Short Documentary Screening and Discussion - Chasing Time
A meditative exploration of time and mortality, POV documentary Chasing Time by Jeff Orlowski-Yang and Sarah Keo follows photographer James Balog as he brings the 15-year Extreme Ice Survey project to a close. Accompanied by the Emmy-winning team behind Chasing Ice, the film unveils astounding visual evidence of climate change and spotlights the power of inter-generational collaboration in inspiring hope and action toward a sustainable future. Join us to watch and discuss this documentary as part of our Vermont Reads The Light Pirate programming. This event is a collaboration with POV, PBS' award-winning nonfiction film series www.pbs.org/pov. No registration required but email alex@carpentercarse.org with questions.
America’s 250th Zoom Presentation - “I’m Not Gonna Die in This Damn Place:” The History of Mexican American Vietnam War POWs
Join Professor Juan David Coronado of Central Connecticut State University as he explores the oral histories of Mexican American POWs from the Vietnam War from his titular book. During the Vietnam War era, Mexican Americans had become more a part of the culture of the USA. However, many Mexican American prisoners of war (POWs) faced discrimination and inequality both in the military and back in the states. Presented by Vermont Humanities. Gather to watch with us at the library or email alex@carpentercarse.org to receive the Zoom link so you can watch at home.
Meet Elia the Therapy Dog
Elia the trained therapy dog will be joining us once a month to meet with patrons of all ages. Engaging with a therapy dog has been shown to have many physical and emotional benefits. Stop by to visit with Elia and bring some calm and relaxation to your day, she’d love to meet you! No registration required, but email Alex with questions.
Hands and Needles
Gather for a morning of creativity and conversation! Bring whatever project you are working on — quilting, knitting, embroidery, etc.
The program will meet in the library’s community room, though may meet outside if weather allows. No registration required.
Reach out to alex@carpentercarse.org with any questions.
Senior Meetup
Do you remember rotary phones? Cigarette smoke in diners? Bike riding without helmets? The Ed Sullivan Show? 8-Track Tapes? Then this meetup is for you. Come gather and talk, schmooze and kvetch, share and laugh with other seniors. Coffee and tea will be provided. No registration required.
America's 250th Zoom Presentation - Equal: The Surprising History of An American Founding Concept
Professor Masur’s talk will focus on the Reconstruction Era, when Americans for the first time tried to create a nation that lived up to the July 4, 1776, declaration that “all men are created equal.” The constitutional changes of the Reconstruction era shape many aspects of our lives today. Yet the period is often ignored or misrepresented. Masur will discuss how and why historians’ perspectives on the period have changed over time and why this process of “revisionism” is essential to historians’ work. Presented by Vermont Humanities. Gather to watch with us at the library or email alex@carpentercarse.org to receive the Zoom link so you can watch at home.
Folk Jam: Live Music With SongFarmers of Hinesburg
Do you play an acoustic instrument or just love to sing along to old time, blues, country, and folk music? Come join the SongFarmers during their monthly gathering and participate in this wonderful live music offering. Listeners also welcome. Free and open to the public in the library’s community room, or outdoors as weather allows.
No registration required. Contact alex@carpentercarse.org with any questions.
Mystery Book Group
This informal group will meet the second Wednesday of each month to chat about a mystery novel—ranging from cozy to gritty.
Contact alex@carpentercarse.org with any questions or to reserve a copy of the book (as available).
America’s 250th Zoom - American Niceness: From Plymouth Rock to Standing Rock
Despite Fanny Trollope's dismissal of Americans as tobacco chewing, patriotic boors, travelers have a long history of commenting on American friendliness. Alexis De Tocqueville observed that their sociability made Americans more akin to the French than the "unfriendly disposition of the English." And Rudyard Kipling remarked, "it is perfectly impossible to go to war with these people, whatever they may do. They are much too nice." Although it often goes unnamed as a pattern of behavior, niceness pervades the assumptions, discourses, and the everyday conduct of and about Americans. But how and when did Americans become associated with being nice? Carrie Tirado Bramen explores how niceness became an indispensable part of a democratic personality that was friendly and accessible, free from the Old World snobbery. Beginning with Samoset greeting the Pilgrims in 1621 by saying “Welcome, Englishman” and concluding with the Forgiveness Ceremony at Standing Rock in 2016, this talk will explore the many roles niceness has played in the social and political landscape of the United States. Presented by Vermont Humanities. Gather to watch with us at the library or email alex@carpentercarse.org to receive the Zoom link so you can watch at home.
The Light Pirate Book Discussion
Join us for snacks and a facilitated discussion of the 2025 Vermont Reads selection, The Light Pirate by Vermont author Lily Brooks-Dalton. The Light Pirate is a climate fiction novel set in a near-future Florida, following a girl named Wanda who is born during a catastrophic hurricane, and named after the storm. The book, divided into four parts (Power, Water, Light, Time), explores themes of climate change, resilience, and human connection as society adapts to a world where extreme weather events are the norm, and nature reclaims the land.
Free copies of the book are available at the library. No registration required but email alex@carpentercarse.org for more information. Presented by Vermont Humanities.
Meet Elia the Therapy Dog
Elia the trained therapy dog will be joining us once a month to meet with patrons of all ages. Engaging with a therapy dog has been shown to have many physical and emotional benefits. Stop by to visit with Elia and bring some calm and relaxation to your day, she’d love to meet you! No registration required, but email Alex with questions.
Disaster and Resilience in the Vermont Landscape
Our Vermont Reads The Light Pirate programming continues with UVM professor Amy Seidl, a Senior Lecturer in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. Amy is the author of Early Spring: An Ecologist and Her Children Wake to a Warming World, and Finding Higher Ground: Adaptation in the Age of Warming. She will discuss how themes in The Light Pirate, of disaster and resilience, are ones we can explore in the Vermont landscape. In particular, Amy will ask: what opportunities for transition – cultural and ecological – exist after extreme events? No registration required but email alex@carpentercarse.org with questions.
Senior Meetup
Do you remember rotary phones? Cigarette smoke in diners? Bike riding without helmets? The Ed Sullivan Show? 8-Track Tapes? Then this meetup is for you. Come gather and talk, schmooze and kvetch, share and laugh with other seniors. Coffee and tea will be provided. No registration required.
Hands and Needles
Gather for a morning of creativity and conversation! Bring whatever project you are working on — quilting, knitting, embroidery, etc.
The program will meet in the library’s community room, though may meet outside if weather allows. No registration required.
Reach out to alex@carpentercarse.org with any questions.
Vermont Reads Zoom Presentation: Extreme Survival
This is the first part of our Vermont Reads programming about this year’s selection, The Light Pirate. We’ve all heard amazing stories of survival that rendered us awestruck. But too often, we don’t realize the wealth of information we can learn from people who make it to the other side of life’s most daunting challenges. In this talk, New York Times bestselling author Michael J. Tougias chronicles harrowing survival stories and then discusses lessons to learn from these experiences. Presented by Vermont Humanities. Gather to watch with us at the library, we’ll provide refreshments as well, or watch at home on Zoom https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87052978465?pwd=JWDWoho3g1L6WoKFFYinE2j9AKQc6u.1
America’s 250th Zoom Presentation - Thomas Jefferson: A Leader
Join us to watch this Zoom presentation by John Ragosta, formerly of the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello. Thomas Jefferson had long been seen as one of America’s most important Founders and the very author of American independence. He wrote the “mission statement” for America when he declared that “all men are created equal.” Cities, counties, schools, universities,… have all been named “Jefferson” to honor his contributions to our nation. In recent years, however, his legacy has been seriously questioned in large part because he participated in the foul institution of American slavery, owning over 600 people during his lifetime, including several of his own children. Those concerns need to be taken seriously. We might well ask: What does a wealthy, white, slave-owning aristocrat have to teach us about the nature of American leadership, especially political leadership? Presented by Vermont Humanities. Gather to watch with us at the library or email alex@carpentercarse.org to receive the Zoom link so you can watch at home.
Mystery Book Group
This informal group will meet the second Wednesday of each month to chat about a mystery novel—ranging from cozy to gritty.
Contact alex@carpentercarse.org with any questions or to reserve a copy of the book (as available).
Senior Meetup
Do you remember rotary phones? Cigarette smoke in diners? Bike riding without helmets? The Ed Sullivan Show? 8-Track Tapes? Then this meetup is for you. Come gather and talk, schmooze and kvetch, share and laugh with other seniors. Coffee and tea will be provided. No registration required.
Hands and Needles
Gather for a morning of creativity and conversation! Bring whatever project you are working on — quilting, knitting, embroidery, etc.
The program will meet in the library’s community room, though may meet outside if weather allows. No registration required.
Reach out to alex@carpentercarse.org with any questions.
Folk Jam: Live Music With SongFarmers of Hinesburg
Do you play an acoustic instrument or just love to sing along to old time, blues, country, and folk music? Come join the SongFarmers during their monthly gathering and participate in this wonderful live music offering. Listeners also welcome. Free and open to the public in the library’s community room, or outdoors as weather allows.
No registration required. Contact alex@carpentercarse.org with any questions.
Senior Meetup
Do you remember rotary phones? Cigarette smoke in diners? Bike riding without helmets? The Ed Sullivan Show? 8-Track Tapes? Then this meetup is for you. Come gather and talk, schmooze and kvetch, share and laugh with other seniors. Coffee and tea will be provided. No registration required.
Hands and Needles
Gather for a morning of creativity and conversation! Bring whatever project you are working on — quilting, knitting, embroidery, etc.
The program will meet in the library’s community room, though may meet outside if weather allows. No registration required.
Reach out to alex@carpentercarse.org with any questions.
Closed for New Year's Day
The library will be closed in celebration of the holiday. Happy New Year!
Closed for New Year's Eve
The library will be closed in celebration of the holiday. Happy New Year!
Senior Meetup
Do you remember rotary phones? Cigarette smoke in diners? Bike riding without helmets? The Ed Sullivan Show? 8-Track Tapes? Then this meetup is for you. Come gather and talk, schmooze and kvetch, share and laugh with other seniors. Coffee and tea will be provided. No registration required.
Hands and Needles
Gather for a morning of creativity and conversation! Bring whatever project you are working on — quilting, knitting, embroidery, etc.
The program will meet in the library’s community room, though may meet outside if weather allows. No registration required.
Reach out to alex@carpentercarse.org with any questions.
Closed for Christmas
The library will be closed today in observance of Christmas. Happy Holidays!
Closed for Christmas
The library will be closed in observance of Christmas. Happy Holidays!
Closing Early for Christmas
The library will be closing early at 1pm today. Happy Holidays!
Senior Meetup
Do you remember rotary phones? Cigarette smoke in diners? Bike riding without helmets? The Ed Sullivan Show? 8-Track Tapes? Then this meetup is for you. Come gather and talk, schmooze and kvetch, share and laugh with other seniors. Coffee and tea will be provided. No registration required.
Hands and Needles
Gather for a morning of creativity and conversation! Bring whatever project you are working on — quilting, knitting, embroidery, etc.
The program will meet in the library’s community room, though may meet outside if weather allows. No registration required.
Reach out to alex@carpentercarse.org with any questions.
Meet Elia the Therapy Dog
Elia the trained therapy dog will be joining us once a month to meet with patrons of all ages. Engaging with a therapy dog has been shown to have many physical and emotional benefits. Stop by to visit with Elia and bring some calm and relaxation to your day, she’d love to meet you! No registration required, but email Alex with questions.
Family Drop-in Craft Session - Make a Pomander
Deck the halls of your home with sweet smelling ornaments made from oranges and cloves! This is a fun craft for the whole family and we will provide all the materials. No need to sign up, just drop on by!
Winter Solstice Gathering and Storytelling Event
Everyone is invited to this special holiday event where we’ll celebrate the return of the sun by gathering around the CCL indoor “campfire” for heart warming holiday tales, music and song, hot cider and cookies, and friends! No need to sign up, just bring your winter cheer and (if possible) some cookies to share!
Gentle Yoga for Restful Evenings
As the day winds down, come and soften into stillness with yoga instructor Peggy Dippen. This hour of gentle yoga invites you to calm the body and quiet the mind through slow, restorative postures and steady, mindful breath. Together we’ll release the tension of the day, open space for ease, and prepare the body and spirit for a peaceful night’s sleep. All levels are welcome—no prior experience needed. Please bring a yoga mat, a pillow or bolster, and a blanket to create supportive shapes that invite deep rest and relaxation. Registration is required and space is limited. Please email alex@carpentercarse.org to register.
Senior Meetup
Do you remember rotary phones? Cigarette smoke in diners? Bike riding without helmets? The Ed Sullivan Show? 8-Track Tapes? Then this meetup is for you. Come gather and talk, schmooze and kvetch, share and laugh with other seniors. Coffee and tea will be provided. No registration required.
Hands and Needles
Gather for a morning of creativity and conversation! Bring whatever project you are working on — quilting, knitting, embroidery, etc.
The program will meet in the library’s community room, though may meet outside if weather allows. No registration required.
Reach out to alex@carpentercarse.org with any questions.
Holiday Trivia Night
Join us for festive fun and holiday trivia. Hot cocoa and cookies will be provided, you bring your competitive holiday spirit! There will be a prize for the winning team. Email alex@carpentercarse.org or stop by the library to register your team.
Mystery Book Group
This informal group will meet the second Wednesday of each month to chat about a mystery novel—ranging from cozy to gritty.
Contact alex@carpentercarse.org with any questions or to reserve a copy of the book (as available).
Senior Meetup
Do you remember rotary phones? Cigarette smoke in diners? Bike riding without helmets? The Ed Sullivan Show? 8-Track Tapes? Then this meetup is for you. Come gather and talk, schmooze and kvetch, share and laugh with other seniors. Coffee and tea will be provided. No registration required.
Hands and Needles
Gather for a morning of creativity and conversation! Bring whatever project you are working on — quilting, knitting, embroidery, etc.
The program will meet in the library’s community room, though may meet outside if weather allows. No registration required.
Reach out to alex@carpentercarse.org with any questions.
Folk Jam: Live Music With SongFarmers of Hinesburg
Do you play an acoustic instrument or just love to sing along to old time, blues, country, and folk music? Come join the SongFarmers during their monthly gathering and participate in this wonderful live music offering. Listeners also welcome. Free and open to the public in the library’s community room, or outdoors as weather allows.
No registration required. Contact alex@carpentercarse.org with any questions.