Thursday, August 2 at 7 p.m.

World-renowned vibes and marimba player Arthur Lipner brings his Brazilian Vibes group to the Library for an evening of jazz, bossa nova and samba. Be prepared to move your feet!

Arthur Lipner has emerged as one of the leading vibes and marimba voices of today. As such he is one of the few musicians carrying the message of jazz mallets into the 21st century. Arthur’s live performances and recorded projects convey an exuberant drive of creativity and depth. His travels around the globe as a jazz musician and percussionist have delighted audiences and critics alike. Of a live performance in December 2006, the Chronicle Herald (Nova Scotia) wrote, “Lipner belongs to that rare category of master player that includes Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson...”

Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs available on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen's).

Wednesday, July 18 at 1:30 p.m. - 13 GOING ON 30 (2004) Starring Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Judy Greer, Andy Serkis, and Kathy Baker; Rated PG-13; 97 minutes; Closed captioned for the hearing impaired.

Jenna Rink is a typical preteen who wants to grow up fast more than anything else in the world. On her 13th birthday she gets way more than she bargained for when she wishes for a new life. She gets one … but it is inside the body of a 30-year-old magazine editor! She has to track down her best friend - convince him that she isn’t crazy – and then try and figure out how to get her old life back.

"Alias superspy Jennifer Garner makes the most of her first starring role and discovers that love -- and navigating adult life -- really is a battlefield." -- Betsy Bozdech, Hollywood.com

For more information, please view the film's trailer.

Author, Abby Stokes

Guest Lecture with Abby Stokes

Thursday, July 19 at 10 a.m.

Abby Stokes, author of Is This Thing On? A Computer Handbook for Late Bloomers, Technophobes, and the Kicking & Screaming will demystify those pesky contraptions we call computers and show participants how to navigate the online world of search engines, web navigation, online banking, shopping, travel planning, and even dating.

Praise for Abby Stokes:

“Stokes gives the feeling that a friend is explaining it all to you.” — The New York Daily News

About the Author:

Abby Stokes has demystified computers for more than 135,000 people, mostly seniors, during the past 17 years. Abby has taught courses in basic computing at Cooper Union and New York University’s School of Lifelong Learning, as well as computer skills to private and corporate clients. She has lectured on the topic across the country. A firm believer that “if my mother can learn the computer anyone can,” Abby is confident that everyone can master the computer and navigate the Internet. She splits her time between New York City and Niantic, Connecticut.

Books will be available for purchase at the event.

credit Nina Subin

Thursday, July 19 at 7 p.m.

Alex Stone, author of Fooling Houdini: Magicians, Mentalists, Math Geeks, and the Hidden Powers of the Mind will be our featured speaker.

A blend of history, psychology, science, and memoir, Fooling Houdini is a funny, insightful account told from the author’s unique perspective as a journalist and a former physics graduate student. A dedicated amateur magician since childhood, Stone vows to rebound from a disastrous showing at the 2006 Magic Olympics and soon embarks on an ambitious journey of self-improvement that takes him both across the globe and inside the brain, leading him to question life’s biggest mysteries and investigate the fundamental aspects of human nature in the process.

About the Author

Alex Stone has written for Harper’s, Discover, Science, and The Wall Street Journal. He graduated from Harvard University and has a master’s degree in physics from Columbia University. He grew up in Wisconsin, Texas, and Spain. He currently lives in New York City.

Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen’s).

We will screen SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK in our Community Room May 3.

Friday, May 3 at 6:30 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. – Silver Linings Playbook (2012) Starring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Robert DeNiro; Rated R; 122 minutes. Closed captioned for the hearing impaired.

Life doesn't always go according to plan. Pat Solatano has lost everything - his house, his job, and his wife. He now finds himself living back with his mother and father after spending eight months in a state institution on a plea bargain. Pat is determined to rebuild his life, remain positive and reunite with his wife. When Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own, things get complicated. Tiffany offers to help Pat reconnect with his wife, but only if he'll do something very important for her in return. As their deal plays out, an unexpected bond begins to form between them, and silver linings appear in both of their lives.

"A crazy beaut of a comedy that brims with generosity and manages to circumvent predictability at every turn." -- Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

"It shouldn't work - there's just too much going on. But it does. Spectacularly. Go see it." -- Tom Long, Detroit News

For more information, please watch the film's trailer. Check out the rest of our Friday Night Features in May.

Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs available on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen's).

We're showing The Artist on Friday, June 29.

Friday, June 1 at 6:30 and 8:45 p.m. - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) Starring Starring Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, and Tom Hardy; Rated R; 127 minutes; Closed captioned for the hearing impaired.

Based on the classic novel of the same name, the international thriller is set at the height of the Cold War years of the mid-20th Century. George Smiley, a disgraced British spy, is rehired in secret by his government – which fears that the British Secret Intelligence Service, a.k.a. MI-6, has been compromised by a double agent working for the Soviets.

For more information, please watch the film's trailer.

Friday, June 8 at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. - Tower Heist (2011) Starring Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, and Alan Alda; Rated PG-13; 104 minutes. Closed captioned for the hearing impaired.

This comedy caper is about working stiffs who seek revenge on the Wall Street swindler who stiffed them. After the workers at a luxury Central Park condominium discover the penthouse billionaire has stolen their retirement, they plot the ultimate revenge: a heist to reclaim what he took from them.

For more information, please watch the film's trailer.

Friday, June 15 at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. - One for the Money (2011) Starring Katherine Heigl, Daniel Sunjata, and John Lequizamo; Rated PG-13; 91 minutes; Closed captioned for the hearing impaired.

Stephanie Plum can’t catch a break. At 30, she finds herself newly-divorced, recently laid-off, and living with her hamster in Trenton, NJ. Broke and desperate, she lands a job working for her slimy cousin his bail bond business. In need of fast cash, she latches on to his biggest case - a local cop wanted for murder - who just happens to be the guy that broke her heart in high school. Stephanie gets resourceful and tough, as she is swept up in a suspenseful world of murder and deceit, with a bit of romance.

For more information, please watch the film's trailer.

Friday, June 22 at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. - Carnage (2011) Starring Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz, John C. Reilly, and Elvis Polanski; Rated R; 80 minutes; Closed captioned for the hearing impaired.

After two boys duke it out on a playground, the parents of the “victim” invite the parents of the “bully” over to work out their issues. A polite discussion of childrearing soon escalates into verbal warfare, with all four parents revealing their true colors. None of them will escape the carnage.

For more information, please watch the film's trailer.

Friday, June 29 at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. - The Artist (2011) Starring Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell, and Penelope Ann Miller; Rated PG-13; 100 minutes; Closed captioned for the hearing impaired.

Hollywood 1927. George Valentin is a silent movie superstar. The advent of the talkies will sound the death knell for his career and see him fall into oblivion. For young extra Peppy Miller, it seems the sky’s the limit - major movie stardom awaits. The Artist tells the story of their interlinked destinies.

For more information, please watch the film's trailer.

All films are free and open to the public.

Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen's).

Image courtesy Flickr user SGrubb

Registration for this program is now closed.

Saturday, May 4 at 11 a.m.

Gather your team and meet us in our Community Room to receive entry forms and instructions for a very mysterious town-wide scavenger hunt. You will receive a set of clues that will lead you on an adventure to obtain a dozen eggs from all over Darien, just like the characters in City of Thieves. The winning team will receive a very special Grand Prize.

Scavenger Hunt Guidelines:

1. Registration for this series is a lottery and is open to all Darien residents, those who work in Darien full-time, and Friends who have donated $300 or more. Team captains are invited to register online from Monday, April 22 to Friday, April 26 with their Library card. Ten teams will then be chosen at random. Notification via email is Monday, April 29. Only team captains are required to register and then they are welcome to choose their own team members.

2. Length of the program will depend on the team, but it is expected to take approximately two hours from start to finish and should be completed on the same day.

3. Scavenger hunt participants will need access to a vehicle. The hunt will lead teams all over the town of Darien.

4. While there is no limit to the number of participants per team, it is best if they can all fit in one car.

5. This is a family-friendly, all-ages event.

6. The team to retrieve all twelve eggs while logging the least mileage on their vehicle will be declared the winner.

This program is part of our One Book, One Community series. The book selected for the town-wide read is City of Thieves by David Benioff, who will be speaking at the Library Thursday, April 25 at 7 p.m. The book selected for young readers is Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin.

Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs available on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen's).

Linda Fairstein (credit Peter Simon)

Monday, July 23 at 7 p.m.

Linda Fairstein, author of Night Watch will be our featured speaker.

New York City’s restaurant scene is known all around the world for being both glamorous and cut-throat. In her new Alexandra Cooper novel, New York Times bestselling author Linda Fairstein takes readers on a tour of this competitive and renowned industry where the powerful and wealthy often break bread with some of society’s most unsavory characters.

Night Watch opens with Manhattan prosecutor Alexandra Cooper visiting her boyfriend Luc in Mougins, France, just as he is gearing up to re-open the famed French restaurant Lutece in New York. The original restaurant in Manhattan, which was created and owned by Luc’s father, closed its doors in 2004 after operating for more than 40 years.

Her vacation is interrupted when a young woman from the village is found dead with a Lutece calling card on her body. Even with Luc’s reassurances that he didn’t have anything to do with her death; something doesn’t sit right with Alex. Before she can fully bring herself to process the predicament Luc might be in, she is summoned back to New York to lead the charge in a separate high-profile case.

Advance Praise for Night Watch:

“Fairstein is in vintage form here, weaving the rape and murder stories together with great detail and clarity. As always, Manhattan becomes a character in itself, with the spotlight shining here on the inner workings of the restaurant industry in all its complexity, splendor, and corruption. A real winner from a legal-thriller master.” --Booklist, starred review

About the Author:

Linda Fairstein was the chief of the Sex Crimes Unit of the district attorney’s office in Manhattan for more than two decades and is America’s foremost legal expert on crimes of sexual assault and domestic violence. Her Alexandra Cooper novels are international bestsellers and have been translated into more than a dozen languages. She lives in Manhattan and on Martha’s Vineyard.

Books will be available for purchase at this event.

Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen’s).

Monday Meditation

Monday, May 6 at 7:45 p.m.

Bring a little quiet meditative space into your daily life with this contemplative start to the week and month. The group will be customized based on participants' experience with meditation so all levels are welcome! Participants are encouraged to bring a throw pillow for their own comfort but no special dress is required.

The program will be led by Julie Punishill, a graduate of the two-year intensive training program at the Institute for Conscious Counseling and Coaching in Essex, MA. This school is owned and operated by Julie's mentor/teacher/therapist April Prita Manganiello. Julie was first introduced to meditation as a client of Prita's. Hence she has attended a meditation intensive retreat, participated in a mediation course and facilitated meditations at workshops all offered by Prita. Julie has also explored further mediation teachings on her own and has cultivated her own daily mediation practice.

Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs available on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen's).

image courtesy Flickr user Pete Ashton

Thursday, July 26th at 7:00 p.m. 

Join us in the Community Room to learn about what an astronmer does.