Events
Press June 20, 2023
July Library Hours and Holidays
On July 1 the MBTS Public library will be closed on Saturdays until September. The library will also close on Tuesday, July 4th in observance of Independence Day.
Children’s News & Events
*Please register for all programs on our website: https://www.manchesterpl.org/events/
Summer Reading Begins June 22 – August 11
Kids going into grade 6 and under are invited to sign up for summer reading, starting on 6/22 and ending on 8/11. Register for a chance to win raffle prizes and get free admission to the Topsfield Fair!
Summer Art and Sensory
Wednesdays beginning June 28 at 3:00—4:00PM
Art and Sensory encourages students to explore their creativity through the fun of using many different art materials. The project is always step by step, hands on and guided to help create individual masterpieces! This program is for kids in pre-k –2nd grade and starts 6/28 and runs every Wednesday this summer. Space is limited and registration is required for each week’s session.
News & Events for Teens
*To register for the programs below and more: manchesterpl.org/events
Creating Comic Strips and Gag Cartoons
Friday, July 14 at 1:00—3:00PM
For ages 11-16: Boston-based author/illustrator Jonathan Todd (the upcoming Scholastic graphic novel “Timid”) is back, this time for a two-hour workshop on writing and drawing cartoons geared for laughs. Registration is limited to 20 participants, and art supplies are included. Please register on the Library Events Calendar — and we’ll see you in the funny pages!
News & Events for Adults
*To register for the programs below and more: manchesterpl.org/events
*Revolutionary Heroine Deborah Sampson and Gender Identity (Virtual)
Tuesday, June 27 at 7:00—8:00 PM
In 1782, Deborah Sampson ran away from home and disguised herself as a man in order to serve in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. More than 200 years later, Sampson’s ancestor, author Alex Myers, was so inspired by her story that he wrote “Revolutionary”, a fictionalized novel based on the true story of Sampson’s 17 months as a soldier.
Join us on Zoom for a celebration of Pride Month with this extraordinary conversation! This conversation and content will be geared towards adults.
About Alex: Alex Myers is a writer, teacher, and speaker. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Harvard University, studying Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. Myers was the first openly transgender student at Harvard and worked to change the University’s nondiscrimination clause to include gender identity. After earning a master’s degree in religion at Brown, he has pursued a career in teaching English at secondary schools. He completed his Master’s of Fine Arts in fiction writing at Vermont College of Fine Arts, where he began his work on Revolutionary, which was published in 2014 by Simon & Schuster.
This program made available through a partnership with the Ashland Public Library and is sponsored by the Friends of the Ashland Public Library and in partnership with Ashland Is United.
*Nancy Horan Author of “The House of Lincoln” in Conversation with Therese Fowler (Virtual)
Wednesday, June 28 at 7:00—8:00PM
Nancy Horan, author of the million-copy New York Times bestseller “Loving Frank,” returns with her new book “The House of Lincoln,” a sweeping historical novel, which tells the story of Abraham Lincoln’s ascendance from rumpled lawyer to U.S. president to the Great Emancipator through the eyes of a young asylum-seeker who arrives in Lincoln’s home of Springfield from Madeira, Portugal. Join Nancy Horan and Therese Fowler as they discuss Nancy’s new book, The House of Lincoln which will be published June 6.
This event is made possible through a partnership with the Burlington Public Library.
Hearthside Book Group
Tuesday, July 11th at 4:00-5:00PM
On Tuesday, July 11th join us in person at the library or on ZOOM to discuss the biography The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore. “From the New York Times bestselling author of The Radium Girls comes another dark, dramatic, but ultimately uplifting tale of a forgotten woman whose harrowing story changed the world.”
Contact Lori Dumont at ldumont@manchesterpl.org or at 978-526-7711 for further information. Copies of this book are available at the circulation desk, curbside pickup or by home delivery.
Mindfulness Meditation
Weekly beginning July 11 and excluding July 18
Tuesdays, 11:00AM-12:00PM
Alida Bryant is a Dharma Leader and meditation instructor under the guidance of Anam Thubten Rinpoche. She has been meditating for over 30 years (still very much a beginner!) and studying and practicing with lineage holders in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
Beginners and experienced meditators are welcome. There will be guided meditation, some silence, and discussion. Registration is requested but not required.