CANCELED: Summer Reading: ¡Música! with Mariana Iranzi (Valente)
This event has been canceled due to unforeseen circumstances. Stay tuned for a rescheduled date.
Join us for a bilingual family concert in English and Spanish. Singing, dancing and tons of fun guaranteed! Recommended for children of all ages and their caregivers. Registration is not required for this event.
Funding for Summer Reading has been generously provided by the City of Cambridge, Cambridge Public Library Foundation, Friends of the Cambridge Public Library and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.
CANCELED: Summer Reading: Cyanotype Printmaking (Central Square)
Explore our outdoor world, get creative, and make sun prints (aka cyanotypes) at the Central Square Branch.
A selection of flora, other natural materials, and simple found objects will be available to create a collage and then print with the sun. Or bring your own materials! Participants will have the opportunity to display their work in the Branch during the month of August.
In the case of rain or inclement weather, we'll be indoors doing botanical water colors.
Cake Swap (Central Square)
Calling all bakers for a cake potluck! Make a cake and come bring it to share with others. Everyone will go home with slices of different cakes to sample.
Various baking and cake cookbooks are available for pickup at the Branch.
CPL and the Central Square Theater Present: Her Pormanteau (Main)
Written By Mfoniso Udofia and directed by Tasia A. Jones, Her Portmanteau is an explosive story of betrayal and forgiveness, centering on a Nigerian mother in the U.S. and her two daughters who lived very different lives. A reunion forces them to reconcile their past, full of clashing traditions and a family legacy that spans time, culture and generations. Produced by Central Square Theater and The Front Porch Arts Collective. Cosponsored by Cambridge Public Library and the Citizens' Committee on Civic Unity. Registration is required.
Sustaining Community: A Climate Change Book Group (Main/Virtual)
The climate is changing, and we're all here on the planet together. Join us for a monthly community gathering and discussion of a variety of books about climate change. We will share thoughts, resources, and occasionally host special guests in a welcoming small-group environment.
For our May meeting, we will discuss The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben, which was originally our book for February but due to weather, we couldn't meet. Attendees are invited to choose between reading the original text, the illustrated edition, the graphic adaptation, or watching the film version of this book!
This work is available in many different formats. Copies of the print book, the illustrated edition, the graphic adaptation, and the DVD are available at the Main Library Q&A Desk. E-book and e-audiobook copies are available to borrow on the Libby app and immediately on the Hoopla app.
This is a hybrid event. A Zoom link will be sent to all registered participants 1 hour before the event.
Registration is required. Please contact alengel@cambridgema.gov with questions.
[Moved Indoors] Outdoor Concert with Albino Mbie (Joan Lorentz Park)
Tonight's concert will be moved indoors to the Lecture Hall at the Main Library (449 Broadway) due to the potential for rain.
Albino Mbie is an award winning Musician, Guitarist, Singer, Composer, Sound and mixing engineer born in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, a country in southern Africa known for its rich musical and cultural heritage. This event is generously sponsored by The Manuel Rogers, Sr. & Mary R. Rogers Endowment Fund. In the event of rain or extreme heat, this event will be moved inside the Lecture Hall at the Main Library. All ages welcome. No registration is required.
RESCHEDULED Defying the Crown in Early Cambridge: The 1664 Petition Campaign and Grassroots Constitutionalism
This event was rescheduled from May 22 and will now take place on May 28.
The new king Charles II sent royal commissioners to New England in 1664 in order to pressure colonists into compliance with his metropolitan agenda. When these royal commissioners tried to claim full authority over local courts and militias, Cambridge inhabitants were among the first to act in defiance. Their grassroots petition campaign drew on the experience of the English civil wars and pointed the way forward to the American Revolution.
Adrian Chastain Weimer is a Professor of History at Providence College and is currently a Long-term Fellow at the John Carter Brown Library. She is the author of A Constitutional Culture: New England and the Struggle against Arbitrary Rule in the Restoration Empire (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2023) and Martyrs' Mirror: Persecution and Holiness in Early New England (Oxford University Press, 2011).
Branch Walk [55+] (Boudreau)
Join guide Stefanie Haug while exploring our neighborhood nature and history. As a group we'll connect with and explore the neighborhood mindfully with a gentle walk and draw on contemplative practices.
What to bring: layered clothing, comfortable shoes and water.
Where to meet: At the Boudreau Branch entrance.
Registration is requested but not required.
Summer Reading: Hooping Program with Wildkat Hoops (Valente)
This program will happen outdoors at Donnelly Field. In case of inclement weather, it will occur in the gym at King Open School.
Put on your dancing shoes for an unforgettable workshop of hula hoop magic with Kat Suwalski! You will learn basic hooping moves while increasing hand-eye coordination, strength, balance, and agility. No prior hooping experience is required. Hoops are provided. Recommended for children ages 5 and up and their caregivers.
Funding for Summer Reading has been generously provided by the City of Cambridge, Cambridge Public Library Foundation, Friends of the Cambridge Public Library and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.
Mission to Mars: How to Eat, Sleep and Think Like an Astronaut (Main)
Sending humans to Mars is hard. Bringing them back safely is even harder. Doing so while also having them perform cutting-edge science and exploration during the mission? A major challenge. Luckily, we can plan and test parts of our future Mars missions before we leave the ground. In this session, we discuss the design and completion of two analog (Earth-based, Mars simulation) missions: Project MADMEN and Pale Red Dot. Come experience life on Mars as we traverse rocky terrain for geology and astrobiology experiments, test different cooking methods to make Martian meals, and navigate emergencies in space.
Ever wanted to be an astronaut? This is your chance to experience life on “Mars”!