Phoenixville Public Library offers free programs in April

PHOENIXVILLE — The Phoenixville Public Library is offering a variety of upcoming free programs for patrons.

Advice for jobseekers

Phoenixville Public Library invites jobseekers to learn more about Pennsylvania CareerLink Chester County on Monday, April 17, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Attendees can find out about Pennsylvania CareerLink’s resources such as staff-assisted job search; personalized career counseling and career exploration; access to individual grant-funded training accounts; and various workshop opportunities. No appointment is needed. PA CareerLink is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Program. Auxiliary aids are available to individuals with disabilities upon request. For more information, email Adult Services Director Mark Pinto at mpinto@ccls.org. Phoenixville Public Library is located at 183 Second Avenue, Phoenixville.

‘Shakespeare at the Opera’

Phoenixville Public Library will host a free presentation, “Shakespeare at the Opera” on Monday, April 17, at 6:30 PM. WRTI radio on-air host Mike Bolton will be the speaker. William Shakespeare was a poet and dramatist of epic proportions. His plays have inspired music, ballets, films, and countless operas, which are among the genre’s greatest successes. Join us as WRTI radio personality and noted lecturer Mike Bolton reviews some of Shakespeare’s greatest plays… as operas! Verdi’s haunting Macbeth, Gounod’s tragically romantic Roméo et Juliette, and Brett Dean’s deeply traumatic Hamlet, among others, energized composers to create some of their greatest works. Mike will juxtapose the original versions of the plays with their operatic counterparts using audio and video excerpts from around the world. Mike Bolton is well known throughout the region as an opera lecturer, classical music host on WRTI 90.1 FM, and for his work with Opera Philadelphia where he led the Community Initiatives Department for almost 15 years. Some accomplishments include OPERA America’s first-ever Diversity Award for his community-wide outreach programming for Richard Danielpour and Toni Morrison’s opera Margaret Garner, creating a series of flash mobs throughout Philadelphia which have been seen on YouTube by over 13 million people, and attracting over 65,000 people to his opera lectures which have been given for Opera Philadelphia, Philadelphia Orchestra, Curtis Institute of Music, Cincinnati Opera, the Metropolitan Opera Guild, and many other organizations. This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required at https://ccls.libcal.com/calendar/Phoenixville/shakespeare-at-the-opera or by calling 610-933-3013 x132. For more information, email mpinto@ccls.org.

Free Concert

Phoenixville Public Library will host a free concert by the New Horizons Band of the Community Music School on Tuesday, April 18, at 6:45 PM. The Band will share a concert of classics, pops, and Broadway hits. This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required at https://ccls.libcal.com/calendar/Phoenixville/new-horizons-band or by calling 610-933-3013 x132. For more information on this event, email mpinto@ccls.org. More info on the Community Music School and the New Horizons Band: 610-489-3676 or info@cmsmusic.org.

Community Read

Get reading as Phoenixville Public Library joins with other local libraries and community partners for the annual Community Read sponsored by Longwood Gardens. Join us as we celebrate the tenth year of the Community Read with a look at how food is a connector of people — especially for special moments — and how food connects to the world of plants and gardening. You are invited to read Black Food, an exuberant celebration of foodways and culture by celebrated chef and writer Bryant Terry. Copies of the book are available now at Phoenixville Library and throughout the Chester County Library System. Then join us for a food tasting and discussion of the book on Thursday, April 20 at 6:30 PM at Phoenixville Library. Each attendee to the discussion must bring a dish from a recipe in the book or that is inspired by the book. No alcoholic beverages. If the dish is served hot, you must provide your own means of keeping the food warm. A microwave and electric outlets are available. You may bring your own non-alcoholic beverage. Bottled water, napkins, utensils and paper plates will be provided. Each attendee will be eligible for a free drawing for a family pass to Longwood Gardens, to be raffled off at the end of the discussion. This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required at https://ccls.libcal.com/calendar/Phoenixville/black-food-tasting-discussion or by calling 610-933-3013 x132. When registering, indicate the dish you will be bringing. For more information, email mpinto@ccls.org.

Wild Plant Walk

The next event in Phoenixville Public Library’s community organization-sponsored “Community Gardening around the Village” series will be a “Wild Plant Walk at Reservoir Park” on Saturday, April 22 from 3:00 to 4:00 PM. Come take a walk in Phoenixville’s Reservoir Park and meet a few of the edible and useful wild plants that appear in the springtime. Attendees will learn about some traditional uses of our common weeds, like dandelions and chickweed. This walk will be led by Martha Napolitan Cownap, the lead herb gardener at Camphill Village Kimberton Hills who has been eating weeds for over 50 years. Meet at the parking lot near the community garden in Reservoir Park, 601 Franklin Ave., Phoenixville. This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required at https://ccls.libcal.com/calendar/Phoenixville/wild-plant-walk or by calling 610-933-3013 x132. For more information, email mpinto@ccls.org. This event is also part of the festivities for Earth Day Phoenixville 2023 at Reservoir Park. Learn more at https://phoenixvillegreenteam.org/earth-day-phoenixville-2023.

Open Mic Night for Writers

Phoenixville Public Library invites you to spend an enjoyable evening with local writers as they read from their work in the Library’s next Open Mic Night for Writers, Monday, April 24, at 6:00 PM. Space is still available for writers, who will have five minutes to read from their work. Content must be suitable for an audience that may include children. Light refreshments will be served. Registration for writers/readers – open until April 21 — is available at https://ccls.libcal.com/calendar/Phoenixville/open-mic-readers. Registration for listeners only is available at https://ccls.libcal.com/calendar/Phoenixville/open-mic-listeners or by calling 610-933-3013 x132. The event will also be livestreamed on Zoom for those unable to attend in person. Email mpinto@ccls.org for more information.