Upcoming Events at Forbes Library

DoozyDo Parade

Saturday, September 23, 2023

MARCH WITH US! We will meet at the Northampton Center for the Arts at 33 Hawley St at 10 AM. Bring your puppets, noisemakers, and big energy. The march will begin at 11 AM. If you don't want to march, but would like to cheer us on, make yourself comfortable anywhere along the parade route.

Friends of Forbes Artisans Fair!

Sunday, October 1, 2023, 10 AM-3 PM

44 Artisans

Holyoke Hummus Food Truck
Crave Food Truck
Crooked Stick Pops

Free Parking in the Smith College parking garage and the Green St lot

Calvin Coolidge Historic Site Museum Passes

In honor of the 100th anniversary of the Presidency of Calvin Coolidge, the President Coolidge State Historic Site in Plymouth Notch, Vermont has provided us with 2 for 1 admission coupons to visit his childhood home and village.  The site, about 2 hrs from Northampton, is open through October 22, 2023:

Tuesday - Sunday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm (closed Mondays)

Admission is $12 adults, $6 ages 6-14, and under 6 is free.

Library Programs

Visit our online calendar to see a complete list of library events. Filter using the category "Virtual" to find events that can be attended remotely.

Mid Autumn Festival: A Culture Tour Presented by the Chinese Association of Western MA
Saturday, September 23, 2023, 2:30 pm

Join the Chinese Association of Western MA for a free educational workshop for families including:

- The story of how the Moon Festival was originated and some quick info about the Lunar calendar.

- How to make a Moon cake.

- How to write a few Moon-related Chinese characters in calligraphy.

- A couple arts and crafts projects related to the festival.

On Writing Three International Bestsellers: An Author Talk with Amor Towles
Wednesday, September 27, 2023, 8 pm

Register to attend this virtual author talk.

Please tune in as we chat online with New York Times bestselling author Amor Towles about his incredible body of work.

Rules of Civility, published in 2011, was a New York Times bestseller and was named by the Wall Street Journal as one of the year's best books. The book has been translated into over 15 languages and was optioned by Lionsgate to be made into a feature film. Towles’s second novel, A Gentleman in Moscow, published in 2016, was on the New York Times bestseller list for two years and was named one of the best books of 2016 by the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the San Francisco Chronicle, and NPR. The book has been translated into over 35 languages.

Let’s talk Portraiture! with Judy Messer
Thursday, September 28, 2023, 6 pm

September gallery artist, portrait photographer Judy Messer will be hosting an open floor platform to talk about any portrait questions you may have, or to learn more about the making of the images in the show: Binding a Valley: Pioneer Valley Book Makers in the ‘90s, a documentary portrait series.

For more information about Judy's work, please see the Hosmer Gallery website.

Terrific Turtles! presented by Mass Audubon
Saturday, September 30, 2023, 11 am

Are turtles attached to their shells? How are turtles impacted by climate change? Find out the answers to these questions and more! We'll explore the wonderful world of turtles by playing games, touching a variety of turtle shells, and making a turtle craft. You will also get to meet Pita the live ornate box turtle and learn about her life, diet, and behavior.

Celebrate the Freedom to Read at Forbes Library

Saturday, September 30, 2023, 4 pm

Grab a book and a lounge chair and head to the library for Let Freedom Read, a statewide read-in to celebrate the freedom to read.  “Libraries across the nation and in Massachusetts have experienced a surge in book challenges,” said James Lonergan, Director of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. “We may not agree on what to read, but hopefully we can all agree that the freedom to choose what we want to read is a vital part of a democratic society. Libraries across the Commonwealth develop collections that meet the diverse needs of the communities they serve. Everyone is welcome to find a good read from their library and join the celebration,” he added.

We will be outside on the lawn weather permitting or in the Coolidge Museum. Light refreshments will be served.

Coming Soon: A free 5-session class, called The Stolen Beam, will be held online this fall, sponsored by Forbes Library in a series developed and facilitated by members of the Reparations Committee of the Jewish Community of Amherst.

The class meets on Zoom for five consecutive Tuesdays: November 7, 14, 21, 28, and December 5 from 7:00 -8:20 PM with the last class going from 7:00 -8:50 PM.

There is no fee to participate. Registration will open on October 2.

In the Hosmer Gallery

Horses, Horses, Horses: the Art of Ruth Sanderson Binding a Valley:

Pioneer Valley Book Makers in the ‘90s, a documentary portrait series by Photographer Judy B. Messer September 2-29, 2023

Drawing Horses with Ruth Sanderson:

Monday, September 25, 4 PM (Registration required)

Let's Talk Portraiture! with Judy Messner:

Thursday, September 28, 6 PM

Click Here to view the Forbes Library Weekly Events - September 22, 2023