July Adult Programs

The Square One Theatre Company, in conjunction with the Stratford Library, returns with its annual program of live, staged readings of new plays! Free and Open to the public. Adult audiences, please. Doors open at 6:30 pm for general seating only, first-come, first-served.

• Summer, 1976
  Wednesday, July 3 | Lovell Room
  Tonights play reading is David Auburn’s bittersweet comedy that finds two mothers recalling the summer they met. Lillian Garcia & Lucy Babbitt star.
• Aaron
  Thursday, July 11 | Lovell Room
  Stratford playwright Ryan Marcone’s contemporary play about Artificial Intelligence and modern art.
• The Sweet Delilah Swim Club
  Wednesday, July 17 | Lovell Room
  A sweet comedy concerning five Southern women who meet annually and let their hair down.
• I Don’t Care & Other Plays
  Thursday, July 25 | Lovell Room
  West Hartford playwright Stu Brown’s collection of five diverse 10-minute plays.
• Typhoid Mary
  Wednesday, July 31 | Lovell Room
  Mark St. Germain’s story of Mary Mallon, known better as Typhoid Mary, in her battle to escape imprisonment by the New York Health Department.

SHAKESPEARE PERFORMANCE: THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR
Friday, July 12 | 6pm | Library Courtyard
Saturday & Sunday, July 13 & 14 | 2pm | Library Courtyard
The Hudson Shakespeare Company returns to the Stratford Library July 12-14 with the comedic romp, William Shakespeare’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor” set to bopping 50s hits and given a sitcom-style makeover ala “I Love Lucy”. The performance, held outside in the Library’s Courtyard, is free and open to the public.
Patrons are invited to bring a lawn chair or blanket to spread. In the event of inclement weather, the show will be presented in the library’s air-conditioned Lovell Room. Admission is free and open to the public. No reservations required.

SPICE UP YOUR SUMMER: Old Bay
Monday, June 17 | Reference Department
Stop by the Reference Desk and pick up a “Spice Up Your Summer: Old Bay Grab & Go kit”. Each kit contains a sample of the spice plus information and recipes to try.
Beginning Monday, July 22, you can stop at the Reference Desk to pick up a kit. There is no registration. Kits are first come, first served. Supplies are limited. One kit per household.

CONCERT: New England Guitar Society Midsummer Concert!
Saturday, July 20 | 2pm | Lovell Room
The popular classical guitar company returns to the Library for their annual midsummer concert.
Free and open to the public.

TALK: Specters Galore from Forest to Shore
Sunday, July 21 | 2pm | Lovell Room
The Stratford Library will celebrate ParaConn weekend with Stratford Town Historian Dave Wright and his talk, “Specters Galore from Forest to Shore”. This program is presented in conjunction with the Baldwin Center’s ParaConn weekend of paranormal events. Wright invites residents to join the discussion about some of the venues in Stratford that may well raise the hair on the back of your neck, put a nervous smile on your lips and leave you watching over your shoulder attempting to determine if what you just saw out of the corner of your eye was a shadow, or something much more ominous!

TALK: Reducing Food Waste
Tuesday, July 23 | 11am | Lovell Room
Join ShopRite Dietitian Siddhi Sheth, MS, RDN, CDN, for a presentation to learn ways you can use kitchen scraps and reduce food waste in the home! Siddhi will discuss tips for making the most out of a food item, and class will end with a fun waste reducing activity.
Registration requested.

CAREER & TECH HELP:

COMPUTER CLASSES AT YOUR OWN PACE
Tuesday, July 16 or Thursday, July 25 | 2pm | Board Room
Take one of our training sessions to learn how to use Northstar Online Learning to build your basic computer skills. Once you create an account you can pick what you learn at your own pace.
Register HERE for July 16
Register HERE for July 25

Monday Morning Buzz
Monday, July 1 | 11am | Lovell Room
Stop in to hear what’s new, what’s hot, and what books are creating a buzz! Staff will lead an informal discussion of books, movies and more. Share what you’re reading and watching and hear from others! Meets the first Monday of the month.

Little Gems Book Discussion: Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman
Wednesday, July 10 | 11am | Lovell Room
Join us for discussion of Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman. This small book is a little gem of little gems! It’s a small book of thoughtful and subtly amusing essays about books, language, words!
Copies of the book are available at the Checkout Desk. Also, downloadable audio is available through the Hoopla app.

CREATE:

MONDAY MATINEES

• The Color Purple
  Monday, July 15 | 12pm | Lovell Room
  A story of love and resilience based on the novel and the Broadway musical, THE COLOR PURPLE is a decades-spanning tale of one woman’s journey to independence. Celie faces many hardships in her life, but ultimately finds extraordinary strength and hope in the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.
  Rated PG-13. 141 minutes.
• Civil War
  Monday, July 29 | 12pm | Lovell Room
  From filmmaker Alex Garland comes a journey across a dystopian future America, following a team of military-embedded journalists as they race against time to reach DC before rebel factions descend upon the White House.
  Rated R. 109 minutes.