Debbie O’Carroll’s Magic Irish Tea Party: Saturday, March 7, 1:00 – 2:00 pm. Debbie’s magic tea pot is the center of this participatory magic show with the Irish Fairy Godmother for children ages 3-7 at the Joseph H. Plumb Memorial Library, 17 Constitution Way, Rochester. After the show, the children will join in a creative theater activity and learn to make and perform a magic trick to take home, along with an origami puppet that they fold themselves! Pre-registration is required. Register by calling the library at 508-763-8600 or go to the Events Calendar on the Plumb Library website, www.plumblibrary.com.
Pi is the infinite number that starts 3.141592653… On Saturday, March 14, at 9:26 in the morning or evening, all of the numbers will line up. To commemorate this once-in-a-lifetime event, we will be making Pi Day bracelets from 11:00 am to noon on Saturday, March14. All participants will receive a special Pi Day sticker. This craft is best for children ages 4 and up; pre-registration is requested. Call the library to register or go to the Plumb Library Events Calendar on the website and click the registration button on the Pi Day event.
For their March book, “Just the Facts” Nonfiction Book Discussion Group will be reading Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston. Jeanne Wakatsuki was seven years old in 1942 when her family was uprooted from their home and sent to live at Manzanar Internment camp with 10,000 other Japanese Americans. Along with searchlight towers and armed guards, Manzanar featured cheerleaders, Boy Scouts, sock hops, baton twirling lessons, and a dance band called The Jive Bombers. This book is the true story of one Japanese American family’s attempt to survive the indignities of forced detention, and of a native-born American child who discovered what it was like to grow up behind barbed wire in the United States. We will discuss this book on Thursday, March 19 at 6:30 pm. Copies are available at the desk.
The Café Parlez’ selection for March is What is Visible by Kimberly Elkins. Before there was Helen Keller, there was Laura Bridgman. At age two, Laura lost four of her five senses to scarlet fever. At age seven, she was taken to the Perkins Institute in Boston to determine if she could be taught. At age 12, Charles Dickens declared her his prime interest for visiting America. And at age 20, she was considered the 19th century’s second most famous woman. This novelized version of her life story spans many decades and characters. We will discuss this novel on Thursday, March 26 at 6:30 pm. Books are available at the desk or bring your own copy.
On Saturday, March 21, the Friends of Plumb Library and the Rochester Friends of the Elderly will present “Dinner and a Movie” starting at 5:30 pm at the Rochester Council on Aging, 67 Dexter Lane, Rochester. A spaghetti supper will be followed by a showing of Night at the Museum. Tickets are available at the Plumb Library and at the Council on Aging, and cost $5 each or $20 for a family of four or more. All proceeds will benefit both the Friends of Plumb Library and the Friend of the Elderly. For more information or to reserve tickets, call the library at 508-763-8600.