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The Concord Free Public Library will be closed on Thursday, July 4 for Independence Day.
- The Main Library is now closed on Sundays until October 1.
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In this issue: Summer Reading 2024 - Adult Programs - Virtual Films at Fowler - Makerspace Programs - Teen Programs - Children's Programs - Special Collections Highlights
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Reading Dragons
Kids & Teens
Read and collect dragon trading cards for the opportunity to win prizes - You will evolve your dragon (or pick a new egg) for every two days you read this summer. Every time you evolve a dragon into an adult (eight days), you will earn a ticket for the Grand Prize Raffle. Read. Hatch. Collect them all.
Rubber Ducky Club
Babies, Toddlers & Preschoolers
Sign up, read and record each day you read with your child this summer at our Children's Library or the Fowler Branch. Every seven days, you will earn a rubber ducky and a ticket for the Grand Prize Raffle.
Adult Summer Reading
Patrons can fill out a raffle ticket with their name, contact info and the name of a book they would like to recommend and deposit the ticket at either the Main Library or the Fowler Branch. For the Main Library, drop-off locations include the Circulation Desk and the Reference Desk in the Lobby. We will hold weekly drawings for $15 gift cards for local businesses. Each ticket will also be an entry for a chance to win the grand prize in August. Grand prizes include a $50 gift card to Concord Market and a $50 gift card to Debra's Natural Gourmet.
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Virtual Group Meditation with Be Well Be Here
Thursday, June 27, 8:30 - 9:00 a.m.
Zoom
Join Lara Wilson for a 30-minute morning meditation practice with the Library and start your day with a moment of ease. Discover mindful tools that center the body, settle the mind and open the door to wellbeing. Please note this will be the final meditation until we resume on September 5. [Register for Zoom Link]
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Pride: The Expiration Date
Thursday, June 27, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Goodwin Forum, Main Library
The Expiration Date is Judah Leblang's poignant and humorous one-man show about dealing with life's big questions--How does one handle life as a "junior-senior?" Is there an afterlife? What does it mean to be spiritual without belief in the 'God in the sky?' Does getting older mean becoming wiser?"--and navigating those times when one man planned and God laughed. The Expiration Date is presented in partnership with Pride 2024. This event is sponsored by the Friends of the Concord Free Public Library. [Register for Pride: The Expiration Date]
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The theme of the movies this summer continues to be Faraway Places. The movies in this series will take us to locations where we will see and experience other people, other stories and other parts of the world.
Saint Omer (2022)
Wednesday, June 26, 7:00 p.m.
(Discussion Date on Zoom)
A powerful award-winning courtroom drama from France in which a young Senegalese immigrant mother is accused of killing her 15-month-old daughter.
Please watch the film on Kanopy before the discussion. To register for the discussion and receive a Zoom link, send an email to the Coordinator of the program Randall Warniers at FilmsatFowler@concordlibrary.org. This series is sponsored by the Friends of the Concord Free Public Library.
[View Summer 2024 Films at Fowler Schedule]
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Makerspace Workshop Programs | |
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Pride Craft Party
Saturday, June 22, 12:00 - 3:00 p.m.
The Workshop, Main Library
Celebrate the Town of Concord's first annual Pride Fest with Pride-themed Workshop crafts, including a friendship bracelet bar, button-making, coloring pages, sidewalk chalk, free popsicles and more. All are welcome. [Register for Pride Craft Party]
For more Makerspace Programs, visit here.
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Teen Concord Pride Fest Party
Saturday, June 22, 1:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Goodwin Forum, Main Library
Show your true colors at the first ever Concord Pride celebration right here at the Library. Come-as-you-are and join us from 1:30-4:30 for karaoke, pride crafts, gaming competitions, treats and more. And don’t forget to make some memories at our Pride photo booth. No registration required.
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Teen Library (Robot) Fight Club
Tuesday, June 25, 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.
The Workshop, Main Library
First rule of Library (Robot) Fight Club: tell all your friends about Library (Robot) Fight Club. Join us every fourth Tuesday of the month to build, hack, and battle remote-control bots. For makers ages 11 to 18. [Register for Teen Fight Club]
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Children's Programs at the Main Library | |
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June Morning Kids' Programs at Main
Mondays: Musical Monday at 10:30 a.m.
Tuesdays: Crafty Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.
Wednesdays: Toddler Time at 10:30 a.m. and Baby Snugglebugs Storytime at 11:30 a.m.
Thursdays: Storytime at Main at 10:30 a.m. (no storytime June 27)
Fridays: Alphabet Storytime at 10:30 a.m.
Saturdays: Yoga & Movement storytime at 10:30 a.m.
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Musical Monday: Music & Movement with Julie Stepanek
Monday, June 24, 10:30 - 11:15 a.m.
Goodwin Forum, Main Library
Start your week off right by dancing, singing, and having some fun at Musical Monday - featuring songs you know and some songs you might not know. Join musician Julie Stepanek and stretch, stomp, sing, and shake out your sillies--all to the sweet sounds of the ukulele. Generously sponsored by the Friends of the Concord Free Public Library. No registration required.
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Science Heroes: Adventure of the Lost Treasure (Ages 4+)
Tuesday, June 25, 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Goodwin Forum, Main Library
Join us on a treasure-hunting adventure deep within the jungle - The audience helps the performer act out the tale, as we use the events in the story to explore several exciting science concepts such as air pressure, energy transfer, physical vs. chemical changes, and more. Volunteers help conduct each experiment and the whole audience gets involved in changing variables, making predictions and comparing results. Generously sponsored by the Friends of the Concord Free Public Library. No registration required.
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Make-It! Club: Rainbow Edition
Wednesday, June 26, 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.
The Workshop, Main Library
Join us every Wednesday afternoon for an awesome craft, art project or engineering puzzle. This week we will create a rainbow cloud wall hanging. Recommended for kids ages 5-10 and their caregivers. If your child is ages 5-9, please be prepared to stay with your child for the duration of the event. No registration required.
For more Children's programs at the Main Library, visit here.
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Fowler Branch Children's Programs | |
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Pride at Fowler: Rainbow Crafts (For All Ages)
Saturday, June 22, 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.
Meeting Room, Fowler Branch
Celebrate Pride - Stop by Fowler for drop-in crafting to create all things rainbows and love! All ages welcome. No registration required.
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Fowler Sustainability Studio with Mothers Out Front
Saturday, June 29, 11:00 - 11:45 a.m.
Meeting Room, Fowler Branch
Join us for a special edition of Fowler's Saturday Studio with Mothers Out Front. Together, we will explore sustainability themes through a mix of stories, songs, crafting and hands-on activities. This event is organized in collaboration with the Concord Chapter of Mothers Out Front - a volunteer-led organization dedicated to ensure a livable climate and better future for all children. No registration required.
For more Children's programs at Fowler, visit here.
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Highlights from Special Collections: The Children's Art Quilt Returns | |
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The next time you enter the Main Library through the Sudbury Road entrance, you will notice that the Children’s Art Quilt is back in its usual place. Thanks to the support of the Concord Free Public Library Corporation, the quilt was recently cleaned by Museum Textile Services, LLC, a textile conservation studio in Andover, Massachusetts.
Since 1989, this spectacular quilt has graced the foyer at the Sudbury Road entrance of the Concord Free Public Library. The individual panels have images representing the work of children’s book illustrators, including Dr. Seuss, Eric Carle, Astrid Lindgren, and Maurice Sendak. Assistant Children’s Librarian Fayth Chamberland came up with the idea to celebrate the new children’s wing of the Library, which opened in 1987. They wanted to “have something childlike, bright and colorful - something the children would recognize.” Chamberland and Karen Ahearn, the Children’s Librarian, compiled a list of 34 illustrators. They sent letters explaining the project and a two-inch by twelve-inch strip of fabric, asking them to sign the strip and return it to the Library. Within six months, all of the illustrators responded with letters coming from Concord (Ilse Plume), England (P.L. Travers), and Japan (Anno), among others.
Once all the signatures had returned, creating the quilt began. Joan Kenneally, a quilter by trade and avocation, took on the management of the quilting, starting with the individual squares. Once the individual squares were completed, a quilting bee set up shop in the corner of the Children’s Room at the Library. Fifty volunteers spent thousands of hours doing the meticulous sewing work. The quilting was finished in 1988. Local carpenter Ralph Shamer made the frame, and the quilt was unveiled on July 17, 1989.
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