Beflast Free Library

Get Ready For the Eclipse!
2024-04-02 03:30 - 16:30 (America/New_York) | Abbott Room
Get Ready For the Eclipse!
Presented by Friends of Sears Island and The Belfast Free Library
~ Learn all about eclipses, build a solar projection box for safe viewing, and take home some free eclipse glasses!!
~Ages 5-12 years old, with an accompanying adult.
~Pre-registration is required, sign-up at: outreach@friendsofsearsisland.org

The Wheelbarrow Poets Meet
2024-04-02 09:30 - 11:00, 2024-04-09 09:30 - 11:00, 2024-04-16 09:30 - 11:00 | Abbott Room
The Wheelbarrow Poets meets weekly on Tuesdays in the Abbott Room from 9:30-11:00 a.m. Writing prompts are sent in advance of the gatherings by Belfast Poet Laureate Maya Stein, and participants share work and discuss. Open to writers ages 18 & up. Email hello@mayastein.com for more information and to register.

Book Release and Reading with Marjorie Arnett
2024-04-02 18:30 - 20:00 | Abbott Room

Knit2Together
2024-04-03 16:00, 2024-04-10 16:00 | 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.

Make Way For Ducklings: A Musical Retelling Presented by the Halcyon String Quartet
2024-04-06 15:00 - 16:00 | Colonial Theatre
Make Way For Ducklings
~Presented by Halcyon String Quartet: a musical retelling of Robert McCloskey’s beloved children’s book.
Date: Saturday, April 6th
Time: 3:00pm
Place: The Colonial Theatre~ 163 High St, Belfast, ME 04915
Tickets: $7 Students | $9 Seniors | $10 Adults
~For more information, visit colonialtheatre.com

Celebrate the Eclipse at Your Library
2024-04-08 14:30 - 15:15 | Abbott Room
The Abbott Room will be open for watching NASA videos. Refreshments and eclipse viewing glasses available. Join us on the south lawn of the library after 3:00pm to view the eclipse with your community.

Reception and reading for : "WELCOME TO GRACKLEDOM: Prints & Poems" by Leslie Moore in the Kramer Gallery
2024-04-09 18:00 - 19:30 | Kramer Gallery
In honor of National Poetry Month, Leslie Moore will show poems and prints in the Kramer Gallery at Belfast Free Library during the month of April. The exhibit, Welcome to Grackledom, will include linocuts and poems from Moore’s magical menagerie books—Grackledom and What Rough Beasts—as well as brand new linocuts.
“The tradition of the poet/artist goes back at least to William Blake and his ‘Tyger,’” writes Carl Little (The Café Review, Spring, 2023). “Moore carries it on with her knock–out combo of verse and linocuts.”
The library will host a reception on Tuesday, April 9th, 6-7:30, with a short reading at 6:30.
Copies of Moore’s books will be available at the reception. Light refreshments will be available

Solar Workshop Series with ReVision Energy- Solar + Storage
2024-04-11 18:30 - 20:00 | Abbott Room
“Join ReVision Energy’s Brandon Mazur, for a discussion about how people are making the cost-effective switch to solar combined with battery storage for backup power.
Learn how you can combine solar power with reliable battery storage to make your home resilient in the face of unknown health and environmental threats. When paired with modern, robust battery technology, today’s solar panels provide the ultimate resiliency package while reducing carbon pollution and our societal need to import dirty fossil fuels. With a rooftop array you can make 100% of the energy you need, while the battery storage ensures backup power when the sun isn’t shining, or the grid goes down.”

Library Closed for Patriots' Day
2024-04-15

Belfast Garden Club Presentation: Controlling Stormwater Runoff with Fred Bowers
2024-04-16 12:00 - 13:00 | Abbott Room
Storm runoff can stoke soil erosion and damage plants. Luckily there are man-made solutions to erosion, which rely on fundamental natural soil processes. We’ll learn how to design rain gardens with consideration to natural soil and geologic processes, and about a possible demo rain garden for Belfast. Plus: other “green” options, such as eliminating impervious surfaces altogether, terracing, planting shrubs and trees in strategic places to soak up water or divert it, and other methods.
Fred Bowers is a Ph.D. soil scientist. Soils, topography, and vegetation were his research interests at Rutgers and the University of Washington graduate schools. In his 27-year career at New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, he was a research scientist in charge of stormwater and groundwater programs.
Click here to register for Zoom

Teen Instagram Takeover
2024-04-16 15:30 - 16:30 | Conference Room
CALLING ALL TEEN WRITERS AND LOVERS OF BOOKS!!!
~Write a letter to your favorite author.
~We will Post it on our library teen Instagram. If willing, we can video you reading the letter.
~ Wait for a response!

Peterborough Veterans Memorial Monument
2024-04-17 14:00 - 16:00 | Abbott Room
The Town of Warren, Maine holds a rich history of its early settlement, varied industries, and the development of the Georges River Canal amongst other notable items. Did you know that Warren was also the location of Maine’s largest historical African American community?
The community of Peterborough started with the family of Amos and Sarah Peters. Amos was born in Massachusetts of African and Wampanoag Indian ancestry. He served in the American Revolutionary War and moved to the District of Maine after its ending. Sarah was born in Guinea, was kidnapped through the slave trade and brought to Damariscotta by Captain Brown. She was then sold to Captain McIntyre of Warren. Sarah won her freedom after paying $1.00 to a representative, Mr. P. Pebbles, who helped sanction her rights to emancipation. The two married and settled for the remainder of their lives on 150 acres that Amos Peters was deeded near South Pond in Warren by General Henry Knox in the mid 1780’s. By the 1950’s the community had dwindled and the last of its residents moved away.
In 2019, the Town was contacted by a Midcoast community member, who upon learning about Peterborough and its inhabitants, wanted to honor their memory and struggles. They asked about doing restoration work at the cemetery, as this is all that remained of a once vibrant community, which led to the commissioning of a monument dedicated to its Veterans, spanning five wars.
Amanda Shelmerdine, Cemetery Sexton for the Town of Warren, researched the names for the monument, and this presentation will focus on the different research methods utilized in her search to identify the Veterans. She will also discuss the current plans for restoration and preservation of the cemetery and that of the community’s history.
All are welcome! These meetings are now in a hybrid format 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.
