The Stories, Science, and History of Birds with Smithsonian Biologist Jay Falk (Virtual)

Delve into the fascinating world of birds through astonishing photography and clear explanations in this absorbing global guide, The Bird Book: The Stories, Science, and History of Birds, by Dr. Jay Jinsing Falk of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the Uni......More

Delve into the fascinating world of birds through astonishing photography and clear explanations in this absorbing global guide, The Bird Book: The Stories, Science, and History of Birds, by Dr. Jay Jinsing Falk of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the University of Colorado.For information or to register, click here.

Sunny Season Eats: Tasty Mocktails with Thirsty Radish (Virtual)

Registration Required Below This is the second of two summer sessions celebrating the season!Incorporate summer ingredients in refreshing non-alcoholic drinks that are perfect for entertaining and everyday enjoyment. Learn about the art of making drinks, syrups, infusio......More

Registration Required Below This is the second of two summer sessions celebrating the season!Incorporate summer ingredients in refreshing non-alcoholic drinks that are perfect for entertaining and everyday enjoyment. Learn about the art of making drinks, syrups, infusions, and edible garnishes.We will even explore how to use herbs and spices to approximate the flavors of popular cocktail spirits.About Our Presenter: Vanessa Young  is a cooking instructor, writer, and educator known for her artful approach to food and wellness topics and her focus on seasonal meals.  With her artistic sensibility and kitchen wisdom, she helps home chefs become more versatile in their approach to food, reigniting their passion for cooking through private and community classes.  As the founder of Thirsty Radish (www.thirstyradish.com), she shares recipes and inspires a creative approach to life in and out of the kitchen.Register below to receive a Zoom link the day of the program. Include a cell for a text reminder.   

Core Principles: Pilates at the Library (In-Person)

Registration Required BelowRecommended for adults and high school studentsGet stronger this summer with free Pilates sessions at the Library!  These classes are designed for all levels — so whether you're jump-starting your exercise regimen or looking to up your game — ......More

Registration Required BelowRecommended for adults and high school studentsGet stronger this summer with free Pilates sessions at the Library!  These classes are designed for all levels — so whether you're jump-starting your exercise regimen or looking to up your game — these instructional and engaging sessions with Instructor Nancy Ciardullo offer something for everyone.Pilates makes use of internal resistance as a way to develop strength, balance and flexibility, while also focusing the mind. This form of exercise focuses on lengthening and expanding the muscles, making them longer and leaner.  The beauty of Pilates is that anyone, at any age can start!Participants should dress for a workout and bring a mat. If you own a yoga block, please bring it along. Classes held on Thursdays at 10 am on the following dates:July 10,  July 24,  August 7, August 21Please register for each class separately.  Include your cell number to receive a text reminder prior to the program.  About Our Presenter:Nancy Ciardullo is trained in the Pilates Stott method and is ASFA certified. For nearly a decade, Nancy has been teaching group and private Pilates throughout the area. Nancy’s approach to Pilates incorporates various props to aid in resistance and flexibility for an overall full body sculpt.

Kick Up Your Heels — Learn Country-Western Line Dancing!

Registration Required BelowReady to do some boot-scootin boogie moves to great music? Join in the fun as the Library goes full country-western with Line Dancing classes!Led by friendly local instructors, these sessions are all about fun, fitness and footwork.So, come on......More

Registration Required BelowReady to do some boot-scootin boogie moves to great music? Join in the fun as the Library goes full country-western with Line Dancing classes!Led by friendly local instructors, these sessions are all about fun, fitness and footwork.So, come on down! No partner or experience needed.Space is limited so please register early. Please bring a water bottle and wear comfortable shoes.About Our InstructorsSteve Parker and Ellen Russow have been line dancing for over three decades, and have been teaching line dancing classes in the area for over 35 years.

Kitty Visit

Check out a good book and find a spot to read to our visitors. Join us as we close out the summer and celebrate National Book Lover's Day with a visit from Rock'n Rescue, a cat rescue, that will bring cats to be read to!Earn extra entries to the grand prize raffle for a......More

Check out a good book and find a spot to read to our visitors. Join us as we close out the summer and celebrate National Book Lover's Day with a visit from Rock'n Rescue, a cat rescue, that will bring cats to be read to!Earn extra entries to the grand prize raffle for attending teen summer programs.Registration is required.Gr. 5+

Women & Money Roundtable Series

Registration Required BelowThe Women and Money Roundtable is a monthly financial program created to empower and educate women on financial matters that impact their families and themselves.   Join Julia Strayer and Liz Maccarone virtually as they lead a lively and infor......More

Registration Required BelowThe Women and Money Roundtable is a monthly financial program created to empower and educate women on financial matters that impact their families and themselves.   Join Julia Strayer and Liz Maccarone virtually as they lead a lively and informative discussion on how to make sense of today’s financial markets.The Women and Money Roundtable series will meet monthly throughout the year.  Please register for each session separately.August 13September 10Registered participants will receive a Webinar link on the day of the program. Include your cell phone number on the registration form and receive one text reminder, with link before the program begins.About the Speakers:Julia Strayer, CPWA®, CIMA®, CRPC®Senior Vice President, Wealth Management AdvisorPrior to joining Merrill Lynch Wealth Management in 2000, Julia was a vice president and private banker for BankBoston’s Private Bank for 7 years, responsible for asset management and trust services. Previously, Julia worked in marketing for 9 years with Merrill. Julia has a BA from Ohio State University and an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business. Julia has appeared on the CNBC show “Power Lunch,” CBS “This Morning,” WGCH’s “Women in Business,” in addition to featured articles in USA Today.  Liz Maccarone, CRPC®Senior Financial AdvisorLiz joined Merrill Lynch Wealth Management in 2012. Liz works closely with high-net-worth individuals and their families to create personalized and comprehensive strategies that support their goals, including investment management, retirement planning, liability management, and multigenerational planning. Liz values the importance of establishing and cultivating relationships with families including the next generation.  Liz graduated from Fairfield University with a dual bachelor’s degree in Finance and Marketing. She began her career working at a boutique investment firm as a Business Development Associate, specializing in commodities and futures trading. This program is sponsored in partnership by the presenters and libraries in Fairfield and Westchester Counties.

You Be the Judge... on Beer with Advanced Cicerone (In-Person)

Registration Required BelowLearn how to taste beer like an international beer judge!Join Advanced Cicerone, cartoonist and author Em Sauter to find out what goes into being a beer judge — how to taste, smell and judge brew the right way.Yes, you too can be an internatio......More

Registration Required BelowLearn how to taste beer like an international beer judge!Join Advanced Cicerone, cartoonist and author Em Sauter to find out what goes into being a beer judge — how to taste, smell and judge brew the right way.Yes, you too can be an international beer judge one day (it really is possible!)Participants must be 21 and over to attend this event.About Our SpeakerEm Sauter is an award-winning cartoonist, international beer judge, Advanced Cicerone, public speaker and founder of  Pints and Panels, a website she launched in 2010 to focus on beer education. A Connecticut resident, Em is the author of two books, Beer is for Everyone! (of Drinking Age) and Hooray for Craft Beer!

Compton & Newberry ~ Return to Old-Time Music Presented by the Allen & Helen Hermes Arts Series (In-Person)

Registration Required BelowA Return to Roots and Old-Time Music with the musical geniuses behind the film Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? Compton & Newberry mine one of the more neglected segments of country music history: the period during the ‘30’s and ‘40s when brother d......More

Registration Required BelowA Return to Roots and Old-Time Music with the musical geniuses behind the film Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? Compton & Newberry mine one of the more neglected segments of country music history: the period during the ‘30’s and ‘40s when brother duet music was transitioning into what is now known today as bluegrass.Both masters of old-time music and the talent behind the Grammy-Award winning score from the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou, they collaborate with a vision that is both modern and ageless. As virtuosos of mandolin, banjo, and guitar, they dig deep into early country music and blues. With a seemingly limitless library of brother duets, audiences can expect to hear their favorite tunes along with traditional instrumentals, mother ballads, and soul pleasing tunes.Join us for a magical evening as we welcome back Compton & Newberry for another memorable concert!Meet the Artists:Mike Compton — Known as a modern master of the mandolin, Compton is one of today's foremost interpreters of the father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe and his genre-creating mandolin style.Students from around the world make a pilgrimage to his annual Monroe Mandolin Camp in Nashville, TN, where Compton and a handful of experts teach everything from the basics of bluegrass mandolin to the most intimate details of Monroe's endlessly inspiring style.A native of Mississippi, Compton picked up the mandolin in his teens and absorbed the area's native blues, old-time country and bluegrass sounds. He soon gravitated to Nashville and helped found one of the 20th century's most admired and influential bluegrass groups, the Nashville Bluegrass Band.When A-list producer T-Bone Burnett needed experts in authentic rural musical styles to anchor the landmark O Brother, Where Art Thou? movie project, he called upon Compton's unique knowledge and signature mandolin style to authenticate the movie's rootsy sound. That Grammy Award Album of the Year went on to sell 7 million copies and sparked a global revival in old-time bluegrass musical styles.Joe Newberry — Known around the world for his clawhammer banjo playing, Newberry is also a powerful guitarist, singer and songwriter. The Gibson Brothers’ version of his song Singing As We Rise, featuring guest vocalist Ricky Skaggs, won the 2012 IBMA Gospel Recorded Performance Award. With Eric Gibson, he shared the 2013 IBMA Song of the Year Award for They Called It Music.Growing up in a family full of singers and dancers, Joe took up the guitar and banjo as a teenager and learned fiddle tunes from great Missouri fiddlers. He moved to North Carolina as a young man and quickly became an anchor of the incredible music scene in the state.A longtime and frequent guest on A Prairie Home Companion, he was a featured singer on the Transatlantic Sessions 2016 tour of the U.K. with fiddler Aly Bain and Dobro master Jerry Douglas, and at the Transatlantic Session's debut at Merlefest in 2017 with fellow singers James Taylor, Sarah Jarosz, Declan O’Rourke, Karen Matheson, and Maura O’Connell.The Allen and Helen Hermes Arts Series was founded in 2003, and is funded by a generous gift the couple donated to the Mark Twain Library. The mission of the series is to enrich the quality of life in the community of Redding by producing and supporting events in the visual, literary, theater and musical arts. 

Returning to Romance Through Food and Flirty Fun in Fiction with Casey McQuiston (Virtual)

Bring an appetite for sizzling drama as we discuss New York Times bestselling author Casey McQuiston's latest romantic comedy, The Pairing.For information or to register, click here.

Core Principles: Pilates at the Library (In-Person)

Registration Required BelowRecommended for adults and high school studentsGet stronger this summer with free Pilates sessions at the Library!  These classes are designed for all levels — so whether you're jump-starting your exercise regimen or looking to up your game — ......More

Registration Required BelowRecommended for adults and high school studentsGet stronger this summer with free Pilates sessions at the Library!  These classes are designed for all levels — so whether you're jump-starting your exercise regimen or looking to up your game — these instructional and engaging sessions with Instructor Nancy Ciardullo offer something for everyone.Pilates makes use of internal resistance as a way to develop strength, balance and flexibility, while also focusing the mind. This form of exercise focuses on lengthening and expanding the muscles, making them longer and leaner.  The beauty of Pilates is that anyone, at any age can start!Participants should dress for a workout and bring a mat. If you own a yoga block, please bring it along. Classes held on Thursdays at 10 am on the following dates:July 10,  July 24,  August 7, August 21Please register for each class separately.  Include your cell number to receive a text reminder prior to the program.  About Our Presenter:Nancy Ciardullo is trained in the Pilates Stott method and is ASFA certified. For nearly a decade, Nancy has been teaching group and private Pilates throughout the area. Nancy’s approach to Pilates incorporates various props to aid in resistance and flexibility for an overall full body sculpt.