Calendar

Families are invited to share summer stories, songs, rhymes, and music in a fun interactive program that builds early literacy skills. This program is designed for children birth to 5 years old, accompanied by a favorite adult.  Together we will enjoy making our own pinwheels to try and to take home. Registration required, limited supplies.

Learn how to play this fun and easy instrument! No experience necessary. Bring your own ukulele or borrow one of Julie’s. After a short lesson, you’ll be able to play songs and we’ll play a few campfire classics. Recommended for families of all ages.  Registration required

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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