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Friends' Benefit Wine Tasting Draws Large, Enthusiastic Crowd
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 A big and enthusiastic crowd turned out for the fifth annual Friends of Forbes Library's benefit wine tasting last Friday. Participants enjoyed an array of fine wines and splendid food provided by River Valley Market and India House (we love their pakora!). Ken Forfia and Friends once again rocked the house with jazz and standards from the Great American Songbook. The event, which benefits the library's book and media fund as well as other programs, was a big success financially as well. Gross income from admission and raffle tickets and sponsorships came to more than $7,000! The Friends want to thank our many generous sponsors: Liquors 44, PeoplesBank, Whalen’s Insurance, and Northampton Rentals as well as other sponsors Delap Real Estate, Maple and Main Realty, Daily Hampshire Gazette, and Greenfield Cooperative Bank. In related wine-tasting benefit news, the Friends of Forbes recently received a check for $3,770 from a Table and Vine fundraiser at the Big E back in May. Volunteers from Friends groups in Northampton, Greenfield, West Springfield, and Granby participated, raising funds for their respective libraries. |
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Staff and Volunteer Summer Barbecue
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The annual barbecue honoring library staff and volunteers, held back in August, had great weather and great food. |
Reading Series to Debut Oct. 7 |
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This year's reading series, "The Modern Real and Surreal: Writers and Artists on Our Age," debuts on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. Curated and moderated by Forbes writer in residence Naila Moreira, the series meets in the Coolidge Museum on the first Wednesday of each month. The opening evening has a stellar lineup, featuring Dava Sobel (above), Smith College professor and the author of The Planets; Jonathan Mingle, Vermont author and journalist (Fire and Ice); and Earth Matters anthology contributors Elizabeth Farnsworth and Katie Koerten and editor Michael Dover. Ms. Moreira, who takes over from her predecessor, Susan Stinson, explained the series’ rubric. “The series invites the community to join in examining how story and art lend empathy and insight in an accelerating world,” she said. “It’s a world that in its surprises and contradictions can be understood through either a realistic lens, or through the symbolism of surrealism and fantasy.” |
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Endangered Outreach Program
Will Continue for Another Year
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Forbes Library’s beloved outreach program will continue for another year thanks to generous donations from the community. The library has received more than $8,000, allowing it to keep staff member Frank Heston, the “Book Man,” on a somewhat reduced schedule. The donations were made anonymously. “Outreach serves an extremely vulnerable and isolated portion of our community. We are very touched by and grateful for the generous response of the community,” said Janet Moulding, library director. Forbes has supported the outreach program for 25 years, delivering books and movies to low-mobility Northampton residents who have difficulty visiting the library. Library materials are delivered to private homes, Northampton Housing Authority sites and long-term care facilities. At its height the program had two full-time staff people who served 400 individuals. Budget constraints, however, have forced the program to shrink to its current staffing level of one part-time person with some volunteer assistance. |
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Music Group Awarded Residency
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 Beginning this fall, the Well Tempered Ukes as they begin a musical residency at Forbes Library. The residency is the first of its kind for the library. Once a month the Well Tempered Ukes, a trio which plays and sings mainly early music, and parlor and art songs, will present an hourlong public concert. They will perform selected new and old songs from their repertory, share historical and cultural information about the songs and their ukuleles, and offer tips and insights into ukulele playing and performance. Sessions will be in the Calvin Coolidge Museum. Dates for the fall are Monday, Oct. 19, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 21, at 1 p.m.; and Monday, Dec. 21, at 7 p.m. Free and open to the public. |
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Hosmer Gallery October Motion-Emotion, an exhibition juried by the Northampton Arts Council.  November Tracey Eller, collaborative photo portraits; Leonore Alaniz, botanical prints; and Fred LeBlanc, black and white photographs.  Pagoda, Fred LeBlanc December Jim Schlessinger, photographs, and Mona Shiber, mixed media. |
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Movie and Concert Schedule  Shaun of the Dead Shaun of the Dead, the zombie apocalypse comedy, will screen in the Community Room at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 21. ... Eclectic guitar virtuoso Peter Biedermann will perform on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m. in the Calvin Coolidge Museum. ... Forbes Library joins Northampton Community Television and the Northampton Arts Council in hosting the inaugural Northampton Film Festival, Oct. 9-11. All films will screen at the Academy of Music. For more information, click here. |
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