Easton Library to Offer Stitching Time

On Monday, November 18, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m., the Easton branch of the Talbot County Free Library invites patrons to come in and work on their favorite project (knitting, crochet, card making, what-have-you) with a group.  Limited knitting and crochet instruction will be provided for beginners.  All library programs are free and open to the public.  Patrons do not need to pre-register to participate in this program.  For more information, please call the library at 410-822-1626, or visit www.tcfl.org.

Easton Library to Host Book Discussion: Varina

On Monday, November 18, at 6:30 p.m., in the Easton branch of the Talbot County Free Library, the Easton book group, which is open to all, will discuss Varina, a novel by National Book Award winner David Frazier about the life of Varina Davis, wife of the president of the Confederacy.  All library programs are free and open to the public.  Patrons do not need to pre-register to participate in this program.  For more information, please call the library at 410-822-1626, or visit www.tcfl.org.

Children Get to Read with a Pets on Wheels Therapy Dog at the St. Michaels Library

On Monday, November 18, at 3:30 p.m., the St. Michaels branch of the Talbot County Free Library invites children to bring a book or choose one from the library’s shelves to read with Maggie Gowe and her dog, Wally.  All library programs are free and open to the public.  Patrons do not need to pre-register to participate in this program.  For more information, please call the library at 410-745-5877, or visit www.tcfl.org.

Children to Celebrate Native American Culture at St. Michaels Library

On Tuesday, November 19, at 3:30 p.m., in the St. Michaels branch of the Talbot County Free Library, JoAnn Brown, owner of Justamere Trading Post (the largest Native American shop in Maryland), will share Native American artifacts, trivia, storytelling, and craft-making with children of all ages (children 7 and under must be accompanied by an adult).  All library programs are free and open to the public, but patrons must pre-register to participate in this program.  For more information, please call the library at 410-745-5877, or visit www.tcfl.org.

St. Michaels Library to Host Discussion of “Crashing Through”

Book Discussion: Crashing Through: The Extraordinary True Story of the Man Who Dared To See

On Wednesday, November 20, at 3:30 p.m., in the St. Michaels branch of the Talbot County Free Library, the St. Michaels Library book club, which is open to all, will discuss “Crashing Through:The Extraordinary True Story of the Man Who Dared To See” by Robert Kurson.  All library programs are free and open to the public.  Patrons do not need to pre-register to participate in this program.  For more information, please call the library at 410-745-5877, or visit www.tcfl.org.

Easton Library to Host Lunch & Learn on Mindfulness & Meditation

On Thursday, November 21, at noon, the Easton branch of the Talbot County Free Library will host a Lunch & Learn program in which Dr. Maggie Black and Dave Parker will talk about the science behind, and benefits of, these powerful practices.

Dr. Maggie Black and Dave Parker

A native Marylander, Dr. Maggie Black is a licensed psychologist at Shore Neurocognitive Health in Easton, where she specializes in the issues adults face as they age.  Her practice focuses on psychotherapy for adults of all ages and neurocognitive testing/dementia care for older adults and families.  She began training and incorporating mindfulness and meditation practices into her work with clients over the last several years, and has seen the benefit in her clients and in her own life.

Dave Parker, also a Maryland native, is an architect and builder by trade.  He was raised Catholic and educated by Jesuits at Gonzaga High School in Washington DC.  After a vigorous start to his career in Ocean City, MD, he went on a cross-country, soul-searching trip by motorcycle in the 1990s.  On this journey, he had the good fortune to meet a group of Tibetan Buddhist teachers who changed his life.  Since that time, mindfulness and meditation have been a central to the way Dave handles day-to-day life and challenges – rather an unusual coping tool in the construction industry!

Maggie will talk with you about the science and neurobiology behind meditation and how mindfulness and meditation change your brain and increase your sense of wellbeing.  Dave will take the audience through some simple meditation practices that will help de-mystify the question, “How do I meditate?”  Finally, learn how mindfulness and meditation can help you through the hectic holiday season, and in hectic political times.

All library programs are free and open to the public.  Patrons do not need to pre-register to participate in this program.  For more information, please call the library at 410-822-1626, or visit www.tcfl.org.

Easton Library to Stage “Breakneck Hamlet”

On Thursday, November 21, at 6:30 p.m., acclaimed Chicago actor Timothy Mooney will bring his hilarious, truncated version of “Hamlet” to the Talbot County Free Library’s Easton branch.  His performances at festivals across the US, Canada, and the United Kingdom have drawn rave reviews, and he was SOLD OUT in the sweet prince’s own kingdom of Denmark.  Mooney describes his “Breakneck Hamlet” as having been “recklessly sliced” from Shakespeare’s original, cutting a four-hour play with dozens of parts down to a single hour with a single actor.  This “breakneck” performance reveals Hamlet as “a thrilling chameleon, with an immense intellectual capacity and a wicked sense of humor.” Rather than the usual “melancholy Dane,” Mooney’s Hamlet “fights like hell” with barely a second-long pause throughout.

Timothy Mooney

Timothy Mooney is a veteran of some 60 fringe festivals (he performed “Breakneck Julius Caesar” at last year’s inaugural Tampa International Fringe Festival), and 15 years of touring colleges and high schools across the US with his award-winning one-man shows. “Breakneck Hamlet,” Mooney’s eighth one-man play, follows other amazing feats of memory and performance, including “Moliere than Thou,” “Lot o’ Shakespeare,” and “The Greatest Speech of All Time” (composed of actual historical speeches ranging from Socrates through Martin Luther King). Mooney is also the author of the popular acting textbook, “Acting at the Speed of Life; Conquering Theatrical Style.”  On November 21^st, his skill at turning rhetorical complexity into theatrical power will get a harrowing, thrilling test, boiling the greatest play of all time down to a one-man, one-hour romp.

All library programs are free and open to the public.  Patrons do not need to pre-register to participate in this program.  For more information, please call the library at 410-822-1626, or visit www.tcfl.org.

Mayor Robert C. Willey

On Wednesday, November 13, at 6:00 p.m., Mayor Robert C. Willey will deliver his annual State of the Town address in the Easton branch of the Talbot County Free Library.  The people of Easton and those who care for it are invited to come find out what the future holds in store for one of the world’s friendliest places.  All library programs are free and open to the public.  Patrons do not need to pre-register to attend this program.  For more information, please call the Town of Easton at 410-822-2525, the library at 410-822-1626, or visit www.tcfl.org.

St. Michaels Library to Host Bay Hundred Chess

On Wednesdays, November 13 & 27, from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m., the St. Michaels branch of the Talbot County Free Library invites patrons to come in to learn and play the strategic game of chess.  Beginners are welcome.  All library programs are free and open to the public.  Patrons do not need to pre-register to participate in this program.  For more information, please call the library at 410-745-5877, or visit www.tcfl.org.

St. Michaels Library to Offer Memoir Writers Program

On Thursday, November 14, from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., the St. Michaels branch of the Talbot County Free Library will offer a memoir writing program.  Patrons are invited to come in to record and share their memories of life and family with a group of friendly, like-minded people.  Participants may bring their lunch.  All library programs are free and open to the public.  Patrons do not need to pre-register to participate in this program.  For more information, please call the library at 410-745-5877, or visit www.tcfl.org.

Young Gardeners to Create Ornaments at Easton Library

On Thursday, November 14, at 3:45 p.m., in the Easton branch of the Talbot County Free Library, the Young Gardeners program for children in grades 1 – 4 will be creating ornaments for the Festival of Trees.  This program is sponsored by the Talbot County Garden Club.  All library programs are free and open to the public, but patrons do need to pre-register to participate in this program at http://www.tcfl.org/child/programreg/.  For more information, please call the library at 410-822-1626, or visit www.tcfl.org.

Dr. Kara French

Easton Library to Host Talk in Honor of the 100^th Anniversary of Women’s Suffrage

Next year marks the 100^th anniversary of the enfranchisement of women in America, and in celebration of that landmark event Dr. Kara French, Associate Professor of U.S. Women’s History and Program Director for Gender and Sexuality Studies at Salisbury University, will give a talk on Saturday, November 16, at 10:00 a.m. in the Easton branch of the Talbot County Free Library entitled “The Long Road to Women’s Suffrage.”

French holds a B.A. in history from Yale University and a joint-Ph.D. in History and Women’s Studies from the University of Michigan.  Her research focuses on the intersection of sexuality and religion in early nineteenth-century America.  At Salisbury, she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on women’s and gender history, early American history, and LGBTQ history.

All library programs are free and open to the public.  Patrons do not need to pre-register to attend this lecture.  For more information, please call the library at 410-822-1626, or visit www.tcfl.org.

Easton Library to Offer Bilingual Story Time

On Saturday, November 16, at 1:30 p.m., the Easton branch of the Talbot County Free Library will offer a bilingual story time for children 5 and older.  All library programs are free and open to the public.  Patrons do not need to pre-register to participate in this program.  For more information, please call the library at 410-822-1626, or visit www.tcfl.org.

Gary Crawford and grandson

There will be a Lunch & Learn at St. Michaels Library on Monday, Nov 4, 2019 at noon. Local author Gary Crawford will tell the history of the island at the southern tip of the Bay Hundred which was known in colonial times as Great Choptank Island.  Over the years people referred to it by the names of its owners: first Foster’s Island, then Lowe’s Island, and so forth.  Eventually the property came into the possession of Matthew Tilghman, and it has been Tilghman’s Island ever since.  Making use of numerous slides, Gary will provide an overview of the history of this interesting and unique place — its colonial past, the community which began there in the 1840s, and the island’s rise (and fall) as a major seafood processing center from the 1880s to the 1970s.

Gary Crawford is a retired educator and former Peace Corps Volunteer.  He trained Volunteers in various countries around the world.  For eight years he was Associate Dean of U.S. State Department’s School of Language at the Foreign Service Institute, helping to train American diplomats.

He and his wife Susan have two married children and two grandchildren.  They bought a home on Tilghman’s Island in 1980 and in 1993 opened a weekend bookstore there, the “Book Bank.”  In 1998 they retired and moved to the island permanently, becoming involved in various worthy causes.  Susan served as treasurer of the St. Michaels Art League for four years; Gary has published two small newspapers, written and produced several booklets on local subjects, and now writes a monthly article for the Tidewater Times magazine.  The first 48 of those articles now are available in anthologies called the “Eastern Shore Essays.” The Lunch & Learn series is sponsored by the Friends of the Library, coffee and dessert are provided. For more information, visit www.tcfl.org  or call 410-745-5877.

Free Legal Advice to Be Available at Easton Library

On Monday, November 4, from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m., in the Easton branch of the Talbot County Free Library, attorneys from Maryland Legal Aid will provide legal assistance on a first come, first served basis on civil topics such as expungement, bankruptcy, housing law, landlord/tenant, domestic/family, etc., for those that qualify based upon their income level.  All library programs are free and open to the public.  Patrons do not need to pre-register to avail themselves of this service.  For more information, please call the library at 410-822-1626, or visit www.tcfl.org.

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha

One Maryland One Book Author Dr. Hanna-Attisha to Speak at Chesapeake College

On Monday evening, November 4, at 7:00 p.m., in the Todd Performing Arts Center, Chesapeake College, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha will discuss her New York Times “Notable Book” What the Eyes Don’t See—this year’s One Maryland One Book. One Maryland One Book is the Maryland Humanities program in which people all across the state read the same book at the same time.  Copies of the book will be available after Dr. Hanna-Attisha’s talk for purchase and signing.

In 2015, Dr. Hanna-Attisha was a brilliant, dedicated pediatrician working in a public hospital in Flint, Michigan.  From a friend, she learned the water in Flint—the water she had been telling parents it was safe for their children to drink—was in fact loaded with lead, a chemical proven to impair the healthy development of young brains.  When Hanna-Attisha approached city and state officials about fixing this dangerous problem, she met a brick wall.  But she persevered.  “What the Eyes Don’t See” is a wonderful, modern morality tale, one in which the good guys win and the bad guys not only lose, they get their just deserts.  Copies of the book are available for check out from the library.

Like all Talbot County Free Library events, Dr. Hanna-Attisha’s talk at the Todd Performing Arts Center (which seats 904) will be free and open to the public.  Her appearance is made possible by Maryland Humanities, the Talbot County Free Library, the Caroline County Public Library, and the Queen Anne’s County Library, with support from The Aspen Institute, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Chesapeake College, The Oxford Museum, and University of Maryland Shore Regional Health.No tickets will be issued for the event, and seating will be on a first come, first served basis.  For more information, please call the Talbot County Free Library at 410-822-1626, or visit www.tcfl.org.

Easton Library to Offer Afternoon Chess

On Tuesdays, November 5 & 19, at 4:30 p.m., the Easton branch of the Talbot County Free Library will host an afternoon chess program.  Youth 6 – 16 years of age are invited to come in to learn and play chess.  Light snacks will be served.   All library programs are free and open to the public, but patrons do need to pre-register to attend this program at http://www.tcfl.org/child/programreg/.  For more information, please call the library at 410-822-1626, or visit www.tcfl.org.

St. Michaels Library to Offer Family Unplugged Games

On Tuesday, November 5, at 3:30 p.m., the St. Michaels branch of the Talbot County Free Library invites patrons to bring the whole family into the library for an afternoon of board games and fun educational children’s games.  This program is designed for all ages (children 5 and under must be accompanied by an adult).  All library programs are free and open to the public.  Patrons do not need to pre-register to participate in this program.  For more information, please call the library at 410-745-5877, or visit www.tcfl.org.

St. Michaels Library to Host STEM Program

On Wednesday, November 6, at 3:30 p.m., the St. Michaels branch of the Talbot County Free Library will host “We Are Builders,” a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, &Math) program.  Children 5 – 12 years of age are encouraged to come in and build with Legos, Zoobs, and foam blocks.  All library programs are free and open to the public.  Patrons do not need to pre-register to participate in this program.  For more information, please call the library at 410-745-5877, or visit www.tcfl.org.

St. Michaels Library to Hold Adult Arts & Crafts Program

On Thursday, November 7, from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., the St. Michaels branch of the Talbot County Free Library invites patrons to come in for an adult arts and crafts program.  Free instruction will be available for knitting, beading, needlework, and tatting.  Patrons may bring their coloring books, Zentangle pens, or anything else that fuels their passion for being creative. They may also bring a lunch.All library programs are free and open to the public.  Patrons do not need to pre-register to participate in this program.  For more information, please call the library at 410-745-5877, or visit www.tcfl.org.