Beflast Free Library

Belfast Poetry Festival
2018-10-12 19:00 - 20:00, 2018-10-11 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York)
The Belfast Free Library is a co-sponsor of the 14th Annual Belfast Poetry Festival, with events in downtown Belfast and at the Troy Howard Middle School.

Belfast Coop Member Forum
2018-10-10 18:00 - 20:00 | Abbott Room

"The Chinese Exclusion Act” PBS American Masters film to be screened as part of Camden Conference Community Events
2018-10-09 18:00 - 20:00
The Camden Conference presents the PBS American Experience film “The Chinese Exclusion Act” on Tuesday, October 9 at the Belfast Free Library at 6:00pm. The documentary was directed by Ric Burns and his longtime collaborator Li-Shin Yu (who was an editor on the 2003 PBS series “Becoming American: The Chinese Experience,” which covered some of the same ground). The film is centered on the 1882 act of the title, the first American law to restrict the immigration of a particular ethnic group and ban its members from citizenship. This event is free and open to all.
From a New York Times review of the film, May 28, 2018:
“The filmmakers and their cast of mostly Asian-American historians frame the Exclusion Act as part of a long national narrative of racism, xenophobia, predatory capitalism and political calculation. The China trade and the Opium Wars, the Civil War and the collapse of Reconstruction, and cycles of economic depression and labor unrest all figure into a story that doesn’t begin to turn until well after World War II. It’s also a cautionary tale, reminding us that open ideas about immigration and citizenship that are now under attack have only had currency since the 1960s.”
This presentation is hosted by the Belfast Free Library and offered as a free community event in in anticipation of the 32nd Annual Camden Conference –Is This China’s Century?, February 22-24, 2019.
The mission of the Camden Conference is to foster informed discourse on world issues. For more information, please visit www.camdenconference.org or call 207-236-1034.

Midcoast Music Together
2018-10-09 10:00 - 11:00 | Abbott Room
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.

Indigenous People's Day Event
2018-10-08 16:00 - 18:30 | Abbott Room
“Hungry for History”: Belfast celebrates Indigenous Peoples Day with a potluck and the sharing of the REACH timeline of Maine history.

Library is Closed
2018-10-08
Closed for Indigenous People’s Day

Film: Dawnland
2018-10-07 13:00 - 15:30 | Abbott Room
Film Presentation of Dawnland– the acclaimed documentary on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, with Barbara Kates of Wabanaki REACH for discussion afterward.
Free and open to all.

Belfast Historical Society Program
2018-09-24 19:00 - 20:30 | Abbott Room
David Ruberti: The Life and Times of Edgar F. Hanson (1853 – 1933)
Hanson was a ten-term mayor of Belfast and an energetic entrepreneur and booster of Belfast and Waldo County.

Peace and Justice Group of Waldo County
2018-09-19 18:00 - 20:00 | Abbott Room
The Peace and Justice Group of Waldo County has changed the film it will screen as its first fall film. “Being Caribou” (2004, Canada)
The documentary by environmentalist Leanne Allison and wildlife biologist Karsten Huer shares about their epic 1,500-kilometer journey following a herd of 120,000 caribou, on foot, through the rugged Arctic tundra.
The husband-and-wife storytelling and adventure team let the caribou guide them through a wild and remote wilderness from central Yukon to coastal Alaska and back. The brave and arduous journey was undertaken to raise awareness of threats to the caribou’s survival; and the importance of the continued struggle to preserve the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
At stake is the herd’s delicate habitat, which could be devastated if proposed oil and gas development goes ahead in the herd’s calving grounds. While this powerful film was produced some years ago, the message and the urgency remain pertinent to the environmental struggle that continues today.
Admission is free, donations always welcome, and all are welcome. Note that this film program has been changed since the newspapers were printed.

Elizabeth Garber and Baron Wormser in conversation
2018-09-18 18:30 - 20:00 | Abbott Room
This past spring, poet Baron Wormser came out with a book of portraits, Legends of a Slow Explosion: 11 Modern Lives, and poet Elizabeth Garber published Implosion: A Memoir of an Architect’s Daughter. For this talk they will each read from their books and talk about what the modernism of the second half of the twentieth century was about, particularly on a personal, individual level.

Our Town Belfast: Community Heart and Soul Meeting
2018-09-12 18:00 - 19:30 | Abbott Room
Join us September 12 from 6 to 7:30pm to learn more about this program from Community Heart & Soul Coach Jane Lafleur of JBLafluer Consultants. She has worked with Gardiner, Biddeford and Damariscotta and is currently coaching Bucksport, Rockland and a four-town consortium including Bethel, Newry, Greenwood and Woodstock.
All are encouraged to attend! Program materials and refreshments will be provided, please register so we know how many people to expect: http://belfastheartandsoul.eventbrite.com
This program is sponsored by Our Town Belfast, JB Lafleur Consultants, and the Orton Family Foundation.

“Why Do We Need Carnivores Anyway?”
2018-09-11 18:30 - 20:00 | Abbott Room
Friends of Sears Island and the Belfast Free Library will co-sponsor a talk with Geri Vistein titled “Why Do We Need Carnivores Anyway?” Despite the fact that scientists have learned so much more about carnivores and their immense value in the workings of our planet, human attitudes, behavior and laws in our society toward carnivores have not changed very much in the past 500 years. This presentation endeavors to express Nature’s Design in the powerful relationship between the predator and their prey, and to answer the question of why this relationship is vital to the health and biodiversity of our Maine landscapes, and our planet as a whole.
Geri Vistein is a conservation biologist whose work focuses on carnivores and our relationship with them. She educates communities throughout Maine about carnivores, and how we can coexist. She works with land trusts who seek to initiate greater biodiversity on the land they have protected by incorporating carnivores into their goals. By partnering with organizations, schools, and universities, Geri supports their efforts in offering children and young people experiential learning opportunities and innovative educational initiatives.
This event will take place in the Abbott Room at the Belfast Free Library and is free and open to the public. For more information, please call the library at 207-338-3884, ext.10. To learn more about Friends of Sears Island visit www.friendsofsearsisland.org.

Young Adult Photography Workshop with Rachel Epperly
2018-09-10 18:00 - 19:30
Aspiring and experienced photographers ages 11 – 17 are invited to participate in a free workshop with Belfast photographer and filmmaker Rachel Epperly on Monday, September 10 at 6:00 p.m. Epperly, whose work focusses on visual storytelling, will share technique and style tips in this 90 minute workshop. Learn about content, composition and lighting, as well as editing and processing, if time allows.
Young photographers at all experience levels are encouraged to participate in this workshop. Participants will learn about preparing their work for display and will be encouraged to enter a photograph in the Belfast Free Library Teen Photo Contest.
Three teens will win the opportunity to be Artists of the Month and have their photographs displayed in the Barbara Kramer Gallery for November. Contest participants, ages 11 – 17, enter by submitting one photo in print form. The photo must be ready to hang in the BFL Teen Room by the contest deadline, September 21st. Rachel Epperly will also serve as contest judge. For more information, call 207-338-3884 x24.

Midcoast Exploration of Consciousness
2018-09-05 18:00 - 19:30 | Abbott Room
Topic: Illusion of Consciousness and Free Will.
Presentation and discussion of videos by Daniel Dennett and Susan Blackmore.
