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Virtual Author Talk: Nurturing Future Generations: Stories from the Heart of Grandfatherhood with Ted Page

VIRTUAL EVENT

Register for this author talk:libraryc.org/morseinstitute

Join us in virtual conversation with storyteller and popular blogger Ted Page as we chat about his book Good Grandpa: Stories from the Heart of Grandfatherhood. This heartfelt book highlights his journey to bring together the stories and wisdom of grandfathers from all walks of life—all with a mission to nurture the next great generation.

When author Ted Page found out he was going to be a grandpa, he did a web search to learn more about the experience in store for him, but all he could find were references to the movie Bad Grandpa. He couldn’t help but wonder, “Where are the good ones?” Page started a blog, GoodGrandpa.com, and set out to talk with grandfathers across a diverse spectrum. This included an NFL pro athlete, a priest, a rabbi, an imam, newsman Tom Brokaw, comedy legend John Cleese, people of Asian descent, physicians adapting to disability, an air force general, a Vietnam combat vet, and many more—plus his Aunt Lois and the Dalai Lama, because why not?

Good Grandpa is inspiring, uplifting, evocative, and filled with genuine emotion. It is a recipe of hope for a divided America, and the book that will be on every grandparent’s reading list.

Register today and find out why Ted Page says “our greatest generation is to come.”

About the Author: Ted Page is a storyteller and performer. He is the author of Good Grandpa: Stories from the Heart of Grandfatherhood (Regalo Press) featured on NBC’s The TODAY Show, NPR and in Forbes magazine. His nonfiction stories have appeared in Boston Magazine and The Boston Globe Magazine, and his comedy screen credits include work with John Cleese and Florence Henderson. His blog for grandfathers—GoodGrandpa.com—has been featured in The New York Times. Ted’s book of true family stories, The Willoughby Chronicles, was published in 2017. He lives in New England and has a bunch of grandchildren.

Virtual Author Talk: Celebrate What Makes You, You with Zaila Avant-Garde

VIRTUAL PROGRAM

Register for this author talk: www.libraryc.org/morseinstitute

Join us for an uplifting virtual conversation with bestselling author and Scripps National Spelling Bee champ Zaila Avant-garde as we discuss her new picture book, Weird and Wonderful You, in which she encourages young readers to embrace what makes them different.

We are the weird. The wonderfully weird, that is. When others blend in, we stand out.

Young readers will find joyful encouragement in this empowering celebration of individuality and self-acceptance. Through a motivating message and a series of inspiring quotes and affirmations, this book encourages readers to embrace their unique quirks and see them as strengths. It’s a colorful manifesto for anyone who has ever felt out of place or different, urging them to stand out, be proud, and stay true to themselves.

This book is a perfect gift for anyone who needs a reminder that being weird is wonderful, from one of America’s most exciting and unique young voices. 

About the Author: Zaila Avant-garde is a multi-talented powerhouse and a New York Times bestselling author, with success springing from all her endeavors. She was named SportsKid of the Year 2021 by Sports Illustrated Kids. She won the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee, making her the first African-American to win in almost 100 years of the competition. Avant-garde holds two Guinness World Records for her basketball prowess.

Her success has been celebrated by the likes of Barack and Michelle Obama, LeBron James, and Dr. Jill Biden. Since winning the Bee, Zaila has appeared in a cameo role in Netflix’s “HUSTLE”, as well as NBA on TNT, and Peacock’s “Kid’s Tonight Show”. You can also see her displaying her basketball skills in brand campaigns for Carnival Cruise Lines, BYJU, Xbox, and Gymshark.

Virtual Author Talk: Apocalyptic Mayhem, Lava-Spitting Llamas, and One Very Sassy Cat: Surviving the Universe’s Most Twisted RPG with Matt Dinniman

VIRTUAL PROGRAM

Register for this author talk: libraryc.org/morseinstitute

Hold onto your heart-patterned boxers! Matt Dinniman, New York Times bestselling author of the wildly popular (and just plain wild) Dungeon Crawler Carl series, joins us to chat about his latest book, A Parade of Horribles.

As chaos and mass panic spread outside the dungeon in the wake of Faction Wars, Carl and Donut find themselves on the tenth floor, where they’re forced to compete in a surprisingly normal set of tasks. Well, normal for the dungeon.

Races. Get from point A to point B, and don’t come in last. After each race, they pick an upgrade for their vehicle and the track gets more challenging. It all seems a little too normal, a little too simple.

Ignore those strange glitches that are occurring with increasing frequency. Don’t listen to those whispers about what’s happening on the mysterious eleventh floor, something the system AI calls A Parade of Horribles. Nobody, not even the showrunners, knows what that means. Just that the AI has ominously dubbed it “a coming-out party for the ages.”

Everything is fine, Crawler. I repeat, everything is fine.

Carl hates that it’s business as usual. The rules of this floor have taken away his agency. That just will not do.

So Carl is planning a party of his own. It’s a plan so dangerous, so insane, he can’t even consult his friends lest the AI put a stop to it. Because if it goes wrong, it’s not just the end of Carl and Donut. No. The stakes are higher than they’ve ever been.

Register now for a fun-filled discussion you won’t want to miss!

About the Author: Matt Dinniman is a writer and artist from Gig Harbor, Washington. He is the author of the New York Times bestselling Dungeon Crawler Carl series along with several other books about the end of the world.

He doesn’t really hate Cocker Spaniels, and he plays bass in one band.

Virtual Author Talk: Your Ticket to the Best State Fair Crafts with Smithsonian Curator Mary Savig

a woman next to her book titled "State Fairs, Growing American Craft"

VIRTUAL PROGRAM

Register for this author talk: libraryc.org/morseinstitute

Join us for a fascinating discussion with Smithsonian Curator Mary Savig on the history and significance of craft at state fairs—from blue-ribbon quilts to sculpted butter cows, and so much more!

A Dolly Parton crop art portrait. Size-96 cowboy boots. A button quilt. State Fairs: Growing American Craft features more than 100 photos of extraordinary and unconventional crafts from state and tribal fairs, including needlework, basketry, jewelry, ceramics, crop art, butter sculpture, and saddles. The catalog highlights personal stories and regional and cultural traditions, creating a vibrant portrait of American life. Come one, come all! State Fairs has a little something for everyone.

Register now to hear about the fascinating (and often surprising) world of American state fair crafts!

About the Author: Mary Savig is The Fleur and Charles Bresler Curator-in-Charge of the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery. She holds a PhD in American Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park.

VIRTUAL: Celebrating 250 — American Revolutionary Painter Charles Wilson Peale

**PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A VIRTUAL PROGRAM THAT WILL TAKE PLACE VIA ZOOM. Registrants will receive a link to access the Zoom Webinar via email.** 

Charles Willson Peale was an exemplary patriot and served under George Washington during the American Revolutionary War. Many of his earliest portraits were miniatures painted on the battle fields. Peale then went on to paint hundreds of the Revolutionary patriot portraits, including at least 60 of George Washington. In 1784, Peale founded the Philadelphia Museum, one of the oldest museums in America and in 1805, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the first art academy in America.

In this program, art historian Martha Chiarchiaro, owner of Seeing History, will delve into Peale’s tremendous contribution in documenting the men of the American Revolutionary War. 

Register directly on Zoom HERE. Sponsored by the Tewksbury Friends of the Library and the Bacon Free Library.

 

RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

VIRTUAL: Celebrating 250 — Portraits Of A Revolution

**PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A VIRTUAL PROGRAM THAT WILL TAKE PLACE VIA ZOOM. Registrants will receive a link to access the Zoom Webinar via email.**

Explore American portraits painted and sculpted during the years leading up to, and the decades after, the Revolution.

The ideals, values, and virtues expressly stated in our founding documents are easily identifiable in these portraits once we know how to “read” them. We will examine portraits of founding “fathers” and “mothers,” as well as of lesser-known individuals, as documents that can be read like texts. In this program, we’ll also discuss the tradition of portraiture, and the influences of earlier art movements, artists, and artifacts, that inform these American portraits.

Led by Inez McDermott, Professor Emerita of art history at New England College. She is a curator of art and history exhibitions at various museums and galleries throughout New England.

Register directly on Zoom HERE. Sponsored by the Tewksbury Friends of the Library.

RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

VIRTUAL: Celebrating 250 – The Intoxicating History Of The American Revolution

**PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A VIRTUAL PROGRAM THAT WILL TAKE PLACE VIA ZOOM. Registrants will receive a link to access the Zoom Webinar via email.**

Eighteenth-century Americans consumed a staggering amount of alcohol compared to us today. Drink influenced their politics, built and sustained their relationships, and drove the economy. Booze was not a small part of colonial society, nor covertly consumed in private spaces—it was integral to American life. When the colonists rebelled against the British Empire, this culture of drink and taverns helped foster revolution. Join historian Brooke Barbier, author of Cocked and and Boozy: An Intoxicated History of the American Revolution, for a lively talk about the influence of tavern and drinking culture on the American Revolution. You’ll hear about the way alcohol influenced colonial resistance, soldiers on both sides of the war, and the creation of a new nation. You’ll see famous founders and lesser-known Patriots drink their way from British subjects into Americans.

Register directly on Zoom HERE. Sponsored by the Tewksbury Friends of the Library.

RECORDING NOTE: This program will NOT be recorded.

VIRTUAL: Cyber Safety – Tips for Protecting your Privacy

Neil will introduce basic steps to keep yourself safe in your digital life! Key topics include: Your Digital Footprint (How many accounts do you really have on the Internet?), Cyber Awareness (who can you trust?), The Exploitation of Trust (phishing and other scams), Malware (virus & more!), Passwords, Multi Factor Authentication, and Updating. We will leave time for questions via chat at the end.

Bio: Neil Plotnick is a computer specialist with over 40 years of experience. He is also an author and YouTuber, host of Learn IT with Mr. P. Neil is also a nationally recognized leader in computer science education. He was selected for the Presidential Award for Math And Science Education. The PAEMST is the nations’ highest recognition for STEM K-12 teachers.

This program will be held over Zoom. Please register to receive the meeting link. 

VIRTUAL: Cyber Safety - Tips for Protecting your Privacy with Neil Plotnick

VIRTUAL: Laughter Yoga with Robert Rivest

Free your laughter with Robert Rivest! Laughter yoga is a fun, effective way to exercise and socialize while receiving the mind-body health benefits of laughing. Laughter yoga was created in 1995, when a medical doctor, Dr. Madan Kataria, first combined breathing exercises from yoga with improvised laughter exercises. Laughter Yoga has turned into an international health movement that has quickly traveled around the world.

Robert Rivest is the creator and founder of Wellbeing Laughter and The Rivest Method of Joyful Living. He is an internationally admired performer, teacher and public speaker. Robert is a talented mindfulness & stress relief educator, an engaging corporate wellness presenter, a comic mime artist and a gifted laughter yoga master trainer. Since 1990 Robert Rivest has given over 8,000 presentations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and across the United States. His mission is to use mindfulness, laughter and the performing arts to bring greater health, happiness, and joy to individuals and organizations around the world.

This program will be held over Zoom. Please register to receive the meeting link.

VIRTUAL: Laughter Yoga with Robert Rivest

VIRTUAL: Behind the Judicial Curtain — Secrets of a Trial Judge

Retired Massachusetts Superior Court Justice Dennis Curran will discuss the behind-the-scenes process by which judges make their decisions: how bail is set, how sentencing decisions are made, how a criminal trial works, whether Massachusetts juries are “giving away the store,” how judges are selected, the difference between appointed versus elected judges, how jurors are chosen, specialty courts (such as drug and gun courts), and the challenges of being fair while also adhering to the law.

Dennis J. Curran served as a Massachusetts judge for 16 years, including in the Superior Court from 2006 to 2018. Prior to his time on the bench, Curran worked as an Assistant District Attorney and First Assistant Legal Counsel to the Governor, in addition to work in private practice. A graduate of Boston Latin School, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Virginia School of Law, Curran has taught law at Tufts University, Roger Williams University School of Law, and Brown University.

This program is held in collaboration with the Tewksbury Public Library.

 

Register here for the Zoom link.

 

RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

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