A giant salamander came to Kim Ridley's and Rebekah Raye's reading of their new book, The Secret Pool.

@Blue Hill Library

     Unless otherwise noted these events are free and open to everyone. Many of these free events are made possible by generous funding from the  Friends of the Blue Hill Library. If you like what you see, thank a Friend. Or better yet, become one! There are many ways you can help support the Library.

• The public is invited to participate in the Library Play Reading Group TOMORROW NIGHT! Wednesday, October 16 from 6:30 to 9:00 PM at the Library. The play selected for this month is Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, a comedy by Christopher Durang.  

•  Castine children's author Ellen Potter, will read from her "Olivia Kidney" and "Otis Dooda" series books at the Library THIS SATURDAY! October 19 at 10:30 AM.   She will do a "mini- workshop" for kids interested in writing their own stories.  Books will be available for sale and signing. 

• THIS SATURDAY OCTOBER 19 from 1:00 to 4:00 PM, there will be another installment of "Quilting with Rich's Mom:" one of a series of hands-on quilting workshops . Louise Boulet,  Library Director Rich Boulet's mom, will offer instruction and advice on projects. Register using the Library's interactive calendar or by calling 374-5515.  There are still some spots available! 

     The Library will hold a "Celebrity Spelling Bee" with musical accompaniment on piano provided by Paul Sullivan. The event features distinguished Blue Hill Peninsula muckety-mucks showing off their spelling skills at the Bay School's Emlen Hall on Friday October 25. Refreshments will be served at 6:30 PM and the bee will start at 7:00. This will not be any ordinary spelling bee-the main objectives here are to have fun and raise money for the Library.  


     One thing that makes this spelling bee different from those you remember in school is that people can pay to keep a contestant in the contest when she or he blows it. Another is that the trophies are being hand crafted by local style whiz Julie Jo Fehrle. A third thing is that the $10 charge for adults includes one glass of wine! Students get in for $5, and kids under 12 are free.

All spelling bees have difficult words but ours is the only one that has accompaniment by a grammy winning pianist like Paul Sullivan!

      Contestants will include Ian Chittenden, Amy Grant, Matt Jurick, Alma Mote, David Rackliffe, Max Treitler, Faith DeAmbrose, Samantha Haskell, Adam Mathewson, Jay Peterson and Caroline Richards.  The bee master will be former Blue Hill Consolidated principal Fred Cole and the judge, none other than local spelling bee superstar Brandon Aponte.

     Contestants have been advised that having word roots tattooed on their forearms is strictly prohibited, however they are free to boost their performance with as much alphabet soup as they want. This is a super-fun fundraiser for the Library-- don't miss it! For more information, contact the Library at 374-5515.

     As part of the Library's ongoing "Art Adventures" series, excerpts of Gilbert & Sullivan's traveling version of Princess Ida and other selections will be performed at the library by "Gilbert & Sullivan a la Carte" on Wednesday, October 23 at 7:00 PM. 

    Gilbert and Sullivan Ala Carte is the concert group of Gilbert and Sullivan of Maine; the only performance group in Maine dedicated solely to the works of Victorian "superstars" Sir W.S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan. While the Society mounts a full production of an operetta, Gilbert and Sullivan a la Carte performs programs at schools, libraries, and senior housing centers to bring G&S magic to a wider public. The programs offer an opportunity to interact with the audience and provide background on the Victorian musical theatre and the stories behind the music 

     The event is free and everyone is welcome.  For more information, call the Library at 374-5515.

    Dmitri Shostakovich's opera The Nose comes to the Grand in Ellsworth on Saturday, October 26, by live simulcast from the Metropolitan Opera in New York. To help music lovers prepare for this event, the Bagaduce Music Lending Library and Friends of the Blue Hill Public Library will join together to introduce and study this theatrical journey at 1:00 PM on Friday, October 25, in the Blue Hill Library's Howard Room.

Gennady Bezzubenkov as the Doctor and Paulo Szot as Kovalyov in Shostakovich's The Nose. Photo: Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera. Taken at the Metropolitan Opera on September 14, 2013.

    William Kentridge's inventive production of Shostakovich's opera is based on the comic short story by Nicholai Gogol. Paulo Szot again stars as the bureaucrat whose misadventures in search of his missing nose border on the nonsensical. Valery Gergiev conducts.

    Local opera enthusiasts Linda Lesko and David Porter will summarize the plot, introduce the music and offer some ideas of special ways to enjoy the Saturday simulcast. All are welcome, no previous opera knowledge is needed, and admission is free. For more information, call the library at 374-5515.

     Maine author Kelly Cunnane will read from her new book Deep In the Sahara at the Library on Saturday October 26 at 10:30 AM. This event is the fourth and last in a series of children's author events at the Library. Kelly will bring hooded veils and other artifacts for kids to experience.  West African snacks will be served.

     Deep In the Sahara is about  Lalla, who lives in the Muslim country of Mauritania.  More than anything, she wants to wear a malafa, the colorful cloth Mauritanian women, like her mama and big sister wear to cover their heads and clothes in public.

     Kelly Cunnane received the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award for her picture book For You Are a Kenyan Child, which the New York Times described as "entrancing . . . [an] inviting introduction to a different culture." Her book Chirchir Is Singing was an American Library Association-American Library Services to Children Notable Book. Kelly has lived and taught in Kenya and Mauritania and currently lives in Beals, Maine.

Pictures of Kelly in the Sahara.

    According to Kelly, "Picture books have become a wonderful way for me to share my lifelong love of Africa. I have tremendous faith in the power of the arts to create bridges between cultures and within ourselves, thus I use drama, drawing, and writing to bring alive the world of the Kalenjin tribe and the Sahara as I've experienced them. "

       Books will be available for sale and signing at the event. All ages are welcome. For further information, please call Pat at 374-5515.

Don't hesitate to call us for more information at 207-374-5515.