Nov
29
Wed
Sit and Write with Seth Harwood
Nov 29 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Drop-in to Sit and Write in the alcoves. Come join fellow writers to meet, say hello, and then sit for three 25-minute quiet writing sessions. This event is open to writers of all ages, genres, and levels. To be added to the email list for reminders and updates, visit tinyurl.com/epl-sitandwrite

Dec
4
Mon
Yoga with Brian Mulligan
Dec 4 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Free adult yoga class, weekly on Mondays (except the 4th Monday) from 6-7pm with Brian Mulligan. Brian stresses a gentle approach to yoga with emphasis on proper alignment, safety and well-balanced classes.

Drop-in and bring your own yoga mat.

Brian is a certified 200 hour yoga instructor who studied under Kim Valerie’s Iyengar based Yoga Spirits out of Beverly, MA. He’s also certified to teach chair yoga, having studied under Lakshmi Voelker’s Get Fit Where You Sit program. Lakshmi has trained over 1600 Chair yoga instructors and trains out of Kripalu.

Dec
6
Wed
CANCELLED: Sit and Write with Seth Harwood
Dec 6 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Drop-in to Sit and Write in the alcoves. Come join fellow writers to meet, say hello, and then sit for three 25-minute quiet writing sessions. This event is open to writers of all ages, genres, and levels. To be added to the email list for reminders and updates, visit tinyurl.com/epl-sitandwrite

Dec
11
Mon
Yoga with Brian Mulligan
Dec 11 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Free adult yoga class, weekly on Mondays (except the 4th Monday) from 6-7pm with Brian Mulligan. Brian stresses a gentle approach to yoga with emphasis on proper alignment, safety and well-balanced classes.

Drop-in and bring your own yoga mat.

Brian is a certified 200 hour yoga instructor who studied under Kim Valerie’s Iyengar based Yoga Spirits out of Beverly, MA. He’s also certified to teach chair yoga, having studied under Lakshmi Voelker’s Get Fit Where You Sit program. Lakshmi has trained over 1600 Chair yoga instructors and trains out of Kripalu.

Dec
13
Wed
Sit and Write with Seth Harwood
Dec 13 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Drop-in to Sit and Write in the alcoves. Come join fellow writers to meet, say hello, and then sit for three 25-minute quiet writing sessions. This event is open to writers of all ages, genres, and levels. To be added to the email list for reminders and updates, visit tinyurl.com/epl-sitandwrite

Feb
20
Tue
Stuffie Yoga and Sleepover
Feb 20 @ 10:30 am – 11:45 am

Bring a beloved stuffie to enjoy a mindful morning & raucous night!

  1. Arrive with your stuffie to check them in and craft their yoga mat.
  2. Accompany your stuffie for a special yoga session with instructor Barbara Paulo.
  3. Say goodbye for the night…
  4. Pick up your stuffie the next day and hear about their marvelous adventure!

Space is limited and registration is required. Sign up here in person or by calling us at 413-527-1031 or emailing us at youthdept@ewmlibrary.org.Recommended for ages 4-9. Younger and older siblings welcome.

Apr
16
Tue
All Hamptons Read Book Discussion: Master Slave Husband Wife
Apr 16 @ 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm

All Hamptons Read logo

Five communities are coming together during March and April in a partnership called All Hamptons Read. The inspiration for this multi-community initiative is the book Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom by Ilyon Woo.

It is the remarkable true story of Ellen and William Craft, who escaped slavery through daring, determination, and disguise, with Ellen passing as a wealthy, disabled White man and William posing as “his” slave.

Spearheaded by the public libraries in Northampton, Florence, Easthampton, Southampton, Westhampton, and Williamsburg, All Hamptons Read is partnering to give readers throughout our region the opportunity to come together for discussion and exploration of the themes from Master Slave Husband Wife.

Programs include book discussions, Underground Railroad History program and a conversation with author Ilyon Woo and clothing historian Lynne Zacek Bassett.

Author’s Discussion Guide

Copies of Master Slave Husband Wife are available to borrow from the participating libraries in each community. Ebooks and E-audio are also available through Libby.

About the book:

The remarkable true story of Ellen and William Craft, who escaped slavery through daring, determination, and disguise, with Ellen passing as a wealthy, disabled White man and William posing as “his” slave.

In 1848, a year of international democratic revolt, a young, enslaved couple, Ellen and William Craft, achieved one of the boldest feats of self-emancipation in American history. Posing as master and slave, while sustained by their love as husband and wife, they made their escape together across more than 1,000 miles, riding out in the open on steamboats, carriages, and trains that took them from bondage in Georgia to the free states of the North.

Along the way, they dodged slave traders, military officers, and even friends of their enslavers, who might have revealed their true identities. The tale of their adventure soon made them celebrities, and generated headlines around the country. Americans could not get enough of this charismatic young couple, who traveled another 1,000 miles criss-crossing New England, drawing thunderous applause as they spoke alongside some of the greatest abolitionist luminaries of the day—among them Frederick Douglass and William Wells Brown.

But even then, they were not out of danger. With the passage of an infamous new Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, all Americans became accountable for returning refugees like the Crafts to slavery. Then yet another adventure began, as slave hunters came up from Georgia, forcing the Crafts to flee once again—this time from the United States, their lives and thousands more on the line and the stakes never higher.

With three epic journeys compressed into one monumental bid for freedom, Master Slave Husband Wife is an American love story—one that would challenge the nation’s core precepts of life, liberty, and justice for all—one that challenges us even now.