Don't miss the Hartford Harvest Festival on Saturday!

Celebrate indigenous identity and culture with music, dancing, food and more.

Saturday, October 8th

11 am - 4 pm

Ebony Horsewomen stables at Keney Park

337 Vine St.

Hispanic Heritage Month reading list

The House of Broken Angels

Luis Alberto Urrea

NPR'S Best Books of the Year

An epic novel about family, loss, love and hope. One you will want to savor.

"Epic. ... Rambunctious. ... Highly entertaining." — New York Times Book Review

"An immensely charming and moving tale." — Boston Globe

What Would Frida Do?

Arianna Davis

Oprah Best Book of the Year

Channeling the spirit of the amazing artist Frida Kahlo, this book encourages all women to live boldly!

"This gem of a book … couldn’t have been gifted to the world at a better time.” — Black Enterprise

“This read will leave you feeling inspired.” — The Today Show

Featured artist on The Beat:

Jen Allen

Jen Allen is a pianist, composer and currently a visiting assistant professor in music at Trinity College in Hartford. She frequently performs in New York, across the Northeast and in venues throughout the world as the leader of her own groups or as a member of other creative music ensembles.

You can experience her incredible piano playing HERE.

The Beat is Hartford Public Library's growing catalog of local music, curated by professionals, that can be streamed online by anyone with an internet connection. You can download the albums with your library card.

The Beat will be accepting new submissions from Hartford-area musicians beginning in November. Stay tuned.

Reading + moving = lots of fun

Story Walk opens at Colt Park

Story Walks are a fun and engaging way to read a book, encouraging families to get outdoors and engage in physical activity while also providing valuable early literacy learning.

Head to the edge of Colt Park along Van Block Avenue where you can read "Froggy Plays Soccer" and complete a fun activity at each panel. Come back again and experience a new book!

Thank you to our partners on this project: Hartford Athletic, Cigna, CRIS Radio and the City of Hartford.

Make art

Collage Workshop

Monday, October 10th &

Monday, October 24th

11 am - 12 pm

Camp Field Library

30 Campfield Ave.

Learn how to create a beautiful collage using your favorite photos of family, trips, nature, etc.

Space is limited — register today!

Mousetrap!

Free tickets to Hartford Stage's Mousetrap

(for HPL cardholders)

October 13th - November 6th

Hartford Stage

Intrigue. Murder. Mystery. Humor. All wrapped up in Agatha Christie's classic play.

Get your tickets today!

Join us in making a difference

United Way's Read for the Record

We're looking for a few good readers! Join Hartford Public Library, Hartford Public Schools, the United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut and volunteers from throughout the region to read Nigel and the Moon to an elementary school class in Hartford the morning of Thursday, October 27th.

Let your voice be heard!

We're hosting voter registration drives at each of our branches!. Click the image above to register to vote or stop by one of our drives this week:

Thursday, October 6th

10:30 am - 12:30 pm

Park Street Library @ the Lyric

603 Park St.

Online and paper voter registration is available at all HPL locations during regular hours.

Need a reminder of your polling place? Or want to check if you're already registered? Click HERE.

Free film screening at Cinestudio

Please join us for a free screening of the documentary film When My Sleeping Dragon Woke, a behind-the-scenes look at the development of Sharon Washington's critically acclaimed play Feeding the Dragon, inspired by her personal story of growing up in an apartment above a New York Public Library branch

Monday, October 17th

7 pm

Cinestudio at Trinity College

300 Summit St.