Library Events - March 2009

Kill-A-Watt Now Available at Hancock Town Library

Thanks to the Friends of the Library, the library now owns a Kill-A-Watt to lend! The Kill-A-Watt is a simple device used to measure the energy use of various appliances in your home. Solve those electric bill mysteries - find out which electrical devices and appliances are running up your electric bill. Stop by the library and check it out!

Food Bank Drop-off

The Hancock Town Library is a drop-off site for the Peterborough Food Bank, thanks to the delivery efforts of our very generous, prefers-to-remain-anonymous, volunteer. If others would like to help with deliveries to Peterborough once or twice a month, please contact Amy at the library (525-4411). Meanwhile, the Food Bank has seen demand shoot up over the past two years: in January of 2007 they served 262 people, January of 2008 it was 348, and January of 2009 it was 420. This month the food bank is in particular need of the following items: instant oatmeal, applesauce, pineapple, Spam, pears/peaches/fruit cocktail all 15 oz. cans, evaporated and/or condensed milk, and pancake mix. Hancock's been doing a great job
with the donations - let's keep it up!

Children's Programming:

Wednesdays, March 4, 11, 18, 25 from 3:15-4:30 pm
Libra-Landia

Join Harris Center Naturalist Susie Spikol and Hancock Children's Librarian Britton Kennedy in creating small worlds drawn from children's books and your own imagination. These tiny worlds created by your own hands and creativity will be tucked into the nooks and crannies of the town library for all visitors to find. Bring the Littles to life, breath life into the Borrowers, or make up your own tiny cosmos in this hands-on design and creation program. For students in 1st through 4th grade who like working with small details and hand crafts. At the Hancock Town Library (students from HES can take the bus to the library). Cost $40 members/$60 non-members. Co-sponsored with the Hancock Town Library. Call 525-3394 to register or email spikol@harriscenter.org

Saturdays March 7, 14, 21, & 28 from 10 - 11:30 am
Environmental Art Classes for Children Ages 7-10

What do bear, otter, woodchuck and moose do in the winter? Come find out while painting, making masks, creating snow globes and building tunnels with art instructors Char Russell and Rachael Johnson. Please call the library at 525-4411 to register. There is a small materials fee: $15 for the entire month or $10 per class. Co-sponsored by the Audubon Society and the Hancock Town Library.

Thursday March 12 at 7:00 pm
Irish Storytelling with Michael Sullivan

Ireland is the land of storytelling. On March 12, come experience Irish folklore with Master Storyteller Michael Sullivan. Hear tales of kings and heroes, faeries and vagabonds, giants and monsters, with a little Irish verse thrown in for good measure. It is a pre-St. Patrick's Day celebration of Old Ireland for the whole family. Refreshments. Free and open to all.

Tuesdays, March 31, April 7, 14, 28 from 3:00-4:30 pm
Nature Writing and Art

Express yourself through observing and noticing the unfolding of nature around you. Join Harris Center naturalist Susie Spikol and Hancock Children's Librarian Britton Kennedy for 4 afternoons of roving and rambling through the quiet bends and curves of Hancock in search of natural inspiration. Writing, drawing and creating individually and together, we'll awaken our senses to the world around us. Celebrate National Poetry Month and Earth Day through art. For students in grades 5 through 8. At the Hancock Town Library (students from GBS can take the bus to the library). Cost $40 members/$60 non-members. Co sponsored with the Hancock Town Library. Call 525-3394 to register or email spikol@harriscenter.org.

For the Grown-ups.

Tuesday March 3 at 7:00 pm
First Tuesday Book Club

Join us as we read the short stories of New Hampshire author Rebecca Rule in her book, The Best Revenge. Copies are available at the front desk. Next month's book will be Mind Wide Open: Your Brain and the Neuroscience of Everyday Life by Steven Johnson. Ask for it at the front desk.

Sunday March 8 at 2:00 pm
Town Candidate Forum

Candidates for town offices will gather at the library to answer your questions. Candidates are: Roberta LaPlante, Select Board; Martha Lawrence and Linda Coughlin, Water Rent Collector; Kurt Grassett, Water Commissioner; Richard Warner, Common Commissioner; Mary Garland, Library Trustee; Hunt Dowse, Trustee of the Trust Funds; and Ray Pierce, Cemetery Trustee. Ric Haskins will moderate.

Friday March 13 at 7:00 pm
Caesar: The Man from Venus

Join us near the Ides of March to meet Julius Caesar as he grows up in a Rome that is recovering from one civil war and headed for another. Sebastian Lockwood portrays Caesar in a grippping living history program. Caesar will discuss the powerful women in his life who will help him achieve his destiny: his mother, Aurelia; his aunt, Julia; his wives; and his great love, Servilia. This is the man who claims descent from the Goddess Venus herself. Hear him describe his rise to power in Rome, his great adventures, his time in Gaul, and finally, after he crosses the Rubicon, his war with Pompey that will leave him the most powerful man in the world. Here is your opportunity to ask the great man questions about his times and how they relate to ours. Mr. Lockwood has an M.A. in Social Anthropology and an M.A. in Education from Cambridge University. He also earned a B.A. in English and American Literature at Boston University and teaches in Lesley University's Creative Arts program and at the New Hampshire Institute of Art.

Friday March 20 at 7:00 pm
Cheap Date Night Film: Get Smart

Steve Carell is Maxwell Smart, the novice agent often out of his depth but never out of options in this action comedy pitting him against the nuclear scheme of the evil spy group KAOS. Anne Hathaway partners with Max as ever-capable Agent 99. Free admission and popcorn thanks to the Friends of the Library.

Sunday March 22 at 1:30 pm at the Harris Center
Film: A Sense of Wonder
See the Harris Center calendar for a full description of this event.

Fridays for six weeks beginning March 27 from 8:00 - 9:00 am
Meditation Classes with Pamela Erdmann

Interesting research has been developed over the last ten years indicating that meditation may have many benefits for maintaining health and well-being. There is now solid evidence that a regular meditation practice can aid the immune system's functioning as well as break cycles of depression and OCD and possibly reverse age related changes in the brain. This six week course can be a beginning to establishing a regular practice or a "jump start" for folks who wish to restart their meditation practice. No experience is necessary, only a curiosity and desire to be active in maintaining one's health. We will meet weekly for one hour for six weeks. It is asked that participants be willing to make the commitment to practicing for a minimum of twenty minutes daily in between sessions. There is a $10.00 materials fee and you must register in advance as class size is limited. Please stop by or call the library (525-4411) to register.

Saturday March 28 at 2:00 pm
Twixt Om and Amen with Nila Gandhi-Schwatlo

Nila Gandhi-Schwatlo will speak about her life growing up between two cultures, Asian Indian and American. Ms. Gandhi-Schwatlo grew up in Calcutta and Navsari, moving to Manhattan as a young woman and then eventually to New England. All are welcome.

Coming in April.

Thursday April 2 at 7:00 pm
The Great Sheep Boom and its Enduring Legacy on the NH Landscap with Steve Taylor, a New Hamphsire Humanities Council Program, co-sponsored with the Hancock Historical Society.

Thursday April 9 at 7:00 pm
Borderlands of Northern New England with Edie Clark.

Saturday April 11, 10-11:30 am
World Tales Art Class with Melody Zahn Russell

Wednesday April 22, 10 am
Poetry Workshop for Children ages 6-10 with poet Alice B. Fogel

Thursday April 23 at 7:00 pm
Resume and Cover Letter Workshop with Louise Ewing, UNH Career Counselor

Don't forget to check out our website at http://hancocktownlibrary.blogspot.com/. And if you enjoy audio books, you can download them for free at http://nh.lib.overdrive.com. Check at the front desk for the password. We even have an MP3 player that you can borrow if you'd like (you must supply your own earbuds).