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Join the Collins Branch Library in collaboration with the Cambridge Climate Leaders Initiative for a monthly discussion of a climate-related topic. Each month the group will discuss a book on the topic at hand then hear about a related local program or initiative and how you can take action. Topic: Changing Lanes for Climate - exploring sustainable modes of transportation Book: Carmageddon: How Cars Make Life Worse and What To Do About It by Daniel Knowles Registration is encouraged, but not required. For more information contact Jo at jpercell@cambridgema.gov.

Teens, we need YOU: - Earn community service hours while you help to plan programs and activities for other teens - Practice collaboration, communication, leadership and social skills - Learn more about the Library’s mission and values - Be a creative force for positive change in your community Are there programs and activities you would like to see at the Library? Come share your ideas! We meet monthly during the school year. No registration is required, and new members and guests are always welcomed. Stop by the Teen Room or call 617-349-4027 to learn more.

Teens, we need YOU: - Earn community service hours while you help to plan programs and activities for other teens - Practice collaboration, communication, leadership and social skills - Learn more about the Library’s mission and values - Be a creative force for positive change in your community Are there programs and activities you would like to see at the Library? Come share your ideas! We meet monthly during the school year. No registration is required, and new members and guests are always welcomed. Stop by the Teen Room or call 617-349-4027 to learn more.

August Selection: Baking and the Meaning of Life by Helen Goh. Join friends and neighbors for a potluck! Try a recipe and bring your results or thoughts to share and discuss with other cooks. All experience levels welcome. No need to bring a dish to join. Books will be available for pick up at the Boudreau and Collins Branches during library hours. This event will take place outdoors at the Collins Branch Library at 46 Aberdeen Ave. For more information contact Liz at edanner@cambridgema.gov or call the Boudreau Branch at 617-349-4017.

This special edition of our Sewing 101 is offered in collaboration with Cambridge Wildlife Arts (Green Cambridge). In this 90-minute workshop, you'll learn the basics of sewing machine operation and safety. This session will cover machine setup, basic functions, threading the machine, reloading the bobbin, sewing straight stitches, and recognizing when stitch tension has gone awry. We’ll also cover some safety best practices when operating a sewing machine. As we learn together, we’ll work on a simple sewing project—hemming blank banners for the Banners Project launched by Cambridge Wildlife Arts.

Drop by the Central Square Branch's Lewis Room to read and discuss “No Flesh Over Our Bones" by Mariana Enriquez. Copies of the story will be provided, along with snacks. No preparation is needed. Registration helpful but not required. The City of Cambridge does not discriminate, including on the basis of disability. We may provide auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures to people with disabilities. For more information contact us at library@cambridgema.gov, 617-349-4032 (voice), or via relay at 711.

Join us in Joan Lorentz Park from 1-2:30 p.m. for a concert celebrating the roots of folk music with Reclaiming Folk, a concert series that celebrates and honors people of color in folk music, created by singer-songwriter Naomi Westwater. Back by popular demand, this event will feature original compositions—performed by Valeria Orrantia, Anand Nayak, and Naomi Westwater—as well as cover songs that honor the musicians who came before, short interviews with the musicians about folk music, and time for a Q&A from the audience. Registration is not required.

Learn more about our many classes and workshops that are free to the public.

Art urges us to look more closely at the world around us, and at ourselves. In this generative writing workshop, facilitated by Heather Nelson, participants will choose an image with which to “converse”: each writer will be given prompts and questions in order to interact with their image and, after having this dialogue with the art, writers will work to edit and arrange their observations into a working draft of an ekphrastic poem. There will be a little time at the end of the session for sharing drafts and discussing next steps. Registration is required.

Harvard Book Store and the Cambridge Public Library welcome Gaelynn Lea—folk musician, Broadway composer, and disability advocate—for a discussion of her new memoir, It Wasn't Meant to Be Perfect. She will be joined in conversation by Adrian Anantawan—violinist, current Chair of Music at Milton Academy, the Artistic Director of Shelter Music Boston, and Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music—and Colleen Flanagan—longtime activist for disability rights, working at the City of Boston Mayor's Commission for Persons with Disabilities as the Outreach and Engagement Specialist. Registration is required.