Thursday November 1st @ 7:00 PM - Machu Picchu!

Hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru

Come enjoy Hancock resident Hank Huber's slide show journey to the Citadel of Machu Picchu in Peru via the 45 kilometer Classic Inca Trail. The 4 day trek takes you on stone paths and steps laid hundreds of years ago through spectacular Andes mountain scenery at elevations up to 13,800'. We arrive at the ruins of the Citadel early in the morning on the 4th day and are overwhelmed by the beauty and skillful stone work of the Incas complemented by the amazing mountain scenery. A trip of a lifetime! Hank Huber lives in Hancock with his wife Joan and has hiked and climbed all over the United States, Europe and Africa. He did the Machu Picchu trek with his son Chris, Chris' wife Katherine and 3 other couples. This program is free and open to all.

Wednesday October 24th @ 7 pm In Search of Community: Archaeology at the Abyssinian Meeting House Portland, Maine with Martha Pinello

The Abyssinian Meeting House is a simple wood-frame building constructed between 1828 and 1831 to serve Portland, Maine’s African American community. The Meeting House was the cultural center for African-Americans in southern Maine from its inception until it closed in 1917. When established, it was the third African American Meeting House in the United States after Boston and Nantucket, Massachusetts. It housed Portland's 19th century public school for black children. The congregation was also involved in the political issues of the day, especially those affecting African Americans. Meetings, church services, the segregated school, concerts, dinners and entertainment made the Abyssinian the center of political and social life throughout the 19th century.Martha E. Pinello, Principal Investigator for Monadnock Archaeological Consulting, LLC of Stoddard has over three decades of experience working on historic sites throughout New England. She served for many years as Chief Archaeologist at the Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, NH, and has special expertise in paleoethnobotany and landscape archaeology. Pinello joined the team restoring the Meeting House in 2006. This program is free and open to all!

Thursday October 18th at 7:00 pm: Duke Ellington & the Harlem Renaissance with Nanette Perrotte

The Duke: who is he? Genius interpreter of Big Band Swing and the Harlem Renaissance moment – melody maker and aficionado of putting on the Ritz – Sir Duke. Will we ever know the real Duke Ellington and will we ever understand the complexity and mystery of his collaboration with the great Billy Strayhorn. Here is a life that is graced in so many ways: a loving supportive family, the ease and confidence of a good education and a desire to maintain the true style of a Duke.  Here is the leader who created the perfect orchestra, building it one superb player at a time. The titles tell a story: Lush Life, Take the A Train, Prelude to a Kiss, It Don't Mean a Thing, Satin Doll…Join us as we sing the great songs and look at the internal workings of the music.  The period of Ellington's intense creativity 1924-1930 gives us a portrait in music of the extraordinary moment we call the Harlem Renaissance:  The Cotton Club, The Savoy… 142nd street and Lenox Avenue, a time when Harlem was the playground of the rich.  Nanette Perrotte, BA Jazz Composition Berklee College of Music, MA Ed Lesley University has been a professional Jazz singer for 25 years and now teaches Music History and Voice at both Endicott College and The New Hampshire Institute of Art.  She is the director and founder of the John Singer Sargent Choir as well as being a member of Hancock's Norway Pond Festival Singers. This program is free and open to all thanks to the Friends of the Hancock Town Library. For more information call the library at 525-4411.

Thursday October 11th @ 7:00 PM

Discovering New England Stone Walls 

with Kevin Gardner

Kevin Gardner’s informal talk covers a few of the main topics of his book about New England stone walls, The Granite Kiss, touching on history, technique, stylistic development, and aesthetics.  He explains how and why New England came to acquire its thousands of miles of stone walls, the ways in which they and other dry stone structures were built, how their styles emerged and changed over time, and their significance to the famous New England landscape. Other topics may include: differences in approach between historical and contemporary wall-builders, a discussion of restoration tips and techniques, and information about design, acquisition of materials, preservation, and analysis. There is always a generous question-and-answer period, during which listeners are encouraged to bring up specific problems or projects on their own properties. Along the way, Kevin occupies himself building a miniature wall or walls on a tabletop, using tiny stones from a five-gallon bucket.  He often brings along his collection of books about stonework, and copies of The Granite Kiss will be available for sale. This program is free and open to all thanks to the Friends of the Hancock Town Library.

Tonight at 7:00 pm ~ Bach with Verse

Join us for a special concert event featuring double bassist Richard “Dobbs” Hartshorne of Bach With Verse. A superb instrumentalist and marvelous storyteller, Dobbs pe

rforms the Bach Cello Suites and take us along on his musical adventures
in hilarious comedic stories. He discusses his transformative work bringing this music to children around the world in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine and Uganda as well as inmates in US prisons and will present a short documentary film about his tours. Come join us and see how music can change the world! Dobbs Hartshorne is a world-renowned double bass virtuoso, composer and storyteller. A graduate of The Julliard School and Oberlin Conservatory, Dobbs is a classically trained double bassist who brings a unique creativity to the art. Dobbs spent six years performing in Latin America with the Peace Corp as principal bass in several orchestras and was one of the designers of the free youth music program in Costa Rica. He was a member of the Apple Hill Chamber Players based in Sullivan, NH for 30 years bringing music to the worn-torn areas of Israel and Arab nations, Ireland, and the Caucasus Region through their Playing for Peace project and served as director of their summer festival. In 2004, Dobbs formed Bach With Verse, traveling extensively to bring music to underserved audiences in worn-torn areas. Free and open to all thanks to the Friends of the Hancock Town Library. For more information call the library at 525-4411.

Students from Changsha Visit the Hancock Town Library

A group of students and teachers from Changsha China dropped by the library this afternoon. They're studying at Keene High School and staying with families there. There were many questions about life in New Hampshire (what do people do for a living? farming?) and Halloween and pumpkins and Banned Books Week. We asked as many questions about China! Time for an exchange program for Conval High School?