Upcoming Programs

We are offering  virtual, in-person, hybrid, and outdoor program opportunities.   See below for our scheduled programs.

 

 

 

 

Thank you to the Friends of the EPL for their continued support of our adult programing.  Some of our talks from bestselling authors and thought leaders are brought to you in partnership with the Friends of the Eldredge Public Library and the Library Speakers Consortium.  You can view these upcoming and past author programs at https://libraryc.org/eldredgelibrary.

 

 

Tuesday, March 26 @ 5:00 pm - Whaling in New England

Many different forms of whaling have been used in Cape Cod. Drift, shore, herding, deep sea and artic whaling have all been practiced at one time or another. Each specific form of whaling has a small history connected with it. In the early 1800’s, whaling was among the most profitable enterprises in United States, second only textiles. It remained strong for four decades. The reason why whale products are so valuable as well as the historic rationales as to why the whaling center moved from first from Nantucket, to Wellfleet, then to New Bedford and eventually to Provincetown will be told. Retelling the storied lives of several extremely successful Cape Cod whaling captains make the session come alive. Registration is recommended, seating is limited to 60.

Dr. Pregot has spent over a half of a century in the field of education. He has served as a high school principal, a district-wide school superintendent, a professor of education and as a University Director of an Educational Leadership Department. He is currently an on-line professor and author with an interest in maritime history of Cape Cod. He is currently studying the contributions that each Cape Cod town has made to the overall richness of maritime life.

Tuesday, April 2 @ 2:00 pm - Smithsonian American Table

Virtually step into the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History with Curator Paula Johnson as she discusses the book Smithsonian American Table: The Foods, People, and Innovations That Feed Us.  American Table is a sweeping history of food and culture that summons everyone to the table for a fresh look at some of the people, ingredients, events, and movements that have shaped how and what we eat. Johnson, curator and project director of the American Food History Project, will discuss several stories featured in the volume, with an emphasis on those that intersect most directly with the Smithsonian’s research, collecting, and programming around food history.  Registration is required for this virtual program.

Monday, April 8 @ 1:30 pm - Coastal Resilience on Cape

Coastal Resilience on the Cape: How to Prepare your Home, Assets, and Yourself for a Changing Climate.  Coastal Massachusetts faces many weather-related challenges, especially in the floodplain.  It's important to know what hazards you might face and how to best prepare for them.  In her presentation, Shelly McComb will introduce you to the Massachusetts Homeowners Handbook to Prepare for Coast Hazards and provide an overview of what it means to live on Cape Cod in an ever-changing environment.  Registration is recommended, seating is limited to 60.

Shelly McComb is the Coastal Resilience Specialist for Cape Cod Cooperative Extension and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute's Sea Grant.  She holds a M.S. in Environmental and Sustainability Studies and has worked in coastal and climate resilience planning for the last several years.  

Tuesday, April 9 @ 2:00 pm - Author Column McCann with Diane Foley

Join us for a one-of-a-kind conversation with National Book Award-winner Colum McCann as he is joined by Diane Foley, the inspiration behind the heartrending book American Mother.

American Mother is the story of a mother who, in the course of confronting her son’s killer, gets to the elemental heart of violence and forgiveness. Diane Foley is the mother of Jim, a freelance journalist captured and beheaded by ISIS in 2014, an image that became one of the most iconic of the 21st century. Seven years later, Diane gets the chance to spend three days with the murderer of her son in a Virginia courthouse, inspiring her to tell her life story. What unfolds is one of the most compelling narratives in recent literary history, channeled into searing reality by New York Times bestselling author Colum McCann, who brings us on a journey of strength, resilience, and radical empathy. You are sure to be moved by McCann's writing and Foley’s uncompromising love.  Registration is required for this virtual program.

Thursday, April 11 @ 2:00 pm - Native Planting - Restorations and Invasives

Julie Baca, Land Stewardship Director at Chatham Conservation Foundation, will discuss native Cape Cod planting, including how to manage invasive species, and will speak to the various restorations in the community.  

 

Thursday, April 11 @ 5:00pm - Reclaiming Folk: A Celebration of People of Color in Folk Music

Reclaiming Folk: A Celebration of People of Color in Folk Music is a celebration of people of color in Folk Music. Folk Music is traditional music, folk music is storytelling, folk music is music of the people, folk music is a voice for what’s happening in the world today. This program was created by Naomi Westwater and made available through several grants. The series is on tour throughout Massachusetts to bring awareness and celebration to the origin of Folk. This event is funded by the Chatham Cultural Council.

Naomi Westwater (they/she) is a queer, Black-multiracial singer-songwriter from Massachusetts. Their work combines folk music, poetry, and spirituality. Naomi holds a Master of Music in Contemporary Performance and Production from Berklee College of Music and she is a part of The Club Passim Folk Collective, where she produces Re-Imagining Lilith Faira tribute to the feminist music scene of the 1990s with an intersection lens for today. Naomi was nominated for a 2021 and 2022 Boston Music Award for best singer-songwriter, and has been featured in The Boston Globe, Under The Radar, WBUR, WGBH, and The Bluegrass Situation.

Wednesday, April 17 @ 8:00 pm - Author Xochitl Gonzalez

We cannot wait for you to join us as we chat with award-winning and bestselling author Xochitl Gonzalez about her newest novel Anita de Monte Laughs Last.   Anita de Monte Laughs Last is a propulsive, witty examination of power, love, and art, daring to ask who gets to be remembered and who is left behind in the rarefied world of the elite. In 1985. Anita de Monte, a rising star in the art world, is found dead in New York City; her tragic death is the talk of the town. Until it isn’t. By 1998 Anita’s name had been all but forgotten―certainly by the time Raquel, a third-year art history student was preparing her final thesis.  As Raquel also starts to become  a rising start in the art world,  she stumbles upon Anita’s story, raising questions about the dynamics of her own relationship, which eerily mirrors that of the forgotten artist.  Moving back and forth through time and told from the perspectives of both Anita and Raquel, this is sure a novel (and a conversation) that you don’t want to miss. Registration is required for this virtual program.

Xochitl Gonzalez is the New York Times bestselling author of Olga Dies Dreaming. Named Best of 2022 by The New York Times, TIMEKirkusWashington Post, and NPROlga Dies Dreaming was the winner of the Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize in Fiction and the New York City Book Award.

Thursday, April 18 @ 6:00 pm - Author Keith Yocum

Join us for an interview with author Keith Yocum as he presents book 2 of his Cape Cod mystery series, Dead in the Water. Reporter Stacie Davis, the main character in Yocum's first book A Whisper Came, is back, looking in to a blood stained, abandoned boat and it's missing owner. The town of Chatham is once again the backdrop for this entertaining thriller. This program will be virtual and registration is required.

Amazon bestselling author Keith Yocum is a former journalist and author of ten novels, including the Dennis Cunningham espionage/thriller series set in Australia. He has an undergraduate degree in philosophy and a graduate degree in journalism. He enjoyed an extensive career in publishing, including working for publications like the Boston Globe and the New England Journal of Medicine. Kirkus Reviews picked his espionage thriller "Valley of Spies" as one of the best indie mysteries, crime stories, and thrillers of 2019. 

Saturday, April 20 @ 2:00 pm - Chatham Reads Poetry

The Peter Saunders Memorial Chatham Reads Poetry event is back!  Join us for a Saturday afternoon as participants read their favorite published poems.  If you are interested in reading a poem, please contact Amy Andreasson (amyandreasson@clamsnet.org or 508-945-5170) for details and to register.  Pre-registration is required by April 10. This program is sponsored by the Friends of the EPL.  Refreshments will be served at 1:30.

 

Saturday, April 27 @ 10:30-12:30 - Poetry Workshop: The Ekphrastic Poem

Join John Bonanni for a poetry workshop that will focus on the ekphrastic poem.  An ekphrastic poem is any poem that draws its inspiration from a work of visual art. While the Greek root of "ekphrastic" means a description of the scene in vivid detail, we'll look at poets who both abide by and challenge this conception, drawing their inspirations from painting, sculpture, installation, and performance. We'll then find a work of art that speaks to each of us and begin drafting our own ekphrastic poems. Registration is required.  This program is limited to 15 participants.

A Best New Poets, Pushcart, and Best of the Net nominee, John Bonanni is a Cape Cod based writer who founded the Cape Cod Poetry Review in 2011. His own poems have appeared in FoglifterNorth American ReviewPrairie SchoonerMichigan Quarterly Review, and Gulf Coast, among others. His book reviews have appeared in DIAGRAMTupelo Quarterly, and the Kenyon Review. His research on poetry as an intervention for writing attitudes among learners with severe disabilities can be found in The Graduate Review (Bridgewater State University).

Tuesday, April 30 @ 4:00 pm - Peter Trull - Cape Cod: Once Around the Sun

Join us to hear Peter Trull, one of the foremost bird experts in the Northeast, talk about the season changes on Cape Cod from this new book Cape Cod - Once Around the Sun.

A year of natural history events on Cape Cod could be written over and over, many times, all different. Nature’s cycles and events, though often predictable, are never the same. Some. like the first snowfall, may occur from year to year over a period spanning 2 – 3 months, while you can be sure that the first Baltimore Oriole song may differ by only a matter of a few days from year to year. Here, through the lens of Peter's camera, over a single journey around the sun, he pay tribute to “Nature’s Year”. This colorful and inspiring program, filled with facts and stories, carries us through a Cape Cod year through images and events that you can look forward to on your yearly journeys around the sun.  Registration is recommended, seating is limited to 60.

Peter's photographs will be on display in the Forgeron Meeting room from March 29 through April 30.  Please make sure to stop in and take a look.  Please call ahead to make sure the room is available. (945-5170).

Peter Trull has been involved in research and education on Cape Cod for over 40 years.  He coordinated seabird protection and research for the Massachusetts Audubon Society. As Education Director at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, he developed programs and began studying Eastern Coyotes.  As a researcher and Education Director at the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies, he developed and taught classes related to whales and marine birds.  Peter has written 9 books about Cape Cod natural history.  

Ebook Classes

Ready to download eBooks and Audiobooks?

Next virtual class:   March 7 @ 11:00 am and March 21 @ 11:00 am.  Registration is required.  

Getting Started with Libby - Learn how to download ebooks and audiobooks from the CLAMS digital library through the Libby app by Overdrive.   Join Mike McCartney through a Zoom program as she will show you how to download items and answer your Libby questions.  Registration is required so we can get you connected through Zoom. *Libby app is currently compatible with smart phones and tablets.   EBooks can be download on another device (phone, ipad, etc) and transferred to Kindle devices.