Sneak Peak at our September Virtual Programs!

We are pleased to announce we will be offering more virtual programs in September, via Zoom and the new Abbot Public Library YouTube Channel!

In the past few months, we have offered “Story Time A-Go-Go” with Debbie Leibowitz. Each week, Debbie writes a new story and posts a video of her reading it on YouTube to entertain and educate children. Check out this week’s video below:

We also offered “Music with Dara” on Fridays, and are happy to say Dara VanRemoortel, an early childhood music specialist, will be returning in September to offer her virtual program of songs and visual props. Check out these videos featuring original music by Dara!

These two programs will be continuing in September, but the videos will now be compiled on the Abbot Public Library’s brand new YouTube Channel, along with a couple new-to-the-screen children’s presenters and a familiar monthly adult program!

Joining Debbie and Dara for the first time online are some faces you will recognize from the children’s programs we offered inside the library. Yoga Story Time with Lindsey Kravitz will be a half-hour video geared towards babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. And, returning to the library’s lineup is Songs with Spencer! Spencer and his orange monster friend, Bowie, will share stories and tunes to get kids singing and dancing!

For adult programs, the library’s monthly Poetry Salon will be continuing virtually! Marblehead poet Claire Keyes will be discussing the poetry of Terrance Hayes via Zoom! Stay tuned for details on accessing this meeting on the Abbot Public LIbrary website. 

In the meantime, you can prepare for the Salon by reserving the featured book, American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin, in print for Curbside Pickup, or listen to the audiobook on hoopla with no wait!

Visit the Abbot Public Library’s website News & Events page for more information on these programs! 

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A Little Summertime Hocus Pocus

If you weren’t ready for Christmas in July, what about Halloween in August? You may remember that last summer, Marblehead was overrun with ghosts, pumpkins, and cobwebs during the filming of the upcoming Netflix original, Hubie Halloween. To get back into that spooky spirit, here are some Halloween Items you can check out online or reserve for Curbside Pickup!

Another movie filmed in Marblehead and the surrounding areas, Hocus Pocus features a trio of evil witches who are brought back from the dead and wreak havoc on Salem, Massachusetts. You can enjoy the book version, Hocus Pocus and The All-New Sequel, as an ebook or audiobook on Overdrive or an ebook on hoopla. The book contains the original tale as well as a new adventure that takes place one generation later.

This year, Salem’s Haunted Happenings will be quite different. You can read about Salem and its Halloween happenings in J. W. Ocker’s A Season with the Witch: The Magic and Mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts, which you can reserve  in print format for Curbside Pickup or read on Overdrive as an ebook. The book includes the occult enthusiast’s experiences visiting the attractions and historical sites, as well as black-and-white photos which give a glimpse into Witch City.

If you want to stay safe and healthy at home this October 31st, you can make your own Halloween celebration! Listen to Halloween music on hoopla to get in the groove and have a good motivational backdrop for crafting and making decorations and costumes. The Spirit Of Halloween – 62 Classic Halloween Songs has theme songs from Harry Potter, The Addams Family, Corpse Bride, GhostBusters, and more! Some of these as well and others can be found in Halloween Treats – 50 Spooky Songs And Tunes For The Spirit Of Halloween!. For music geared towards kids, try this trio of Kidz Bop Halloween or Drew’s Famous – The Very Best Halloween Songs For Kids, or even Mickey’s Monster Mash.

Creative Costumes & Halloween Decor: 50 Projects to Sew & Craft will give you ideas not only of costumes you can easily make, with designs for tabards, gowns, and full suits; but it will also give you ideas for how to decorate your house with common household items and popular craft materials such as papier mache, felt, craft foam, floral materials, and polymer clay. You can make it even more simple and decorate with origami from Origami for Halloween.

Some other ways to decorate are carving pumpkins, creating a haunted house, and making festive fall quilts. If you need more ideas, reserve some of these Halloween decorating items for Curbside Pickup, which include Martha’s Halloween Ideas (DVD), Halloween: The Best of Martha Stewart Living, Spooky & Bright : 101 Halloween Ideas, and Better Homes and Gardens Halloween : 101 Frightfully Fun Ideas.

If you don’t want to think about decorating for Halloween yet, get comfortable with a cozy like Halloween Murder: a Lucy Stone Mystery by Leslie Meier, which you can check out in ebook format on Overdrive/the Libby app or hoopla. The book includes two Halloween mysteries set in Tinker’s Cove, Maine. More books in the series can be found in print and ebook format, including a few more Halloween stories such as Trick or Treat Murder (in print and ebook format) and Wicked Witch Murder (also in print and ebook format – these two mysteries are the ones that make up Halloween Murder), as well as Candy Corn Murder (print and ebook), and Haunted House Murder (print and ebook).

Browse through all the Halloween print books, ebooks, audiobooks, music, movies, and more on the library catalog for Curbside Pickup, or online through Overdrive, hoopla, and IndieFlix!

Enjoy the 2020 Marblehead High School Senior Art Show – A Virtual Exhibit!

The Marblehead High School Senior Art Show, in May, has been a highlight of the Abbot Library’s exhibits program, each year. Working with art faculty member Rachel Branham, and two or three MHS seniors, for whom presenting the exhibit serves as their senior project, the Library has enthusiastically welcomed the opportunity to bring the talent and creativity of the High School’s “art majors” to the Marblehead community. With the library and schools closed, this partnership is continuing in a new and exciting way.

This year, show your support for the Class of 2020 from your living room! For the first time, Marblehead High School’s annual Senior Art Show is being presented virtually. Available for viewing as of Monday, May 25^th, the exhibit can be found on the Abbot Public Library’s website. 

Citrus State of Mind by Hadley Kaeyer

The show includes pieces in a variety of media, made both during the year in art class and, more recently, while schools have been closed due to COVID-19. Students were invited to produce artwork expressing the impact of the COVID-19 closure on their Senior year experience. Many pieces have accompanying text further describing this experience. This year’s show was organized as the senior project of Colette Bender and Lily Yates.

Covid 19 by Bella Damon

We encourage everyone to spend time enjoying this virtual exhibit — a wonderful opportunity for this year’s graduating seniors to showcase their creations while maintaining social distancing. The seniors have worked hard this year to produce some remarkable works of art, so visit the show and give these artists the recognition and appreciation they deserve!

A Modern Great Wave by Lucy Tedford

The History of Marblehead’s Conservation Efforts: An “Appetizer” for the Postponed April 2020 Exhibit!

One of the Abbot Public Library’s most prized spaces is our Virginia A. Carten Gallery, named for the local artist whose bequest made the creation of this community treasure possible. Each year, a series of varied month-long exhibits is presented in the Gallery, featuring the work of area artists and other displays of interest.

A special exhibit, prepared by the Marblehead Conservancy, on the history of Marblehead’s conservation efforts was planned for April 2020. The exhibit uses aerial photographs, maps, and a video to tell the story of natural open space conservation during the development of Marblehead.

Although the Library’s closure, due to COVID-19, has required the postponement of this show, we would like to give you a small taste of its content. 

Watch this two-minute animation, produced for the April exhibit, showing how Marblehead grew and filled in, starting in 1636 and ending in 2018. As the town began to fill, far-sighted individuals started a conservation movement to set aside natural open space for future generations. The video highlights each of the Town’s natural open spaces and shows the date that conservation efforts for a particular area began.

1954 Aerial photos of Marblehead showing conservation areas on a current map of Marblehead. Courtesy of the Marblehead Conservancy.

Aerial photos overlaid on a map highlight several conservation areas. See if you can spot Hawthorn Pond (pictured in the post header), Robinson and Jermyn Farms, Turner Woods, and a corner of Seaside Park.

When the exhibit takes place, images like this will be displayed as 4 ft. wide by 3 ft. high prints. Viewers also will see detailed historical information on all the publicly accessible natural open space conservation areas of the town, showing how the areas were obtained, when, and from whom. It’s a fascinating journey through time and space — a different perspective on Marblehead’s history!