Milton Public Library announces adult programming for October 2023

During the month of October 2023, the Milton Public Library is offering some fun and educational programs for adults and families. For our ongoing events, the MA Library Collaborative’s Online 50+ Job Seekers Group continues this month. This is a wonderful opportunity for people over 50 to network with others as they search for a new job or career, and it is all free. Each career topic is repeated twice per month, once in the morning and once in the evening. This month’s Wednesday dates and times are: Oct. 4 at 9:30 a.m. and Oct. 11 at 6:00 p.m. for “Resumes: The Basics” and Oct. 18 at 9:30 a.m. and Oct. 25 at 6:00 p.m. for “Resumes: Beyond the Basics.”

These Zoom sessions are facilitated by Deborah Hope who is an experienced executive career coach, who has worked with Harvard Business School’s Executive Education Programs, the Mass. Conference for Women, and more. The MPL is partnering with 60 public libraries in MA for this series and please visit our website to sign up in advance for each date which is required, and there you can also learn more about the series (www.miltonlibrary.org). Questions: Email [email protected]

Adult Yoga with Sheila Armstrong is scheduled this month on Tuesday, Oct. 3, starting at 7:00 p.m. in our Keys Community Room. We will practice asanas (yoga poses) and breathing techniques to come into the present moment, and create more space in our minds and bodies. Sheila is a 200-hour registered yoga instructor and a certified Reiki healer. For more information about the class and to sign up in advance which is required, please visit our website. Space is limited and registration starts on Sept. 19^th.

Also the Cookbook Club will meet on Wednesday, Oct. 4 at 6:30 p.m., let by local chef Connie Spiros and Assistant Director Sara Truog. Calling all cooks! Each club meeting will feature a selected cookbook, and members will prepare a tasty treat from the book to bring to the MPL and share. The cookbook chosen for October is One by Jamie Oliver. In order to participate, please register at the library events calendar (www.miltonlibrary.org) as only registered cooks will be able to attend, and borrow a copy of the book from the library and choose a dish. Books are available at the Borrower Servies desk one month ahead and registration is open now. You will find the rest of the details about this program at www.miltonlibrary and bon appetit!

Our ongoing Library Knitting Group is an informal get together in the lower level Conference Room which offers and opportunity for people to bring a project to work on and have friends nearby to ask questions when they need help. Knitters and all other fiber artists are invited to attend and no signup is required. You can just drop in to attend, but if you would like to start receiving reminders via Email and get on the organizer’s list, please Email [email protected] and she will make sure this happens. This month the meetings are Thursday, Oct. 5, at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 14, at 10:00 a.m.

Also, host Jean Hlady has scheduled an in person “Beginning Knitting Workshop” with Jackie Stephenson of the Stitch House in Dorchester. This class requires advance registration and will be held on Saturday, Oct. 21, from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Advance registration is required to attend at our website.

The MPL Walking Club will continue in October, happening on Thursdays, Oct. 5 and Oct. 19, to meet up in front of the MPL at 12 noon. Come join like-minded walkers to get some exercise and meet new friends in this hour-long program. Please sign up in advance at our website to participate.

Our adult craft programs continue on Saturday, Oct. 7, at 2:00 p.m., in the Keys Community Room with an “Adult Watercolor Program: Paint Pretty Autumn Leaves.” Do you enjoy painting with watercolor? If so, please sign up to join instructor Lisa Walker of Pop-Up Art School to learn how to create some lovely images of fall leaves using this medium. All the steps will be shown on the big screen This workshop is for participants aged 12 and up, and even if you have never tried painting before, it’s very fun and we encourage you to try it! Your lovely picture can be displayed at home or given as a gift. Please sign up in advance at our website, which is required, space is limited, and registration is open now. We hope to see you there!

Our Monthly Film Series for Adults is scheduled next for Oct. 11, starting at 6:30 p.m., in the Keys Community Room. This will be a free screening of the wonderful movie called “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret” which is an adaptation of the acclaimed and highly influential novel of the same title from 1970. It is rated PG-13 for “sexual education/thematic material/some aggressive material” and is a touching (and surprisingly brilliant) portrait of the insecurities, awkwardness, and growing pains that forged our pre-teen childhood experiences – from writer/director Kelly Fremon Craig. It is one hour and 45 min. long and is appropriate for age 13 and up because of the content. No signup is required to attend –and we hope you will join us for a very entertaining and comical movie in October.

Milton’s own Suzette Standring will lead a program on Thursday, Oct. 12, at 6:30 p.m. called: “Experience Energy Healing – Therapeutic Touch.” Curious about energy healing? There are many forms, such as Reiki, and in Boston hospitals, it’s called “therapeutic touch.” Ms. Standring a Reiki channel, underwent cancer treatments and found energy healing to be vital in her recovery. Learn more about this event and please register in advance to attend at www.miltonlibrary.org. Everyone in the audience will experience a group healing.

Author Anthony Sammarco will be back at the MPL to give a fun and informative talk about his book called: Halloween Traditions in Boston on Tuesday, Oct. 17, at 7:00 p.m. If you love history and all things spooky, come and join us for a fascinating look at why we celebrate Halloween and how the tradition has evolved over the years in our area. You will learn about the Salem Witchcraft Trials which caused such tremendous anxiety and fear, and the deaths of many innocent people in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1692 to the decorating of Beacon Hill as a veritable neighborhood of whimsy. For more details, please visit our website and no advance registration is required. Just come and bring any Halloween fans or history buffs with you. We hope to see you there!

The Friends of the Milton Public Library are offering an author talk on Thursday, Oct. 19, at 7:00 p.m. with Boston College Historian and Milton resident James O’Toole. He will return to the MPL to present his book called: Ever to Excel: A History of Boston College (c2022). Dr. O’Toole will describe the transformation of BC from a small commuter undergraduate college to a comprehensive modern American university. This title focuses on the students, faculty, staff, and alumni who helped shape Boston College. Please help celebrate National Friends of the Library Week (October 14-20) by joining us! There is no advance sign-up required – just come in person to our Keys Community Room.

And our final October event will be an in person food program on Tuesday, Oct. 24, at 6:30 p.m. called: “Holiday Recipe Bonanza!” with Therapy Gardens. Don’t know what to cook this holiday season? We’ve got you covered in this event where you can come learn how to make a variety of holiday-themed recipes in this program geared to adults. You will learn about all kinds of fun cooking to inspire enjoyable meals in advance of the upcoming holiday season! From soups to seasonings to baked goods and candy, we have something for everyone. Small samples of holiday treats will be available, and everyone gets recipes to take home. We hope to see you there! Advance registration is required to attend as space is limited, so please do so at www.miltonlibrary.org, and sign-up opens on Oct. 3.

All of these events are kindly sponsored by the Friends of the Milton Public Library and are free and open to all. Questions? Email [email protected] or call the Reference Dept. at (617) 898-4964.