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Celebrate the breathtaking art of Xiang Li, featuring over a dozen selected canvas portraits of Chinese empresses. Meet the artist Xiang Li and her daughter Fei Wu (the mother-daughter team) in person, hear their artist talk and presentation, and enjoy a relaxed and engaging conversation. Ask questions, connect, and discover the stories behind the art. Light refreshments will be provided.

Think you can spot what’s real and what’s made by Generative AI? Put your sleuthing skills to the test in this interactive workshop presented by Joint Family and the Cambridge Public Library. Through hands-on activities, we'll see how easy it is to create AI-generated images, voices, and videos and how hard it's becoming to tell the difference. Together we'll explore emerging trends in deepfakes and AI-generated content, real-world case studies of scams and misinformation, and practical strategies for protecting ourselves, our families, and our communities. No prior experience with Generative AI necessary. Open to ages 13 and up. Bring someone you trust - a friend, a grandparent, a neighbor!

What happens when AI becomes a friend, a tutor, a therapist, a co-worker? Come find out in this hands-on workshop led by Joint Family in collaboration with the Cambridge Public Library. Test the limitations and capabilities of popular Generative AI tools and how they’re quietly reshaping the way we connect with technology and each other. We'll explore the support gaps they're filling, where we need to draw boundaries and why real world human connections matter more than ever. No prior experience with Generative AI necessary. Caregivers and educators are encouraged to attend. Open to ages 18 and up.

Join José Mateo Ballet Nutcracker cast members in the Lecture Hall for a fun story time reading of The Nutcracker coupled with live ballet dancing. Learn some ballet moves and meet the dancers as well! All ages.

Experience the vibrant rhythms of Haitian Folklore in a class led by JAE company dancer Velouse Joseph. Class is accessible to all levels and welcomes kids of all ages and their caregivers. Class includes a guided warm-up followed by traditional Haitian dances. You'll move to the sounds of prerecorded Haitian rhythms as you connect to culture, community, and the joy of movement. No registration required. Funding for Summer Reading has been generously provided by the City of Cambridge, Cambridge Public Library Foundation and Friends of the Cambridge Public Library.

Join us for a conversation about community, resilience, and activism in the Latinx community with Gladys Vega, the Executive Director of La Collaborativa in Chelsea. Gladys Vega is a groundbreaking community organizer and advocate, working relentlessly and fearlessly to ensure the Latinx immigrant community has a voice in determining how it’s needs and concerns are addressed. She believes that empowerment of the individual leads to empowerment of the community and that social action is the vehicle an empowered community can use to achieve its goals. Gladys is the architect of nearly all of La Colaborativa’s programs, initiatives, and community organizing campaigns. Her leadership has resulted in expanded rights for immigrants, low-income families, tenants, workers, youths, and people of color across Massachusetts.

In honor of Black History Month, join Opera on Tap Boston for Shakespeare of Harlem, a concert celebrating the life, work, and enduring influence of Langston Hughes. The program weaves Hughes’ poetry and prose with art songs by composers such as Margaret Bonds and Florence Price, alongside the voices of his contemporaries, including Georgia Douglas Johnson and Countee Cullen. An ensemble of celebrated local actor-singers brings the text and music to life, illuminating the ideas, experiences, and cultural moments that shaped Hughes as a writer. The performance will be followed by a talkback, offering audiences a chance to discuss with the artists and the material in conversation. Featuring: Morgan Beckford, Soprano Melynda Davis, Soprano Todd McNeel, Baritone Fred C. VanNess Jr., Tenor Producers: Nina Evelyn and Kathryn McKellar Registration is not required but preferred.

Join Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui to celebrate the winners of the 2026 Cambridge City Nature Art Challenge and view their art on display. We will have food and nature art activities for all ages. This event is presented as a part of the Cambridge Public Library Nature Club.

When choosing native plants, you have to ask the right questions to get the best results. Kim Eierman will help you sort out the mysteries and complexities of native plant selection including: Am I buying a genetic clone, and does it matter? What are local ecotypes and where can I buy them? Are native cultivars ok? Are dwarf nativars ecologically-useful? What’s the tradeoff with double flowers? Which native plants require pollination partners (i.e. are dioecious) and how do I source them? What are the pros and cons of planting native seeds vs. live plants? Get the answers you need to make your native landscape both beautiful and eco-beneficial. This is event is cosponsored by the Cambridge Public Library. Kim Eierman is the Founder of EcoBeneficial LLC and author of The Pollinator Victory Garden: Win the War on Pollinator Decline with Ecological Gardening. She is an ecological landscape designer and environmental horticulturist specializing in native plants. Based in New York, Kim teaches at the New York Botanical Garden and Brooklyn Botanic Garden and is a Steering Committee member of The Native Plant Center. Visit Grow Native.

Harvard Book Store and the Cambridge Public Library welcome Thomas Levenson—professor of science writing at MIT and author of several books, including So Very Small and Einstein in Berlin—for a discussion of his new book, A Pox on Fools: The True Believers, Grifters, and Cynics Who Convinced Us to Reject Vaccines. Registration is required.