Milton Public Library to hold a variety of programs & workshops for the month of February

During the month of February, the Milton Public Library is offering a nice variety of programs for adults and families, including our ongoing workshops.

The Milton Knitting Group will continue on Thursday, 2/6 at 7 PM and on Saturday, 2/15 at 10 AM, in the second floor Trustees Room. Just drop by to join others, share your projects and meet new friends.

Tech Specialist Regan Mulcahy will hold her Drop-in Device Help on Thursday, 2/13 and Thursday, 2/27 both starting at 7 PM held in the Conference Room. Stop by for questions about downloading books, audiobooks, music, film, and more on your electronic device, as Regan has all the answers.

The first concert of the Spring season will be a wonderful jazz event with a quartet called “Gregory Groover and the Negro Spiritual Project” on Saturday, 2/1 at 2 PM. This one-hour program is appropriate for all ages and it is sure to please with original arrangements of negro spirituals and other compositions in the repertoire. The group’s talented members are affiliated with the Berklee College of Music. Although the composers of spirituals are largely anonymous and nameless, their music spoke the truth about slavery while also bringing a steadfast hope for a better tomorrow. Come and be inspired by some cool music performed by 4 young and endearing players. This is an event not to be missed!

Film critics Janice Page and Joyce Kulhawik will return for our always popular program called “Handicapping the Oscars” scheduled for Tuesday, 2/4 at 7 PM. With great banter and lots of fun, the duo will share their thoughts (and ask for yours too) regarding this year’s nominees and who might take home an Oscar. Come early since this event is always very well attended and parking may be at a premium!

The Celebrity Book Club with Sally Lawler and Sara Truog invite you to participate on Thursday, 2/6 at 7 PM in the Trustees Room, and the book to be read in advance is American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson, recommended by Barack Obama. Call the Reference Dept. to reserve your copy of the title, and join a fun group to discuss it this month. No signup is required for this program.

Then on Tuesday, 2/11, at 7 PM, political satirist, storyteller and musician Charlie King and his partner, Candace Cassin, will offer a program called “The Civil Rights Movement in the U.S.” This presentation will include songs, narratives by participants at the time, and hundreds of historical images. There will be plenty of opportunity for audience members to get involved in this entertaining and educational event. Pete Seeger hailed Charlie as “one of the finest singers and songwriters of our time” and his music has been performed by Holly Near, Ronnie Gilbert, John McCutcheon, Arlo Guthrie and many more acclaimed musicians. Charlie has been at the heart of American folk music for over half a century and has been writing songs for 45 years. Please join us for a great celebration!

As a reminder, once-a-month movies have been switched from Tuesdays to Wednesdays, and next there will be a free showing of an excellent film called “Alice’s Ordinary People” on Wednesday, 2/19 starting promptly at 6:30 PM. This documentary celebrates the selfless activists of the Chicago Freedom Movement. Director Craig Dudnick first met Alice Tregay when she contributed many wonderful photographs of her brother, former Evanston, IL Fire Chief Sanders Hicks, to his previous film. Craig had no idea at that time of Alice’s status as heroine of the Civil Rights Movement. He hopes that this movie will inspire future generations to “take up the mantle and continue the fight.” Alice’s life story reads like a history of the movement. Early on she fought the “Willis Wagons” which were second-class structures built to relieve overcrowding in those Chicago schools which served the African American community. Their very existence perpetuated segregation. In 1966, Dr. King came to Chicago. Alice and her husband James Tregay marched with him, often at personal risk. Then Dr. King joined Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. James Bevel to form Operation Breadbasket, which fought racism on many fronts, most importantly by creating jobs for African Americans. There is much more to Alice’s true story, so please come learn about it in this inspiring film! It is not rated and the running time is 56 minutes.

Author David Wedge will give a talk on Tuesday, 2/25 at 7 PM about his new book called 12: The Inside Story of Tom Brady’s Fight for Redemption, co-authored by Casey Sherman. This program is about the thrilling behind-the-scenes account of how the most sensational scandal in NFL history culminated in the greatest comeback in sports history, featuring dozens of exclusive interviews with Patriots players – including Tom Brady himself. In January 2015, rumors circulated that the New England Patriots – a team long suspected of abiding by the “if you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying” philosophy – had used under-inflated footballs in their playoff victory against the Indianapolis Colts. Please join David for an enjoyable evening and learn all the details of this fascinating true sports story.

And finally on Saturday, 2/29 from 2-4 PM there will be a Jewelry Making Workshop with Mandy Roberge which is appropriate for tweens, teens and adults. This fun craft workshop offers the chance to make a choice of necklaces, bracelets, key chains, napkin holders, bubble wands, earrings and more. Sign-up at www.miltonlibrary.org is required as space is limited to 15 attendees, but there is no charge and this program is free and open to the public. No experience is required and signup will start on Feb. 15th.

All of these events are kindly sponsored by the Friends of the Milton Public Library and will be held in the Keys Community Room unless otherwise specified here. For more information, call Jean Hlady, Head of Adult Services/Reference at (617) 698-5757, x.3.