Beflast Free Library

No Knitting Group this week
2025-01-29 16:00 (America/New_York) | Abbott Room
Knitters, crocheters, yarn enthusiasts of all experience levels are welcome to join us every Wednesday , from 4:00-5:30 pm in the Abbott Room.
This drop-in event is a chance for knitters- and crocheters too- of all ages and experience levels to chat, get tips, and learn from each other while working on their own projects. Library staff will have computers available to demonstrate how to use Ravelry.com and other websites to help find patterns and organize your work. Registration is not required. For more information please call 338-3884 ext.10
Contact bharrington@belfastlibrary.org to sign up to to join the knitting group.

How to Talk to Each Other Despite our Differences: the future of our democracy depends on it.
2025-02-03 18:30 - 20:00 | Abbott Room
A Camden Conference Community Event with Craig Freshly, Good Group Decisions.
In this interactive program, Craig Freshley will provide lessons learned from facilitating hundreds of conversations among people who see things differently. In addition, Craig will invite questions and comments from the audience. And as a group we will discuss how one might handle oneself in the face of misinformation, offensive comments, and threats to our democracy.
About Craig
In 2019 Craig won the American Award for Civic Collaboration as a result of the 40 Make Shift Coffee House sessions he facilitated across Maine, including one at the Belfast Free Library. Craig’s most recent book is called Together We Decide, An Essential Guide for Making Good Group Decisions. Craig’s company is called Good Group Decisions and he has facilitated over 3,000 meetings, mostly in Maine and mostly in the public sector.
This program is offered as a free community event in anticipation of the 38th Annual Camden Conference – Democracy Under Threat: A Global Perspective, February 21-23, 2025, live at the Camden Opera House and live-streamed to the Strand Theatre in Rockland, Lunt Auditorium in Falmouth, and to homes and classrooms worldwide. For more information about the Camden Conference and upcoming events, visit www.camdenconference.org.

Knit2Together
2025-02-05 16:00, 2025-02-12 16:00, 2025-02-19 16:00, 2025-02-26 16:00, 2025-03-05 16:00 | Abbott Room

Valentine Card Making Celebration
2025-02-10 15:00 - 17:00 | Abbott Room
Come to the Belfast Free Library and make cards for your loved ones, postal workers, dogs you meet on the street, and for yourself.. whatever floats your boat. Amazing supplies will be provided. Delicious treats will be abundant, and love will fill the room!!
All are welcome!!!

Efficiency Maine Presentation
2025-02-11 18:30 - 20:00
Save Money Heating Your Home or Business
Do you know that Efficiency Maine has programs to subsidize installation of : heat pumps in your home or trailer, hot water heat pumps in your home or trailer, and heat pumps for your business, multi family home or commercial space????
Satchel Toole, Program Manager at Efficiency Maine will share about how Efficiency Maine Programs can help.
In person in the Abbott Room and on Zoom. Register for the Zoom link here.
Co-sponsored by the Waldo County Climate Action Coalition and the Belfast Free Library.

Medicare 101
2025-02-14 10:00 - 11:00 | Third Floor Conference Room
Join us for a free presentation from Seth Funk of Breakwater Retirement Solutions to learn about:

The basics of Medicare
Changes for 2025
Prescription Drug plans
Medicare Advantage Plans
Medicare Supplement Plans
How MaineCare works with Medicare
How to take advantage of your current benefits

Seth Funk is the owner of Breakwater Retirement Solutions, founded to help seniors navigate the complexities of Medicare and assist conservative investors as an independent agent and broker. With five years of experience in the Medicare field, Seth focuses on building long-term partnerships with seniors advising them in matters of benefits, claims, and yearly changes. A graduate of the University of West Georgia, Seth has built a career in business, finance, and insurance, including several years as a Financial Advisor with a Fortune 500 investment firm. He currently resides in the picturesque coastal town of Belfast, Maine, with his wife, Danielle, and daughter.
For more information, please contact Sharon Pietryka at spietryka@belfastlibrary.org or 338-3884 ext. 25

Belfast Garden Club Public Program
2025-02-18 12:00 - 13:00 | Abbott Room
Jude Hsiang: Growing to Dye
February is a good time to think about adding some dye plants to the garden. Although some plants used in natural dyeing are only found in the tropics, a dozen or so are well suited to our Maine gardens. They provide a link to ancient, yet easily learned, practices and vibrant cultural traditions that live on throughout the world. Born knitting, Jude Hsiang is particularly interested in using Maine-raised and spun natural fibers with dye plants from her garden and locallyforaged. She will bring naturally dyed items, her dye record books, and more, from almost 50 years of exploring natural dyeing. Mainer Jude Hsiang researches dye potential in local plants as well as tending her South China
dye garden. Retired from teaching Botany for the UConn Extension Master Gardener Program, she enjoys the plants and animals on her two acres of field, woods and swamp. She teaches natural dyeing with an emphasis on sustainable practices and is an active member of the Maine
Fibershed, which encourages thoughtful use of our natural and environmental resources.
Zoom link for this program: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82627061249?pwd=[REDACTED]

Come Boating Winter Adventure Series: Adventures in the Faroe Islands with Marci Richardson
2025-02-18 18:30 - 20:00 | Abbott Room
Marci Richardson will share her travel experiences and upcoming journey to the Faroe Islands, a self-governing archipelago of the Kingdom of Denmark, consisting of 18 volcanic islands, located in the North Atlantic between Iceland and Norway, known for its stunning landscapes and rich Norse history, popular with hikers and bird watchers and especially fiber enthusiasts. Visiting the Faroe Islands is truly an unforgettable journey off the beaten path.
Marci is a prior trauma room nurse, owner of the Elegant Ewe Yarn Shop in Concord, NH for 25 years, started Elegant Ewe Travel in 2016, textile themed travel organizer. Loves travel adventures and new experiences, hiking, horseback riding,and….rowing!

Register for the Zoom link here

Civil War Genealogy
2025-02-19 14:00 - 15:30 | Abbott Room
Have you ever wondered if you had an ancestor who fought in the Civil War? Or in what unit? Or when? Or in what battles? So many questions!
Genealogist Rick Davis may not have every answer, but he will present some of the best resources for answering these questions and more at this meeting of the Wawenoc Chapter of the Maine Genealogical Society.
All are welcome! These are typically hybrid meetings, with the option to join in-person in the Abbott Room or to join online over Zoom. To receive the Zoom link or for more information, please email Sharon Pietryka at spietryka@belfastlibrary.org.

Computer class: iPhone Intermediate (3-session class)
2025-03-03 14:00 - 15:00 | Third Floor Conference Room
*REGISTRATION REQUIRED*
March 3 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
March 4 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
March 5 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
This class is three sessions long—attendees should plan on attending all three sessions.
This course builds on the skills that are acquired in the iPhone Basics class. The primary focus of the Intermediate class is the exploration of the applications that Apple provides for free as part of the iOS. Applications such as Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Messages, FaceTime, and many others will be covered.
Requirements for this class:
An iPhone connected to the internet and completion of iPhone Basics or have equivalent knowledge.
This class is offered in partnership with the National Digital Equity Center, meaning an instructor from this organization will be teaching the class. Attendees must enroll and register at https://digitalequitycenter.org/classes/class/iphone-basics/?instance_id=5301 For more information, contact 338-3884 ext. 25 or spietryka@belfastlibrary.org

John Forti: The Heirloom Gardener
2025-03-04 18:30 - 20:00 | Abbott Room
This year the Belfast Free Library in collaboration with the Belfast Garden Club will offer an evening lecture on Tuesday March 4th at 6:30 pm with John Forti.
The program will take place in the Abbott Room and on Zoom. John Forti will join us on Zoom and we will set up for an audience in the Abbott Room.
Register for the Zoom link here.
John Forti’s 2021 book, The Heirloom Gardener: Traditional Plants and Skills for the Modern World, made a plea for returning to gardening practices that support, rather than undermine, the ecology of a place. His talk will take up many of the topics he explores in his book, including the craft of gardening and how it connects us—not only to the earth, but to our fellow earthlings.
John Forti is an award-winning heirloom specialist, garden historian, ethnobotanist, garden writer, and local foods advocate. He is executive director of Bedrock Gardens, an artist-inspired
public sculpture garden and landscape in Lee, New Hampshire, and the recipient of a national 2020 Award of Excellence from National Garden Clubs. He is also a regional governor and
biodiversity specialist for Slow Food USA, a national chapter of Slow Food, a global organization and international grassroots movement that connects food producers and consumers to champion local agriculture, farmers markets, and traditional, regional cuisine. John lives and gardens along the banks of the Piscataqua River in Maine.
