The Manchester-by-the-Sea Public Library has a great selection of online and in person events that you can enjoy during the rest of March!
We hope you will join us!
Annual Peeps Show and Contest!
For contest rules and entry forms, visit the library or click HERE
Spring is in the air! It must be time for the library's annual Peeps Show and contest!
Create a diorama of a scene from your favorite book or movie using those deliciously sweet, marshmallow Peeps as your main characters.
“Supplies” are available beginning at the library (while supplies last), or use your own. Dioramas and entry forms need to be submitted between April 1-15. The public is then invited to view through April 29th and cast their vote for the The Peeple’s Choice Award. A panel of library volunteers will judge and award prizes in three age groups: Youth—Grade 5 and below, Teen—Grades 6-12, and Adult. Winners will be announced on May Day!
Tai Chi Moves to Wednesdays at the Manchester Community Center!
Wednesdays From 9:45 AM - 10:45 AM
Manchester local Susan Halpern will continue her weekly Tai Chi class for ages 18 and older on Wednesdays at the Manchester Community Center. At this time the meetings plan to continue through May.
We also ask that you fill out the Safety Release Registration Form before joining.
The class will focus on the Sun style which employs a more upright stance with small arm movements and short steps, and the forms demand attention and stimulate good balance, attention, and stress reduction.
Wednesdays, 10:30-12 (or 12:30 if you want to stay)
Remember that novel you started writing seven years ago? Is it time to finish it? Maybe you want to write your first screenplay? Pour some poems onto the page? Settle into a daily writing habit?
Join a community of writers and artists who just want to write. Here’s how it works: Join the Zoom meeting. Say hello if you want. Write. Stay the full 90 minutes or leave early. Hang out after if you feel like reading your work or hearing someone else's.
Interested? Contact mblack@manchesterpl.org for Zoom details.
Friends of the Library Book Donation Days
Good news! The Friends of the Manchester Library Book Sale will be returning in Summer 2022. At this time due to storage difficulties inside the Manchester Library, members of the Friends of the Library will be holding monthly book drives on designated Saturdays near the Children's Room side entrance of the library on Church St. now starting Saturday, March 19th from 10-4. The following collection dates will be April 23rd, May 21st, June 18th, and July 16th.
Please bring your books in bags and boxes no bigger than beer cases. The Friends are looking for small and large paperbacks and books of fiction and nonfiction and on special interests such as gardening, cooking, children/young adult, sports, games, crafts, decorating, architecture, science, foreign language, large print, travel, animals, nature, history, biography, reference, classics, and poetry.
Afghanistan's Success Hinges on Girls' Education: The story of an all-girl's Afghan school not only succeeding but thriving
Monday, March 21st at 6:30 PM
To register for this program please click HERE
Join the Manchester Public Library’s online presentation on learning more about The School of Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA), an entity like none other. Founded by Afghan native Shabana Basij-Rasikh, SOLA operated in Kabul as Afghanistan’s first and only all-girls boarding school, growing from a single class of 6th graders in 2016 to nearly 100 girls in pre-6th through 11th grade in 2021.
SOLA’s response to the fall of Kabul and the return of the Taliban last August made international news, as Shabana spearheaded the evacuation of more than 200 SOLA students, faculty, and staff to the nation of Rwanda. On February 25th, SOLA announced the start of their 2022 admissions season which will culminate in the arrival of a new class of Afghan girls at their Rwandan campus in September. Shabana joins us to look back on these unforgettable days, and to share her vision for the future she hopes to build for Afghanistan’s women and girls.
Black History Month Movie / Meet with the Filmmaker
March 22, 6:30 PM
To register for this program please click HERE
We will have a special zoom program with filmmaker Craig Dudnick discussing his film, Evanston's Living History. This film is available to watch for free on the library Kanopy Service, if able, please watch prior to the filmmaker's discussion of the Evanston' events and history. It is the story of a community’s struggle for justice; with roots extending to the town of Abbeville, South Carolina and the horrific lynching of one of its prominent citizens, Anthony Crawford. Follow the lives of Crawford's descendants and their allies as the fight for the passage of United States Senate Resolution 39, which apologized for the failure of the Senate to enact anti-lynching legislation. Learn about Evanston’s greatest generation, and their courageous fight to free Evanston from the bondage of racial discrimination.
Both Evanston and Dudnick's other film, Alice's Ordinary People, presented at the library years ago, are available in our Non-Fiction DVD section as well.
Mushrooms and the Wood Wide Web
Thursday, March 24th at 6:30 PM
To register for this program please click HERE
Want to learn more about how mushrooms work with trees and plants in a perfect symbiotic relationship? Join Gary Gilbert online where he will discuss a comprehensive overview of fungi in our ecosystem. There will be time for a general discussion at the end about whatever fungi-related issues interest you. Besides being a regular contributor to our local paper 'The Cricket' with his "Mushroom of the Week' articles, Gary Gilbert is an active member of the Boston Mycological Club, regularly teaching classes and leading walks on Cape Ann and the greater Boston region. He administers the 'Mushroom Identification Page', the largest mushroom identification group on Facebook with over a quarter of a million members. He originated “Mycocards” advanced flashcards for learning mushroom species and has lectured throughout the country on fungi.
Mystery Book Group
Friday, March 25th at 10:30 AM
The Manchester Library’s mystery book group will meet on Zoom to discuss “A Rising Man” by Abir Mukherjee. Copies of this book are available at the library’s circulation desk. To register for this book group please contact Rachael Meneades at rmeneades@manchesterpl.org.
