Beflast Free Library

Music Together with Jess Day
2019-01-08 10:00 - 11:00 (America/New_York)
A free music and movement program for children age birth to 5 and their caregivers. Held on the second Tuesday of each month with Jess Day of Midcoast Music Together.
This is the essential Music Together® class, one that a child can attend from birth through age five through all nine song collections. This basic class follows the recommendations of child development researchers—grouping children of a variety of ages because this fosters natural, family-style learning. Younger children enjoy watching and imitating older ones; older children learn by leading younger ones; and adults are happy because the children in the family can go to class together. Each child participates at his or her own level in singing, moving, chanting, listening, watching, or exploring musical instruments. Any caregivers—parents, grandparents, nanny—can bring the children. The whole family is welcome for this important family music experience.

Cartooning Club
2019-01-22 16:00 - 17:00, 2019-03-05 16:00 - 17:00
Belfast Free Library Cartooning Club with graphic artist James Quigley, every Tuesday 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. Participants will explore drawing techniques and exercises to develop the imagination. Projects may include comic strips, autobiographical illustration, transforming stories to sequential art, and more. All ages and skill levels are welcome and encouraged. Drawing materials will be provided.
James Quigley is a graphic artist, illustrator, and cartoonist residing in Appleton, ME. His work has appeared in the form of skateboard graphics, comic books and comic strips, animation, rock posters, and shirt graphics.
All library programs are free and open to the public. For more information call 207-338-3884 ext. 24.

STEAM Kids
2019-01-24 15:30 - 16:30
Weekly hands-on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) program for kids 8 and up. This is a free drop-in program. Participants are welcome to come to one session or come every week.
For more information: 207-338-3884 ext. 24
Thursday Afternoons — 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
January 24 & 31
Learn to sew by hand and machine. Make your own stuffed animal to keep.

February 7 & 14
Create gorgeous glowing projects with LilyPad sewable electronics.
School vacation week! – February 21 – School vacation week!
Chewonki Traveling Natural History Program: Owls of Maine.

February 28
***Extended program this day only 3:30 – 6:60 p.m.***
Gizmo Garden with Chris Dorman, Maine State Library STEM Liaison.
March 7 & March 14
Squishy Circuits: Electricity + play dough = lights? Awesome!

March 21
Finish projects.

March 28
STEAM Gallery — Set up and display your projects for family and friends.

Chewonki Foundation - Owls of Maine
2019-02-21 15:30 - 16:30
Owls of Maine: Habits and Adaptations of Maine’s Native Owls
Three live owls are the highlights of this program, which introduces participants to the owls native to Maine and New England.
Beginning with slides and sounds, participants will learn the identifying characteristics and calls of each owl. Then, using talons, wings, and skulls, we explore the adaptations of these silent nocturnal hunters. This program ends with an intimate and detailed look at live owls, bringing these creatures of the night into the light!

STEAM Kids - Chewonki: Owls of Maine
2019-02-21 15:30 - 16:30
Owls of Maine: Habits and Adaptations of Maine’s Native Owls
Three live owls are the highlights of this program, which introduces participants to the owls native to Maine and New England. Beginning with slides and sounds, participants will learn the identifying characteristics and calls of each owl. Then, using talons, wings, and skulls, we explore the adaptations of these silent nocturnal hunters. This program ends with an intimate and detailed look at live owls, bringing these creatures of the night into the light!

STEAM Kids is a weekly hands-on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) program for kids 8 and up. This is a free drop-in program. Participants are welcome to come to one session or come every week.
For more information: 207-338-3884 ext. 24
Thursday Afternoons — 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
January 24 & 31
Learn to sew by hand and machine. Make your own stuffed animal to keep.

February 7 & 14
Create gorgeous glowing projects with LilyPad sewable electronics.
School vacation week! – February 21 – School vacation week!
Chewonki Traveling Natural History Program: Owls of Maine.

February 28
***Extended program this day only 3:30 – 6:60 p.m.***
Gizmo Garden with Chris Dorman, Maine State Library STEM Liaison.
March 7 & March 14
Squishy Circuits: Electricity + play dough = lights? Awesome!

March 21
Finish projects.

March 28
STEAM Gallery — Set up and display your projects for family and friends.

Stay & Play Time for Babies & Toddlers
2019-03-05 10:00 - 11:00 | Children’s Floor
Weekly short, interactive playtime especially for babies and toddlers with their caregivers. Time for play and exploration on the children’s floor. And time for kids and caregivers to get to know one another. Tips about great books, songs, and games for this age group. Midcoast Music Together sessions once per month.

Marry Poppins Book Group
2019-03-25 18:30 - 19:30
This book group for kids and families is offered in coordination with Troy Howard Drama Club’s production of Mary Poppins this month. Copies of the original Mary Poppins book are available to borrow at the Belfast Free Library children’s floor desk. We will meet on Monday, March 25 at 6:30 to talk about the book. Those who wish to can see the performance with a group organized by the library at Troy Howard Middle School on Friday, March 29 at 7:00. Families are asked to RSVP for these as well.

Meets at Belfast library on March 25
Meets at Troy Howard Middle School on March 29

Film: I Know a Man ... Ashley Bryan with filmmaker Richard Kane
2019-03-27 18:00 - 20:00
Filmmaker Richard Kane presents I Know a Man … Ashley Bryan. Join the Belfast Free Library for a film screening and a conversation with the director.
I Know a Man … Ashley Bryan is said by some to be an antidote to the hatred, racism and division that our country is experiencing. The film is about this 95-year-old creative wonder who skips and jumps in his heart like a child. Born in Harlem and raised in the Bronx, Ashley’s talent was nurtured by artist Romare Bearden. Ashley was drafted out of Cooper Union into the segregated US army at age 19. He served in an all-Black battalion during World War II and preserved his humanity by drawing, stowing supplies in his gas mask. Ashley now lives on the remote Cranberry Islands, Maine, and has been using art his entire life to celebrate joy, mediate the darkness of war and racism, explore the mysteries of faith, and create loving community. He is a poet/illustrator of over 50 published children’s books, and makes magical puppets and sea glass windows from found objects inspired by his African heritage. The film explores his world from the time his father “was given the mop and the broom”, (a reference to Gordon Parks photograph, American Gothic). He quotes Marian Anderson admonishing “to keep another down you have to hold them down, and therefore cannot … soar to the potential within you.” He spreads beauty through his linocut prints exhorting “Let My People Go”. His life story and the art he makes from this wellspring of experience is an inspiration to people of all ages.

Richard Kane bio:
Richard is an independent film director whose work is focused on the intersection of art and contemporary American life. He is currently raising funds for his next film ROBERT SHETTERLY: An American Who Tells the Truth. Previous film releases include, J. Fred Woell: An American Vision, I Know a Man … Ashley Bryan, Imber’s Left Hand, and 15 others, all part of the Maine Masters collection, a New England Emmy-nominated series of portraits that airs on public television. With partner Melody Lewis-Kane, their company, Kane-Lewis Productions, has worked for National Geographic, The Discovery Channel, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the White House Office of Technology Policy among many others. Kane-Lewis produced the Natural Resources Council of Maine’s 50th anniversary film Protecting the Nature of Maine, an indie doc ROCK SOLID: The Schoodic International Sculpture Symposium and the classic award-winning documentary M.C. Richards: The Fire Within. From 2007-2016 Richard served as chair of the Maine Film & Video Association.

Marry Poppins Book Group at Troy Howard Middle School
2019-03-29 18:30 - 19:30

Hands on Juggling Para-Play Exhibit
2019-04-18 00:30 - 15:30 | Abbott Room
Learn to Juggle with hands on Par-Play Exhibition
Stop in anytime 12:30 – 3:30
Juggling & Comedy Performance by Michael Menes at 4:00

Come and experience a master juggler and variety performer who has toured all over the world! Michael has an amazing show with dazzling skills and hilarious comedy. Fun for the whole family! Give juggling a try and pick up a book and learn how to juggle or read a juggling story. It’s a show that supports summer reading through participation and discovery. Michael Menes has performed on Disney Cruise Lines, with Cirque du Soleil, in the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival and on Television Shows around the world.
Admission is FREE! Don’t miss it!

Juggling & Comedy Paerformance by Michael Menes
2019-04-18 16:00 - 17:00 | Abbott Room

Me & Martha in Concert
2019-06-12 19:00 - 20:30 | Abbott Room
Native Belfast resident, Martha Hills, and her husband, Don DePoy, touring as Me & Martha, perform in the Abbott Room on Wednesday, June 12, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. During this free concert, Martha and Don share their love of music and life. As always, this is an exciting homecoming as Me & Martha present new songs and stories from their past year of travel. They will play a variety of instruments and give a bit of history of the songs they perform for an evening of family entertainment.
Martha and Don first began performing together in Belfast in 2003. They draw on the rich music traditions of bluegrass, classic country, old-time string band, blues, rural swing and gospel. They are internationally celebrated touring entertainers with a solid musical reputation. Eddie and Martha Adcock affirm, “They are keepers of the flame of ‘real’ music. Whatever they do, they do with their whole hearts! We, with unreserved enthusiasm, support their music endeavors.”
Me & Martha combine their love of music with stories and often amusing stage banter leaving listeners with a light heart and clarity of what really matters in life. They are members of America’s Old-Time Country Music Hall of Fame. Originally from Virginia, Don is recognized as a master multi-instrumentalist. He plays banjo, guitar, autoharp, mandolin, Dobro and mountain dulcimer. Martha fronts the duo, singing and playing the upright bass.
The concert is free and open to the public; doors open at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call 338-3884 ext. 10.

Maine Poetry Express
2019-06-18 18:30 - 20:00 | Abbott Room
Join Belfast’s new Poet Laureate Arielle Greenberg for a community poetry reading exploring themes of home, shelter, and development!
A program of the Maine Humanities Council, Poetry Express gathers community members to explore poetry relevant to that town. A featured poet helps participants pick selections and learn how to read poetry; then the program culminates in a community performance.

Butterfly Release at Head of the Tide
2019-07-01 17:00 - 18:00
Butterfly Release at Head of Tide Preserve
Camden – Belfast Free Library and Coastal Mountains Land Trust are collaborating on a Butterfly Release, Monday July 1st at 5:30 p.m. at the Head of Tide Preserve, on Doak Road in Belfast.
Painted Lady butterflies have been growing from caterpillar to chrysalis at the library since June 5th and their enclosed habitat will be on display at the library’s children’s floor desk until this event. Before releasing the butterflies, all attendees will have the opportunity to participate in some butterfly activities.
All library and land trust programs are free and open to the public. RSVP’s are helpful but not required: info@coastalmountains.org or erirish@belfastlibrary.org.
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Coastal Mountains Land Trust has worked since 1986 to permanently conserve land to benefit the natural and human communities of the western Penobscot Bay. The Land Trust has protected over 12,000 acres, offering 45 miles of trails for public recreation.

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The Belfast Free Library is dedicated to helping individuals of all ages pursue independent learning by providing access to timely and useful information in all formats.
