Richards Free Library

Engage, Enrich, Entertain

Adult Programs

Keep Newport Warm ’23

On October 24th we will celebrate Sarah Josepha Hale’s 235th birthday by starting the “Keep Newport Warm” project.

This year there are two ways to get involved: As we did last year, Community members can help to make a scarf for the SJH statue displayed in front of the library. Just bring a piece of work measuring 8 inches on one side to the front desk of the library. Contributions will be joined together by a volunteer. The scarf will go around the Sarah Josepha Hale statue on Wednesday, the 22nd of November, in time to honor her for Thanksgiving. A volunteer will place it up in the evening with a sign explaining the project. The scarf will stay up until snow flies, and be down before the new year.

New this year is an opportunity to honor Sarah by giving back. The Library will be collecting handmade woolens to be donated to the food pantry in Newport. So, calling all knitters, weavers, and crochet artists! If you have handmade hats, mittens, scarves, or other winter woolens that you would like to contribute, you can bring them to the library to make sure that they get into the hands of those in need.

Need some yarn to get started? Check at the library for a free skein, donated by a generous crafts-person.  

When community members contribute, they will be asked to fill out a card with their contact information, and given the option to sign up for the library newsletter, or to be contacted for more information about the knitting group. 

We hope to continue Sarah’s legacy of industriousness, charitable giving, caring for the young and needy, and coming together as a community on our national day of thanks.

Haunted Lighthouses of New England on Zoom

Join Author Jeremy D’Entremont as he shares stories of ghosts and sightings!

Register below for this event and we’ll email you the zoom link!

Lighthouses and ghost stories often seem to go hand in hand. Jeremy will be telling us about the mysterious Woman in White in the Isles of Shoals and the spirit of a drowned lighthouse keeper at Penfield Reef in Connecticut, as well as some of the paranormal investigations he’s been part of — and much more.
 

Jeremy D’Entremont is the president and historian of the American Lighthouse Foundation, historian for the U.S. Lighthouse Society, and the author of more than 20 books and hundreds of articles on lighthouses and maritime history. He’s the producer and host of the U.S. Lighthouse Society’s podcast, Light Hearted. He has appeared on the popular Ghost Hunters TV show, as well as Haunted Lighthouses of America on the Travel Channel. He has also appeared on the History Channel, Public Television, and National Public Radio speaking about lighthouses.

Haunted Lighthouses of New England

Register to receive the zoom link for this virtual event.

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Virtual Event with NASA 9/29 2pm

Join us on Zoom Friday September 29th at 2pm! Learn about the efforts of teams of NASA researches who are currently examining Earth to understand climate change, storms, fires, and where people fit in to all of it, including an active mission studying climate change in northern regions of the world (e.g., Alaska and Canada).

The missions of NASA’s Earth Science Division is to help us understand our planet’s interconnected systems, from a global scale down to minute processes. The division delivers the technology, expertise, global observations, and applications that help us map the myriad connections between our planet’s vital processes and the climate effects of ongoing natural and human-caused changes. Led by Dr. Elizabeth Hoy, PhD, who has been a NASA scientist for over 10 years with the NASA Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems Office and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Studying Arctic systems since 2005, her research interests are in geography and disturbance mapping within the high northern latitude regions of North America where she utilizes GIS and remote sensing to understand aspects of environmental change. 

Register directly on Zoom.