November 17th @ 7:00pm: Join us for this fascinating and timely discussion, “Can We Really Wake Up the Dead? Pigs, Brain Death and the Future of Transplant Medicine” with Dr. Arthur L. Caplan. Dr. Arthur L. Caplan is the Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor of Bioethics at New York University Grossman School of Medicine and the founding director of the Division of Medical Ethics. He also founded the Bioethics Departments at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Minnesota. He received his PhD from Columbia University. Caplan has made many contributions to public policy including: helping to found the National Marrow Donor Program; helping to create the system for distributing organs in the U.S.; and advising on the content of the National Organ Transplant Act of 1984 rules governing living organ donation, and legislation and regulation in many other areas of health care including blood safety and compassionate use. This program will be held in the Library’s Main Program Room.
Learn more and register to attend.
This program is part of our H.G. Wells Scholarly Series, made possible by the generosity of the Friends of the Ridgefield Library.
November 16th @ 7:00pm: This online presentation is the third in a series of programs for the disability community offered in partnership with SPHERE of CT and the Ridgefield Public Schools. Andrew Arboe is the founder of Driving with Autism, a driver readiness program that helps people start on the path to obtain their license. Driving with Autism hosts live webinar series that break down driving into achievable goals and offers resources to aid any driver. As Driving with Autism evolves, Andrew envisions partnerships with certified driving schools in all 50 states. Andrew is also the Director of Community Outreach at Planning Across the Spectrum. In that role, he reaches out to various autism, disability, and neurodiversity organizations nationwide to collaborate on community empowerment by organizing and speaking at conferences, connecting attendees with Planning Across the Spectrum’s comprehensive special needs planning services.
November 13th @ 2:00pm: This ARTalk will focus on how the power and potential of the digital age and its many tools can empower artists, art enthusiasts, creative communities and businesses. Cash will explore how Ridgefield’s arts and cultural organizations, as part of Connecticut’s first-in-the-state cultural designation, have embraced a wider adoption of digital tools in daily life, especially during a pandemic. Cash is the new Ridgefield Arts Council Chair and has nearly a decade of experience in the global fine art market and creative economy. She is currently Senior Vice President of Artnet, the leading online resource for the sale, study, and analysis of fine art and its markets.
In her role at Artnet, Colleen manages its proprietary auctions business and oversees a global team in their facilitation of $30 million plus in sales of Post-War & Contemporary Art, Prints & Multiples and Photographs. She also oversees Artnet’s Gallery Network, which features 250,000 plus artworks from primary market galleries across the world.
Prior to her work at Artnet, Colleen held roles at Christie’s, Apollo Global Management, and several public institutions including the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Council and the consortium responsible for the redevelopment of LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal B. Colleen holds a BA with Special Honors from Hunter College and is a frequent speaker in CUNY’s Arts Administration Program.
Learn more and register to attend.
The 2022-2023 ARTalk series is co-sponsored by the Ridgefield Library and the Ridgefield Guild of Artists.
November 9th @ 7:00pm: Join us for a virtual reading and talkback with newly appointed Connecticut State Poet Laureate Antoinette Brim-Bell and Jaida Taveras, the state’s first-ever Youth Poet Laureate. The two honored poets will read from recent works, share hopes for their roles as laureates, and answer questions from the audience – and each other.
Antoinette Brim-Bell (photo, right) is the author of These Women You Gave Me, Icarus in Love, and Psalm of the Sunflower. She is a Cave Canem Foundation fellow, a recipient of the Walker Foundation Scholarship, and a Pushcart Prize nominee. Her work has appeared widely in literary journals and anthologies. A sought-after speaker, editor, educator, and consultant, Brim-Bell is a Professor of English at Capital Community College.
Jaida Taveras attends Washington University, where she is majoring in philosophy. Jaida is a member of the university’s slam team and teaches poetry to students in the St. Louis area. At Naugatuck High School, she served as a student representative of the Connecticut State Board of Education, a writer with Poetry Ourselves, an orator with the American Legion, and a performer with the Poetry Out Loud recitation competition.
Learn more and register to receive the Zoom link.
Put your pumpkin character on display in the Library! Children ages 4-11 are invited to decorate a mini pumpkin in the likeness of a literary or media character. Prizes will be awarded for most creative, best representation, staff favorite, and best overall, with a very special Grand Prize: LEGO Hagrid’s Hut: Buckbeak’s Rescue! Pumpkin Drop-off is October 15-28. Public voting and staff judging will occur October 29-31. All pumpkins will be displayed in the Lodewick Children’s Library between October 15–November 4, and must be picked up no later than Tuesday, November 5th.
Click here to download the entry form and rules.
Pumpkin Drop-off: October 15-28
On Display: October 15 – November 4
Vote for Your Favorites: October 29-31
November 6th @ 2:00pm: The Ridgefield Folk Concert Series continues with local favorites, String Busters. String Busters is an acoustic band that plays a wide range of musical styles, from blues and bluegrass to country, folk and more. Each seasoned musician in the band contributes to fresh interpretations of well-loved songs. The band also performs its own original songs.
Will Demers- vocals, guitar, mandolin
Mat Kastner- vocals, guitar, slide guitar, mandolin
Dan Bonis- vocals, banjo, mandolin, guitar, dobro, suitcase percussion
Ed Spallina- vocals, upright bass
Doors open at 1:30pm, performance starts at 2:00pm. Learn more and register.
Ridgefield Folk is made possible through the generous support of the Friends of the Ridgefield Library.
Sunday, October 30th @ 2:00pm: The Library’s Ridgefield Folk Concert Series continues with a special performance by Rani Arbo and daisy mayhem. Harmony, rhythm, indelible songs – these are the hallmarks of this Americana quartet, a band that’s been together for 20 years and counting! From the Newport Folk Festival to Solid Sound and beyond, this band offers up wit, camaraderie, and pure musicality to renew the human spirit. The Ridgefield Folk Concert Series is made possible through the generous support of the Friends of the Ridgefield Library. (Photo: Julian Parker-Burns)
For more information and to register, please visit our Events Calendar.
The Library welcomes Erik Keller, Lauren Acampora, Aimee Pokwatka and Cody Keenan, who will discuss their recent books and sign copies available for purchase from our partner, Books on the Common. Learn more and register for our September and October author talks.
When the weather is fine, you can enjoy our comfortable outdoor spaces: the beautiful new Dean and Theresa Miller Terrace, located off the Bossidy Commons; the Richardson Terrace outside the lower level program rooms; and the Library Lawn on Main Street. There is seating and wifi service available in all of these areas.
Did you miss the CT Legislature Candidates’ Forum held on September 27th? The recording of the event is now available to view on the Library’s YouTube channel.
The Forum was sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Ridgefield and the Ridgefield Library.
All of the candidates running for the Connecticut State Legislature representing Ridgefield participated in this year’s Candidates’ Forum, answering questions and sharing their views on important topics with voters:
42nd House District: Keith Denning (D) and Kim Healy (R)
111th House District: Aimee Berger-Girvalo (D) and Robert Hebert (R)
24th State Senate District: Julie Kushner (D) and Michelle Coelho (R)
26th State Senate District: Ceci Maher (D) Toni Boucher (R)