillan leads writing workshops of all genres and encourages people from all walks of life who want to write.

Find Your Voice is sponsored by the Easthampton Public Library, Emily’s Friends of the Library, the Massachusetts Library System, the Boston Bruins, and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.
Jul
12
Wed
Theater Improv Games with Heidi!
Jul 12 @ 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm

We are delighted to have theater teacher, Heidi Haas, join us for this series! Every workshop includes warm-up exercises, scene work, and theater games. The workshop introduces the value of using drama to express feelings, playfully solve problems, and encourages children to challenge themselves and participate as fully as they feel comfortable. Team building and creating a sense of safety are integral parts of the process and draw on the strengths of the students to foster a sense of pride in what they can accomplish as a group. Come to one or all of these workshops; recommended ages 6-11. Registration is encouraged–register at the library in person or by calling us at 413-527-1031 or emailing us at youthdept@ewmlibrary.org

Jul
13
Thu
‘Speak Up’ Book Club!
Jul 13 @ 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm

Come join Patti for a fun book club discussion of the graphic novel, Crush, by Svetlana Chmakova. Registration encouraged, ages 7+.

Adult Songwriting with Lisa
Jul 13 @ 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Adult Songwriting with Lisa

Attend one or both! Please RSVP at tinyurl.com/epl-adult-songwriting so we have an idea of how many folks will be attending. Recommended but not required.

Participants will listen to a few classic examples of powerfully vivid songwriting, and will generate ideas for new songs using a variety of writing exercises. No songwriting experience is required. Participants will be invited to share songs in process, time permitting.

Lisa Bastoni is a Northampton, MA-based singer-songwriter who has enjoyed a longtime presence in the northeast folk/Americana scene. She is a 2021 New England Music Award nominee (Roots), 2020 & 2019 Boston Music Award Nominee (Folk) and winner of 2019 New Folk at the esteemed Kerrville Folk Festival. In addition to her work in music, Lisa Bastoni is an accomplished visual artist and teacher, and mother to two young children. For more info, visit www.lisabastoni.com

Find Your Voice is sponsored by the Easthampton Public Library, Emily’s Friends of the Library, the Massachusetts Library System, the Boston Bruins, and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

Jul
14
Fri
CANCELLED: Lonesome Brothers Concert
Jul 14 @ 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm

©Brandi Ediss 2015

**Out of an abundance of caution, the Lonesome Brothers Concert is CANCELLED for tonight (7/14). We have RESCHEDULED for next Friday (7/21) at 6:30pm** 

Come celebrate summer and local music with us on the Library Lawn! Happening rain or shine. In the event of rain, we will move the concert indoors.

“The Bros combine the best elements of American music with the raw honesty of their natural and totally believable lyrics. There’s real poetry here in the writing of Ray Mason and Jim Armenti that evokes the best of Hank Williams or Chuck Berry – a down-home conversational style that tells a story with vivid insight into the human condition.” –Paul Burton, Music Revue

Learn more about Lonesome Brothers and their music at lonesomebrothers.com

This program was funded in part by Emily’s Friends of the Library.