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Ashland - Local Town Pages

June 2023 at the Ashland Library

Special Event:

Boston Kids Comics Fest @ Northeastern University

Saturday, June 3, 2023

The 3rd annual Boston Kids Comics Festival, celebrating comics for children and the love of reading, is back and in person on Saturday, June 3rd after a three-year pandemic hiatus. This is a passion project of the Ashland Library Director and the Friends of the Ashland Library are happy to be a sponsor of this event.

The premiere dedicated annual children’s comics festival in the country, BKCFest is a community celebration of comics, learning, and laughter for elementary and middle schoolers, and their parents, educators, and librarians.  As ever, BKCFest will host a marketplace of independent comics creators, spotlighting local authors and illustrators whose work ranges from hand-crafted zines to published graphic novels. Admission is free and open to all ages.   

BKCF’s free-to-all programming includes hands-on workshops, where young comics-makers can get advice and guidance from professional comics-makers as well as opportunities to draw with our exhibitors and creators. The Fest always has a host of amazing headliners, as well, so stay tuned for more information as our comic creators are confirmed. 

Learn more about the Fest on the BKCFest Website. 

This program is sponsored, in part, by the Friends of the Ashland Public Library.

Adult:

HYBRID - Romance Book Club 

Thursday, June 1 @ 6:30pm

Read Science Fiction Romances

The Garden of Words: A Writing Workshop @ the Ashland Library *For Adults 18+

Friday, June 2 @ 10:30am

Friday, June 16 @ 10:30am

Fixit Clinic at the Ashland Public Library

Saturday, June 3 @ 1-3pm

Bring in your broken item(s) and participate in troubleshooting and repair with help from our volunteer Fixit Coaches. Bring any parts and tools you already own that might be helpful. Come ready to describe what’s wrong and what you’ve already tried. Don’t toss it, fix it!

Virtual: Author Led Horror Book Club Featuring Paul Tremblay!

Monday, June 5 @ 7pm

Read any book by Paul and come ready to ask your questions, join the conversation, or just spectate. All are welcome.

Virtual: A Trip To The Louvre In Paris

Tuesday, June 6 @ 10:30am

Discover the history of the building, from the medieval castle of the early 13th century to the pyramid of the late 20th. Then, examine the ten greatest works of the Louvre: from antiquity to the French romantic painter, highlighting the wonderful women of the Louvre, including the Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa.

Virtual: Gender Equality & The Carter Administration with the Carter Presidential Library

Tuesday, June 6 @ 2pm

Explore the state of Women’s Rights issues in the 1970s, the Equal Rights Amendment of 1972, and the Constitutional means the Carter administration embraced to address gender inequality.

Essential Oils with Hannah Stein: Lavender

Tuesday, June 6 @ 6:30pm

Lavender Oil can be used to clear the skin, treat bug bites, and even combat fungal infections. As well, it has many uses based on its gentle, pleasing scent. Join us to learn about these and other uses of this versatile essential oil.

Virtual - “Queen Charlotte” Discussion: Season One 

Tuesday, June 6 @ 7pm

If you love the Bridgertons and need something to tide you over until Season Three comes out, join us for this discussion, set in the world of Bridgerton! 

Virtual - Environmental Book Club 

Wednesday, June 7 @ 6:30pm

Read “Things You Can Do: How to Fight Climate Change and Reduce Waste” by Eduardo Garcia.

Virtual: Establishing A Herb Garden

Thursday, June 8 @ 12pm

Herb gardening has been popular for centuries but herbs were not grown solely for culinary use, as we think of them primarily today. We will explore the world of herbs and take a look at a modern-day herb garden.

Art for Adults with Nancy Atkinson

Thursday, June 8 @ 6:30pm

Nancy will teach us drawing techniques with different mediums, papers, and ideas. We hope you can join us and up your artistry game.

Virtual - Friday Night Film Discussion

Friday, June 9 @ 7pm

Watch “Songs My Brothers Taught Me”

Virtual: Trivia Night -- PRIDE Month

Friday, June 9 @ 7pm

We  will be celebrating PRIDE Month with questions involving LGBTQIA+ history and culture. Play solo or organize a team! For security purposes, participants’ videos will be disabled, so no need to worry about having a working webcam to play. The ability to view slides on a screen is all you need for this fantastic trivia fun! Please note that trivia questions are geared towards adults in terms of difficulty.

Cookbook Club

Saturday, June 10 @ 12pm

Cook from “The Aleppo Cookbook : Celebrating the Legendary Cuisine of Syria” by Marlene Matar

Virtual: The Trial of Lizzie Borden -- Whacks and Hacks

Saturday, June 10 @ 12pm

The arrest of Lizzie Borden for the murder of her parents turned into international news and her murder trial into a spectacle unparalleled in American history. Reporters flocked to the scene. Well-known columnists took up conspicuous seats in the courtroom. The defendant was relentlessly scrutinized for signs of guilt or innocence. Was she a cold-blooded murderess or an unjustly persecuted lady? 

Card Making with Jan Poppendieck 

Monday, June 12 @ 6:30pm

Jan will teach embossing, die cutting, proper stamping, and use of equipment individually and group techniques of creating unique cards.

Virtual: LGBTQ Terminology 101 

Monday, June 12 @ 7pm

Join Emily Lunardi for a program that is for anyone looking for clear explanations of LGBTQIA+ lingo, presented in a personable and attainable way. Do you feel confused or overwhelmed by LGBTQIA+ terminology? Do you ever get worried you’ll say the wrong word or pronoun? Then this workshop is for you!

Virtual: The Adventures of Two Grannies on the Road

Tuesday, June 13 @ 10:30am

Join “Grannies” Beth Sobiloff and Marcia Rothwell as they share stories and reflect on their adventures touring all over the Commonwealth. Come hear their story about how they’ve reinvented themselves later in life, and are living their retirement years to the fullest!


Virtual: Bert & Lou -- The Story of the Herbert Hoover Family with the Hoover Presidential Library

Tuesday, June 13 @ 2pm

Learn about the life of the 31st President of the United States, Herbert Hoover, and his wife Lou Henry Hoover. Born in Iowa, the Hoovers would become world travelers and spend much of their lives in public service, helping provide food relief to millions of people around the world.

Virtual - The Two Nerdy History Girls Ride Again!

Tuesday, June 13 @ 7pm 

We keep having so much fun with Loretta and Susan that we had to keep bringing them back for encore performances! We, once again, have Loretta and Susan here to answer all of our burning questions on historical research and publishing. 

Mystery Book Club

Wednesday, June 14

Read “The Madness of Crowds” by Louise Penny

Virtual: A Celebration of Massachusetts Libraries -- A History of Libraries In The Bay State

Wednesday, June 14 @ 7pm

Massachusetts author and historian Alan Earls will present a slideshow and discussion of some of the important milestones, architectural gems, and key figures in this story as well as an overview of just how richly endowed we are with libraries of all kinds today.

Great Decisions 

Thursday, June 15 @ 6:30pm

Discuss Economic Warfare

Virtual - Nature Photography (Discussion Session) with Steve McGrath 

Thursday, June 15 @ 7:30pm

Do you love to view and discuss nature photos? Then join us for this virtual discussion of images you’ve taken during the month or to just spectate! 

Saturday Knit and Crochet Club and Workshop- Ripple Blankets 

*For Ages 14+

Saturday, June 17 @ 2pm

Join us and learn how to crochet a fun and cozy ripple blanket!   Just bring your own crochet hook or knitting needles and some yarn and we will supply the know-how.  

Virtual: A Trip To Scotland -- Finding the Underwater Gannet in the Shetland Islands

Tuesday, June 20 @ 10:30am

Follow Ken Carlson’s journey to the Shetland Islands in Scotland as he searched for a way to photograph the graceful Northern Gannet seabird diving underwater to fish. Not being a scuba diver made this a challenge, but Carlson finds a way after following up on a clue.

Virtual: Interrogating Presidential Photos with the Ford Presidential Library

Tuesday, June 20 @ 2pm

Since John F. Kennedy, most Presidents have had an official photographer, resulting in a wealth of primary source material. But what can Americans of all ages learn by taking a deeper look, past the subject matter and into the backgrounds and material culture represented in these photos, to learn more about how the lives of our leaders are presented?

Bio/Memoir Book Club

Wednesday, June 21 @ 11am

Read ‘Dinners with Ruth’ by Nina Totenberg

Virtual: Explore Massachusetts -- Off The Beaten Path

Tuesday, June 20 @ 7pm

Author Maria Olia will discuss her brand new book, “Massachusetts Off the Beaten Path”.

Virtual - Paranormal Romance Authors Ilona Andrews and Nalini Singh in Conversation

Wednesday, June 21 @ 5pm

We are so excited to be chatting with two titans of paranormal romance - wife and husband team Ilona & Gordon Andrews and Nalini Singh! We’ll be chatting world building, character development, keeping the ideas fresh, and anything else we can think of.

Half-Past Crafts: Needle Felted Cacti 

Wednesday, June 21 @ 6:30pm

This month we are learning how to needle felt and make cute cacti! This program is generously funded by a grant from the Ashland Cultural Council.

Virtual: Ashland Adult Book Club 

Wednesday, June 21 @ 6:30pm

Read “The Edge of Summer” by Viola Shipman.

Virtual: The Story of Route 1 in Maine, New Hampshire & Massachusetts

Wednesday, June 21 @ 7pm

Author Susan Mara Bregman will give a presentation based on her new book, Along Route 1: Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts”.

Paint Night with Ashwini Chitnavis 

Thursday, June 22 @ 6pm

We’re excited to bring Paint Night to Ashland! We welcome Ashwini Chitnavis to host this session where you learn to paint on canvas. No art experience necessary, just an open mind and a can-do attitude. This program is generously funded by a grant from the Ashland Cultural Council.

Virtual - The Big Dig with Author David Kruh

Friday, June 23 @ 1pm

In this illustrated slide show talk David, a former Big Dig spokesperson, will show how Boston has changed over the past 400 years, from the reduction of Beacon Hill, through the filling in of the Back Bay, ending with the country’s most expensive construction job - the Big Dig. 

Virtual: Over The Rainbow -- The Hollywood Career of Judy Garland

Friday, June 23 @ 2pm

This talk will examine Judy’s remarkable Hollywood career, which began in her young teens at MGM and continued with such timeless classics as “The Wizard of Oz,” “Meet Me in St. Louis,” “Easter Parade,” and her stirring comeback in 1954’s “A Star is Born.”

Virtual - Friday Night Film Discussion 

Friday, June 23 @ 7pm

Watch “Columbus”

Another Mini Horror Book Festival @ The Ashland Library!

Saturday, June 24 @ 12:20-3:30pm

We welcome horror authors Victoria Dalpe, Gretchen Felker-Martin, Bracken MacLeod, and Tom Rimer to Ashland for our 2nd Mini Horror Fest! The day will include a panel discussion, small group conversations, and a book sale/signing. So, grab your horror lovin’ friends (because it’s no fun to be so scared on your own :), and come on down to the Ashland library!

Virtual: Out Of The Archives - A Look Back At The Marshall Plan with the Truman Presidential Library

Tuesday, June 27 @ 2pm

Two years after V-E Day, Europe lay in ruins, with its economies devastated and its people facing famine. In a commencement address at Harvard University, Secretary George Marshall called for American assistance in restoring the economic infrastructure of Europe. Western Europe responded favorably, and the Truman administration called for legislation. The resulting massive aid package – the biggest of its kind and named for Marshall – provided more than $13 billion in funding for housing, infrastructure and industry. The story of Europe’s post-WWII recovery is often told with numbers.

Virtual: Author Alex Myers to Speak on Revolutionary Heroine Deborah Sampson and Gender Identity

Tuesday, June 27 @ 7pm

In 1782, Deborah Sampson ran away from home and disguised herself as a man in order to serve in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. More than 200 years later, Sampson’s ancestor, author Alex Myers, was so inspired by her story that he wrote “Revolutionary”, a fictionalized novel based on the true story of Sampson’s 17 months as a soldier.

HYBRID - Red Sox Nation with Boston Globe Sports Writer Chad Finn *For All Ages

Wednesday, June 28 @ 6:30pm

Chad will discuss his book “The Boston Globe Story of the Red Sox: : More Than a Century of Championships, Challenges, and Characters”. Baseball fans of all ages are welcome to join us in-person or online for a conversation about the Sox, the sport, the stories, and the future of baseball in Boston. Hope you can join us! Play Ball!

Virtual - Author T.R. Johnson discusses “New Orleans: A Writer’s City”

Thursday, June 29 @ 7pm 

Join  us for this conversation with author & professor at Tulane University, T.R. Johnson as he discusses his book “New Orleans: A Writer’s City” which unfolds a book-lover’s map of this unique city, inviting us to experience what it means to live in a great city of literature.

Adult Recurring:

Knit and Crochet Club

Saturdays at 2pm

Mondays @ 6pm - Beginning ELL Conversation Circles

Thursdays @ 2pm


Advanced ELL Conversation Circles

Fridays @ 11am