COMING EVENTS AT RUSSELL LIBRARY - JUNE 2016

Russell Library 123 Broad St., Middletown, CT

 

COMING EVENTS AT RUSSELL LIBRARY

Russell Library Hours for June 2016

Russell Library, 123 Broad St. in Middletown is open 9am-8:30pm Monday through Thursday; 9am-6pm on Fridays; Saturdays 9am-5pm. The library is closed Sundays throughout the summer months.

All library programs are free of charge.

EXHIBITS

Metal and Clay: Four Artists

Throughout June, in the Lobby Case. Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Featured is work by four ceramic artists, two of whom also work in metal. Members of the Wesleyan Potters Guild, the artists exhibiting are: Marcia Eager, Marcy LaBella, Cheryl Tuttle, and Art Tuttle.

Missing U and Other Abstract Paintings by Catherine Filloramo Thrall 

Throughout June. Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Catherine Filloramo Thrall graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art. She has been studying calligraphy with internationally acclaimed artists for the past 35 years. Her work is abstract, primarily on paper using gouache, watercolor, ink and acrylic. She creates paintings, drawings, collage and artists books, often using the strong influence of letter forms. Her featured piece, Missing U, is an abstract alphabet.  

“Balancing formal elements on a foundation of calligraphy my art vocabulary includes line, shape, texture, and color arranged in a wordless journey that evokes visual and emotional memory.” 

Natural Inspiration: Paintings by Ellen Dougan 

Throughout June. Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Connecticut born artist Ellen Murphy Dougan grew up in a world of gardens. Her father was an avid gardener. Surrounded by farmland and woods growing up, nature has remained a strong element of the artist's life and work. A resident of Manchester for more than twenty years, Ellen Dougan has taught painting at the Litchfield County Art Association, and for the continuing education programs at both the local high school and community college. 

ONGOING PROGRAMS

The Russell Writers Online Forum.  Participate any day, any time, from the comfort of your own computer. Register and log in for this online writing group where you can post your work for critique, provide feedback for your fellow Russell Writers, exchange ideas and tips, and participate in the monthly writing prompts. Go to: http://russellwriters.freeforums.net. Beginning and experienced writers welcomed! For more information, contact Michele Rousseau at shellywriter@sbcglobal.net

PROGRAMS

Cultural Connections Women’s Group

Date & Time To Be Announced. The Hubbard Room at Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Women of all nationalities are invited to come and meet other immigrant women in order to help one another adapt to American culture. Get help with local resources and network. Share stories, tips and make new friends.
Children are welcome. Fluency in English is not necessary.
Drop-in, no registration.

Learn About Lyme Disease

Wednesday, June 1, 6:30pm. The Hubbard Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Join Voices Against Lyme Disease as they share information about Lyme Disease -- how you get it, how to prevent getting it and what symptoms to look for.

Voices Against Lyme Disease is a statewide advocacy program that provides state officials, civic organizations and Connecticut families with educational information. They communicate the need for a better awareness and understanding of all Lyme Disease symptoms, the absolute necessity for funding in research as to quality/quantitative testing and cure, historical and more accurate collection of current statewide statistics and a clear picture of short term and possible long term effects and personal costs associated with being affected by Lyme disease and other illnesses transmitted by the same ticks.

Baby Rhyme Time

Wednesdays, June 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 at 1:30pm.  Children’s Activity Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown.  Looking for something to do with your infant or toddler?  Come join us for Baby Rhyme Time, a program for babies one year old and under and their caregivers.  We’ll sing songs and learn rhymes, finger plays and more in this fun, interactive program.

Ages: Birth-12 months

Drop-in, no registration

We Were There: Writing Your Military Experiences

Thursdays June 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30 at 7:00pm. Meeting Room 2 at Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Author Elisabeth Petry will continue to lead The Veterans' Writing Group. This series, in its third year, invites Veterans to share their stories and photos in their own voices. All Veterans, either active or retired, are encouraged to come and share their experiences for their own benefit or to share with family and friends. We encourage new members to visit us this summer to see what we are all about! Currently, we have servicemen from combat, and non-combat situations from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraqi Freedom. We hope to hear from other Iraq War Vets, and those who have served in Afghanistan. 

Old Saybrook native Elisabeth Petry is a writer and former journalist and lawyer. Her first book, a collection of letters that she edited, was Can Anything Beat White?:A Black Family's Letters. Her second is At Home Inside: A Daughter’s Tribute to Ann Petry. She lives in Middletown with her husband, Lawrence Riley, who is a dog trainer and Commander of the American Legion Milardo-Wilcox Post 75, Middletown, Connecticut.
The workshop facilitator and contact person from the Russell Library is Christy Billings. She can be reached at (860) 347-2528 or cbilling@russell.lioninc.org.
This program is being sponsored with funds from The Friends of the Russell Library.

First Saturday Favorite Stories and Crafts

Saturday, June 4, 10:00am. Children’s Activity Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. It’s Favorite Stories Saturday!  On the first Saturday of every month, a Children’s Librarian will share her favorite stories with you! Drop by for stories and stay to make a craft together.  The stories are selected for the 3-5 year old audience and their caregivers, but siblings are welcome.  Get a great start on your first Saturday.  See you soon!

Drop-in, no registration.

Local Authors Fair

Saturday, June 4, 10:00am - 1:00pm. The Hubbard Room at Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Come meet authors, buy their books and have them sign them for you at the First Annual Local Authors Fair! A wide variety of subjects and genres, both fiction and non-fiction, will be represented.
Authors include (in alphabetical order):
• Susan Allison
• Janet Barrett
• Sandy Berenbaum
• Robert B. Boyd
• Jessica Brooke
• Co-authors Vic Butsch and Tommy Coletti
• Jennifer Eifrig
• Helen Evrard
• William Foster
• Beth Lapin
• Roy Lisker
• Steve Liskow
• Hanna Perstein Marcus
• Matthew J.A. Simmons
• Arthur Wiknik, Jr.

Refreshments will be served! Drop-in, no registration. This is funded by The Friends of the Russell Library.

Friends of the Russell Library Book Sale – Tickle your funny bone! Humor books are featured

Friday, June 10, 9:00am to 6:00pm, Saturday June 11, 9:00am to 5:00pm., Children’s Activity Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. This last Friends’ Book Sale before the summer hiatus will feature humorous books for adults as well as for children! The Friends’ book sales help the library with funding for a wide variety of programs. There are books for every kind of interest! CDs and DVDs are also available! Come support your library!

Yoga in the Courtyard:

Saturday, June 11, 11:00am. The Library Courtyard at Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Join us for a morning of “Family Yoga” to learn about the calming effect that yoga has while experiencing it in the great outdoors. No prior experience necessary, and no mats will be used. Our instructor for our outdoor class will be Jeff Hush, founder of Food and Movement Therapy and a local instructor of Family Yoga, Tai Chi and Chair Yoga. Come experience what Yoga flow can do to assist you in feeling calmer and also more energetic. Learn how it helps in having a stronger immune system and better sleep patterns. In case of rain, the class with be held in the Hubbard Room. This program is a part of Adult Summer Reading: Exercise Your Mind.

Drop-in, no registration, all ages.

Sponsored by The Friends of the Russell Library

Rites and Passages:  Michael Pestel and Peter Standaart in Concert

Saturday, June 11, 2:00pm. The Library Courtyard at Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. This open-air concert in Russell Library’s inner courtyard will feature flutist, Peter Standaart and multi-instrumentalist, Michael Pestel, as they employ the flute as a shamanic vessel of change. The notion of Rites and Passages will be seen, heard, and felt through the lens of political and ecological diasporas, avian migration, and personal transformation. The concert will feature two world premiers – a work for solo flute by Egyptian composer and oud player Philemon Abdellah Kirlles, and a spatial composition for four flutes by Michael Pestel. Other works by Bach, Debussy, and Jolivet will be re-conceptualized for the library’s unique performance space. In case of rain, the concert will take place in the library’s Hubbard Room.

Artist and musician Michael Pestel has built multi-media installations and performed on flutes, contr’alto clarinet, piano, diverse hybrid and invented instruments, such as the Birdmachine and Birdrawingtable, in concert halls, art galleries, city streets, parks, aviaries and natural places throughout the United States, Europe, Japan and Australia. His focus over the past fifteen years on bird sound extends the spirit of Messiaen’s scored works into improvised and solo performances with live birds in aviaries and in the wild.

Peter Standaart is a consummate performer, having performed classical flute and experimental works.

Sponsored by The Friends of the Russell Library.

Summer Reading Programs – Exercise Your Mind! Sign-up Begins!!

Monday, June 13^th at 9:00am.  Children’s Activity Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown.

Age: 3 - Grade 3 are welcome to take part in our Summer Reading Program. Read books and win prizes! Read more books and win more prizes! Besides the amazing reading program, there will be many other activities to keep you busy at the library this summer!

Sign-up online at our homepage, or in person by coming down to see us OR give us a call at: 860-344-8479.

Get Your Game On - Sign-up Begins!!

Monday, June 13^th at 9:00am.  Children’s Activity Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Those in Grades 4-6 can come read and play this summer at the Russell Library. We have gaming of all types, for all types of players. Love interacting with words and adventures? Then we have a program for that. Simply love to read? We've got books for that! Love books about games? We've got those too...And we have a challenge for you to help you Get Your Game ON! Read as many books as you want, write a review for every book you read, and receive a raffle ticket for your chance to win one of our great prizes. Players receive one raffle ticket for each review they write. The "wrapped book" challenge returns this year! Read one of our wrapped books, based on it's description only, take it home, unwrap it, read it, write a review on it. Should you choose to take on the "Wrapped book challenge" you get two extra raffle tickets to enter in to any of our weekly prize drawings. So come down and Get Your Game ON! at the Russell Library this summer…

Sign-up online at our homepage, or in person by coming down to see us OR give us a call at: 860-344-8479.

Adult Summer Reading Program: Exercise Your Mind

June 13^th through August 19^th Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Weekly drawings for downtown Middletown gift cards and a grand prize drawing for a Kindle Fire HD. Quick and easy sign up at the Circulation Desk. Earn raffle tickets by submitting reviews of books you are already reading this summer. Join us for Summer Reading Programs such as: Yoga in the Courtyard, Adult Coloring, Origami, and Brain Game Night.

Russell Readers

Tuesday, June 14, 7:00pm.  Meeting Room 2 at Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. We will discuss “By the River” by Joyce Carol Oates from the collection 100 Years of the Best American Short Stories. Discussions are based on the Great Books Foundation method in which readers talk in open gatherings, under a leader, about the great issues that have shaped civilization as reflected in the readings. The group meets the second Tuesday of each month from 7-8:20pm in Meeting Room 2 at Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. For more information about participating in the group or acquiring the text, contact Chantal Foster at (860)573-2946 or email Chantal.foster@comcast.net.

The discussions are sponsored by The Friends of the Russell Library.

Otakus - Anime / Manga Club

Tuesday, June 14 and June 28 from 7 to 8 pm. Meeting Room 3 and the Hubbard Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad St., Middletown. Do you enjoy anime, manga, cosplay, or gaming? Then Otakus is for you! Otakus is Russell Library’s teen group for fans of Anime, Manga and all things Japanese. Meeting twice a month, we view anime shorts, discuss our favorite manga series and explore the culture that has produced such art forms. Food, music, costumes, arts and other expressions of Japan are all parts of Otakus. This is a drop-in program, so come and enjoy the fun!

Ages 11 & up. No registration required. 

Family Game Night

Wednesday, June 15, 6 – 8pm, Children’s Activity Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Come down to Russell Library for Family Game Night.  Try your hand at some oldie but goody games; test your skills at something new.  Backgammon, checkers, chess & foosball will be some of the games on hand for you to enjoy!  Sit back and enjoy a simple game of cards if that's your pleasure.

All ages. Drop-in, no registration.

No registration necessary, just a love of gaming the old fashioned way.

Jazz Up Close with Noah Baerman: with Guitarist/vocalist Monnette Sudler

Thursday, June 16, 7:00 – 8:15pm, The Hubbard Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Resonant Motion, Inc. presents the second event of “Spanning Generations” the 2016 Jazz Up Close series on Thursday, June 16 at 7:00 pm in the Russell Library’s Hubbard Room. Guitarist/vocalist Monnette Sudler visits us from Philadelphia to perform in a trio featuring bassist Henry Lugo and pianist/series curator Noah Baerman.

Forty years after recording Time for a Change, her debut as a bandleader for Steeple Chase Records, Monnette Sudler is still a potent force in music. Adept at straight-ahead jazz, avant-garde music and R&B, she has collaborated with a comparably diverse cast of musicians, including Grover Washington, Jr., Hugh Masekela, Sam Rivers, “Philly” Joe Jones, Kenny Barron, Khan Jamal, Cedar Walton, Shirley Scott, Byard Lancaster, Steve Turre, Sunny Murray, and rapper Erik Honesty (Ms. Sudler’s son). Her current projects include Sisters in Poetry (in collaboration with poet Trapeta B. Mason), the Ladies Night Out quartet, and the Monnette Sudler World Music Ensemble featuring Liberian vocalist Fatu Gayflor, as well as serving as the organizer of the annual Philadelphia Guitar Summit. Ms. Sudler is a graduate of Temple University and is active as an educator, having recently authored the instructional book Motif Mojo Jazz Guitar.

This program is made possible by the generosity of the Middletown Commission on the Arts.

Builders Club

Friday, June 17, 4:00 – 5:30pm, Children’s Activity Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown.  Come build with your favorite interlocking blocks!  Each week we will have a challenge, and if you’re lucky, your creation will be chosen to be displayed in our glass case. 

We use very small builders pieces, so younger folks are encouraged to enjoy our toddler room during Builders Club.

Ages: 5 – 12. Drop-in, no registration

Readers’ Theater: The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens and Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord

Monday, June 20, 7:00pm. The Hubbard Room at Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. This comedy by Scott Carter is the last play in this season's Readers Theater offerings. A Founding Father, a Victorian novelist and a Russian revolutionary walk into a…stop me if you’ve heard this one. Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens and Count Leo Tolstoy are brought together in a blistering battle of wits. From Scott Carter (executive producer of Real Time with Bill Maher), this whip-smart comedy examines what happens when great men of history are forced to repeat it.
Reader’s Theater is live drama enacted by Connecticut actors, directed by Richard B. Kamins.

Drop-in, no registration. 

Sponsored by The Friends of the Russell Library

Summer Stories

Tuesdays, June 21, 28 and through August 16 at 10:00am. Children’s Activity Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown.  Join us for new stories and old favorites, music and a craft! You & your caregiver are sure to have a great time & meet new friends too!

Ages: 3-6 with caregiver*

Drop-in, no registration.

*Daycares/PreK providers, please call for dates for your groups personal story time!

860-344-8479.

Chasing Justice through the Ruins: Film Series with Richard Alleva

Tuesday, June 21, 12:00pm, Hubbard Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. The final film of the series is The Bicycle Thieves (1948) Vittorio de Sica’s masterpiece is the most famous Italian film of the postwar, “neorealist” era. A worker, trying to scratch out a living in an impoverished Rome, depends on his bicycle to keep his job. When it’s stolen, his desperate search gives us a movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat and on the verge of tears. As one critic remarked, “The slight, humdrum drama is developed so that it has all the force of King Lear”. 

World War II left much of Europe ruined. Great cities had been reduced to rubble, and the citizens of the defeated countries began to realize that their former leaders had perpetrated despicable acts. In our spring film series, Commonweal Magazine’s movie critic Richard Alleva introduces and analyzes four classics that capture the postwar situation in a way that’s both candid and thoroughly entertaining. In each movie a person tries to recover something precious that was stolen from him or her by the chaos of war. The remarkably varied selections include a thriller, a comedy, and two of the most heartbreaking dramas ever made. All showings are at twelve noon.

Drop-in, no registration 

Sponsored by The Friends of the Russell Library

Adult Coloring

Wednesday, June 22, 6:30pm. The Hubbard Room at Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Pick up a crayon or colored pencil and distress! The library will provide the materials, you just need to show up!

Over the past two years, interest in adult coloring has and continues to spread as adults rediscover a childhood pastime and embrace adult coloring as a new norm. Some may enjoy the craft’s therapeutic benefits. Others see sitting down with a box of crayons and a coloring book as an alternative to watching a flickering screen. 

JOB AND CAREER PROGRAMS

Job Group

Thursdays, June 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30 at 9:30 am. – noon, The Hubbard Room at Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Each Thursday a different topic related to careers is discussed. Presenters range from local business people to nationally renowned authors and career counselors. A one-hour networking session follows the presentation.

How to Maintain your Income in the New Global Economy  – with Dr. Marcia LaReau

Tuesday, June 7, 2016, 6:00 – 8:00 pm, Hubbard room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown.  Do you have a contract job?  Temporary employment?  Are you under employed?  Are you looking for work?  Regardless of your situation, there are new paradigms that are changing the employment landscape.  Bring your questions, and learn how employers are deciding who stays and who goes.  Learn what you must do now to maintain an income in the new world of employment.

Adult, Registration is requested but not required.

Sponsored by The Russell Library Job and Career Group.

Sign up at the Information Desk or by calling 860-347-2520. For more information, contact Bob Carlson or Jeff Grant: 860-347-2528 x121 (office); 860-347-2520 (general), or Email: rcarlson@russell.lioninc.org or jgrant@russell.lioninc.org.

Practice Job Interviews

Improve your interviewing skills and get the job you want. Bob Carlson will assist you by conducting and evaluating your practice interview. Videotaping the session is optional and confidential. 1-hour sessions are available. Register by calling 860-347-2520.

Resume Review

Russell Library offers confidential resume review and critiquing two Saturdays each month from 9:30am – 1:30pm with Tracy Nixon Moore, business professional and consultant. 1-hour appointments are available.. Remember to bring your resume. Register by calling 860-347-2520.

Career Coaching

James Kubat, an associate director of the Wesleyan Career Center, gives private, confidential career coaching through 1-hour appointments Monday evenings from 6 – 8 p.m. Remember to bring your resume. Register by calling 860-347-2520.