Milton Public Library announces February 2022 adult programming

In February, the Milton Public Library is offering some interesting and educational programming for adults.  Several of these events will be held virtually via Zoom, but also there are others scheduled in person in the Keys Community Room of the Library.  On Tuesday, 2/1, at 7:00 p.m., there will be a Zoom presentation by New Hampshire author Anders Morley about adventure travel.  Relax at home in your armchair to enjoy a talk called:  “This Land of Snow: A Journey Across the North in Winter,” which is also the title of his new book (Mountaineers Books, c2020).  Mr. Morley spent an entire winter living outdoors and traveling on cross-country skis across Northwestern Canada, and this presentation will include elements of what both winter and midlife may mean to us all.  He started at Prince Rupert, British Columbia, and finished his trek at Swan River, Manitoba.  Please join us to learn more about this daring trip!   Advance registration is required to participate.

The ongoing Cookbook Club with Connie Spiros and Sara Truog will meet again on Wednesday, 2/2, from 6:30-8:00 p.m. in person in the lower level Keys Community Room, but there will also be a Zoom option.   All the details are available at www.miltonlibrary.org on our events page, and advance registration is required – just indicate how you will attend when you register at our website.  The cookbook chosen for this month is Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African-American Cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin. Bon Appetit!   On both Thursday, 2/3 at 7:00 p.m. and on Saturday, 2/19 at 10:00 a.m. there will be meetings of the Library Knitting Group.  This fun drop-in event allows like-minded fabric artists to bring their projects and share questions with others about the craft twice a month.   If you would like to start attending the knitting program, Email [email protected] and she will connect you with the organizer to receive Email updates.

The weekly MPL Walking Club continues in February on these Thursdays: 2/3, 2/10, 2/17 and 2/24 starting at noon to meet in the library parking lot.  Advance registration is required to enjoy friendship, conversation and exercise with an enthusiastic group!  You will need to sign up for each date individually at the MPL website to attend this activity.  On Tuesday, 2/8, at 7:00 p.m., Dr. Frederick Gooding, Jr., an Associate Professor in the African-American Studies Dept. of Texas Christian University, will hold a virtual film discussion and will tell us about his new book via Zoom called: Black Oscars: From Mammy to Minny, What the Academy Awards Tell Us about African Americans (Rowman & Littlefield, c2020).  This is a quote from the book’s publisher: “Frederick W. Gooding, Jr. provides a thorough analysis and overview of black people that were nominated for their Hollywood roles, going decade by decade in a highly accessible language.”  We hope you will join us online for this very interesting discussion in February with Dr. Gooding, who is an excellent presenter and author.  Advance registration is required.

Next, on Saturday, 2/12, at 2:00 p.m. in the Keys Community Room, join dance instructor Jean Long for an hour of enjoyment in person learning to “Line Dance.”  Come have lots of laughs and move to a variety of music, like….Could I Have This Dance, The Hustle, The Wobble, Cupid Shuffle, and more!  Jean teaches on Tuesdays at the Milton Council on Aging, and also at other senior centers, school enrichment programs, adult education classes and more.  This program is for ages 10-adult and advance registration is required.  It is also part of Milton Moves, which is a year-long initiative of the MPL for all ages focused on fitness, wellness, and healthy eating.  Please join us for this fun event!  Then there will be an author talk happening via Zoom on Tuesday, 2/15, at 7:00 p.m. called “Sally Hemings: Enslaved Founding Mother” with  Dr. Leigh Fought, who is an Associate Professor of History at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, NY.  Prof. Fought has a new book coming out soon which discusses the life of Sally Hemings, who was the mother of six children by Thomas Jefferson and was enslaved by him.  She lived on the boundary between white/black, free/slave, and legitimacy/illegitimacy.  This program will take a look at Heming’s life and circumstances in relation to women’s rights in the U.S. during the period.  Please join this knowledgeable speaker for a fascinating online presentation!  Advance registration is required to attend.

Armchair Travel with world traveler Barry Pell will be back on Tuesday, 2/22, at 7:00 p.m. this time in person in our Keys Community Room, but there will also be a Zoom option for those of you who prefer to attend virtually.  This program is called: “Gullah Geechee – African Communities on the Barrier Islands.”  The Gullah Geechee are descendants of people from Sierra Leone and other neighboring countries of the West African rice coast.  They were kidnapped, enslaved, and taken to the Barrier Islands and coastal Low Country of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.   They lived first as rice plantation slaves and then as freedmen.  Join us at this hybrid program to view Mr. Pell’s excellent photographs and learn about how these people have preserved their African roots, heritage and culture, while resisting pressures by developers for their valuable and pristine lands.  Advance registration is required and please indicate how you plan to participate when you sign up at our website.  This is sure to be an enlightening presentation!

Finally there will be a new one-hour Yoga Class for Adults with instructor Marianne Zullas held in the Keys Community Room starting this month, and the first session is scheduled for Saturday, 2/26, at 11:00 a.m.    Also there will be two more yoga events with Marianne held this Spring, but you do need to register in advance for individual each date.  This is described as a gentle vinyasa flow Yoga program and students may attend one or all, as the instruction is not cumulative.  The teacher has a passion for the mind/body connection and her goal is to offer her students the opportunity to dissociate from constant thinking in order to be in the present moment.  She is a continuing student of yoga, and we hope you will join this engaging teacher for a fun and relaxing class!  You can find more details and other class dates at www.miltonlibrary.org   This program is also part of our “Milton Moves” initiative.

Our adult programs are kindly sponsored by the Friends of the Milton Public Library, and for questions about them, please Email [email protected] or call her at the Reference Dept. (617-898-4964).  The Milton Public Library is located at 476 Canton Avenue, and we hope to see you either online or in person for a library program soon!