Weekly Updates

January 3, 2025

• In this issue: Adult Programs - Virtual Films at Fowler Winter Series - Teen Programs - Children's Programs



Adult Programs

NEW: Monthly Open Boardgaming for Adults

Saturday, January 4, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Goodwin Forum, Main Library

Come join a pickup board game or card game from the Library’s collection (pictured). Each month on a Saturday the program volunteer Matt Ryan will borrow a fresh couple of games to have ready. You can also borrow what you want to play and recruit attendees into your game. This event is for adults who want everyone to have fun. Matt Ryan is a Concord resident for nine years and has a lifetime of experience teaching new games and hosting gaming events at home and at conventions. No registration required.

Cookbook Club

Wednesday, January 8, 12:00 - 1:30 p.m.

Meeting Room, Fowler Branch

For January, we will make recipes from two of Jennifer Segal's cookbooks, including Once Upon a Chef, the Cookbook : 100 Tested, Perfected, and Family-Approved Recipes and Once Upon a Chef: Weeknight/Weekend : 70 Quick-Fix Weeknight Dinners + 30 Luscious Weekend Recipes. Copies of the books are available at both branches. [Register for the Cookbook Club]

Meet Cute Book Club

Thursday, January 9, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Trustees Room, Main Library

Join Library staff and discuss the most lucrative genre in publishing: Romance. From contemporary rom-coms to romantasy to Regency romance, we will try an array of different subgenres. This month we will discuss This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens. Mocktails (non-alcoholic) will be served at the meeting. [Register for Meet Cute Book Club]

Walk for Wellbeing: A Mindful Practice for the Library Community

Saturday, January 11, 9:15 - 10:00 a.m.

Main Library

It is a new year to engage with nature for greater wellbeing. Community members are invited to meet at the Main Library's Sudbury Road entrance and head to Emerson Field, where we will walk to the trees and try simple mindful practices that settle the nervous system. On the way back we will share inspiring book titles and return to the Main Library refreshed and ready for a new story. Led by our mindful wellness educator, Lara Wilson. Sponsored by the Friends of the Concord Free Public Library. [Register for Walk for Wellbeing]

Tuesday Book Discussion: The Beast in the Jungle by Henry James

Tuesday, January 14, 10:00 - 11:45 a.m.

Trustees Room, Main Library

Each month, join other readers to discuss a range of books, from classics to contemporary. For January, we will discuss The Beast in the Jungle by Henry James. Copies of the book are available at the Main Library. The book is also available as an eBook in Hoopla and Libby. [Register for Tuesday Book Discussion]

Author Talk: Fred Kinch, Author of The Business of Secrets

Thursday, January 16, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Goodwin Forum, Main Library

Come listen to Fred Kinch tell stories from his new book The Business of Secrets – stories about his adventures selling cryptographic equipment to the intelligence organizations of some 80 countries worldwide. [Register for the Fred Kinch Author Talk]

Virtual Films at Fowler Winter Series

Films at Fowler continues in winter 2025 with Classics Old and New - For 26 years Concord film viewers gathered on winter evenings at Fowler Library to see some of the most interesting and stimulating examples of current and classic cinema from around the world. That movie series, now called Films at Fowler, changed to an online video streaming format in 2021 and continues in that format in 2025.

Because we no longer meet in person, we now watch—on your own schedule—selected movies on Kanopy, a free streaming service available to the Library patrons. We will then gather on Zoom on scheduled evenings for a lively movie discussion.

Match Point (2005)

Wednesday January 15, 7:00 p.m.

(Discussion Date on Zoom)

In this psychological drama from Woody Allen, a tennis pro marries into a wealthy British family but is lured into an obsession with an attractive American woman.

Please watch the film on Kanopy before the discussion. To register for the discussion and receive a Zoom link, send an email to the Coordinator of the program Randall Warniers at FilmsatFowler@concordlibrary.org. This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Concord Free Public Library.

[View Winter 2025 Film Discussion Schedule]

Teen Programs

Teen Dungeons and Dragons (For High Schoolers)

Wednesday, January 8, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.

Teen Lounge, Main Library

Our older player game: Seven Plunders of the World - Join the high seas hijinks and lay waste to nasty critters with a roll of the dice. Please note - If you wish to drop in, please have a level 3 character ready to go, or, see Erick at the Teen desk (sometime before game day) to build one.

For more Teen programs, visit here.

Main Library Children's Programs

From the Children's Library at the Main Library

Thank you so much for your incredible support of our programming at the Main Library! In order to prepare for the next season of storytimes and special events, the Children's Library will be taking a two-week break from all programming (except Baby Storytime) beginning on Monday, January 6. Baby Storytime will continue at its regular time, Wednesdays at 11:30 a.m. We will return on Tuesday, January 21. In the meantime, please enjoy the wonderful events at our Fowler Branch Library in West Concord. Happy New Year from all of us in the Children's Library.

Baby Snugglebugs Storytime

Wednesday, January 8, 11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Join us for an opportunity to meet other parents and caregivers of infants and pre-walking babies in this introduction to the world of early literacy. Share parenting experiences with one another and bond with your baby through lap bounces, nursery rhymes, songs, and, of course, books. No registration required.

Fowler Branch Children's Programs

Fowler Storytime (Ages 5 & under)

Tuesday, January 7, 10:00 - 10:45 a.m. & 11:00 - 11:45 a.m.

Meeting Room, Fowler Branch

Join us at Fowler for storytime - We will share stories, songs and rhymes and do a simple hands-on activity. No registration required.

Lego Club at Fowler (Ages 12 and under)

Friday, January 10, 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.

Meeting Room, Fowler Branch

Join fellow builders to construct from our Lego collection. Try out weekly challenges or work on your own project. Drop in at any time during Lego Club. No registration required.

For more Children's programs at the Fowler Branch, visit here.