Calendar of Events

JANUARY 2008
Bizarre Creatures in Narragansett Bay with Dave Beutel, fisheries researcher at the University of Rhode Island and former commercial fisherman. Find out about the unusual marine life that exists right here in our own backyard.*	Thursday, January 24 at 6:30 PM
Be an armchair traveler and enjoy a trip to Shanghai with Ken Scigulinsky. Travel to China to see some of the sights of Shanghai, an ultra modern city of 18 million people and over 4,000 skyscrapers, scheduled to host the 2010 World Trade Expo. Learn how teachers differ from their American counterparts. *	Sunday, January 27 at 2 PM
Everyone will enjoy the upbeat foot-tapping performance of the Big Shoe String Band. This acoustic trio consisting of guitar, fiddle, mountain dulcimer and Celtic harp play a variety of musical styles including old-timey, French Canadian, Irish, country blues and a few sea shanties, just to round out the mix.*	Thursday, January 31 at 7 PM
FEBRUARY 2008
"How to Stay Sharp as You Age" with Dr. Laurence M. Hirshberg. Multimedia presentation details the steps individuals can take to protect themselves against the effects of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.	Tuesday, February 26 at 6:30 PM
Rhode Island : Bests, Firsts, Uniques with Roberta Humble. This presentation will explore some of the bests, firsts, and uniques of Rhode Island, including the uniqueness the author found in writing about the nation’s smallest state. A quiz will be given to the audience to see how much they already know. Participation is requested in routing out more superlatives and stories about Little Rhody. The audience will reminisce, learn, and gather sufficient ammunition to combat those confused out-of-staters who believe Rhode Island is a part of New York.	Thursday, February 28 at 6:30 PM
MARCH 2008
First meeting of the Library Book Group. Please join the library staff in a discussion of Random Harvest by James Hilton. Readers may bring their own copy or place a hold on a library item. Refreshments will be served.	Tuesday, March 25 at 6:30 PM
APRIL 2008
Library Book Group Meeting. Please join the library staff in a discussion of Feed by M. T. Anderson. In this chilling novel, Anderson imagines a society dominated by the feed, a next-generation Internet/television hybrid that is directly hardwired into the brain. M. T. Anderson has created a not-so-brave new world — and a smart, savage satire that has captivated readers with its view of an imagined future that veers unnervingly close to the here and now. Readers may bring their own copy or place a hold on a library item. Refreshments will be served.	Tuesday, April 22 at 6:30 PM
MAY 2008
Library Book Group Meeting. Please join the library staff in a discussion of The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. Reclusive author Vida Winter, famous for her collection of twelve enchanting stories, has spent the past six decades penning a series of alternate lives for herself. Now old and ailing, she is ready to reveal the truth about her extraordinary existence and the violent and tragic past she has kept secret for so long. Setterfield's debut novel is an intriguing look at an unusual family. Readers may bring their own copy or place a hold on a library item. Refreshments will be served.	Tuesday, May 20 at 6:30 PM
JUNE 2008
Library Book Group Meeting. Please join the library staff in a discussion of A Girl Named Zippy : Growing Up Small in Mooreland Indiana by Haven Kimmel. This is a charming memoir comprised of a collection of vignettes of the things a small child would remember: sick birds, a new bike, reading comics at the drugstore, the mean old lady down the street. Readers may bring their own copy or place a hold on a library item. Refreshments will be served.	Tuesday, June 17 at 6:30 PM

JULY 2008
7 Lessons Learned When Traveling to Morocco with Cynthia and Clark Merrill slide presentation & discussion. The Merrills went to Morocco in Summer of 2007 with Volunteers for Peace. They participated in the Moroccan Inter-Cultural Exchange program which included one week of hiking through the Atlas Mountains of central Morocco and meeting Berber villagers. *	Monday, July 14 at 7 PM
Library Book Group Meeting. Please join the library staff in a discussion of Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg. Smilla Jaspersen, half Danish, half Greenlander, attempts to understand the death of a small boy who falls from the roof of her apartment building. Her childhood in Greenland gives her an appreciation for the complex structures of snow, and when she notices that the boy's footprints show he ran to his death, she decides to find out who was chasing him. An international bestseller, this book combines aspects of literary fiction with those of the thriller. Readers may bring their own copy or place a hold on a library item. Refreshments will be served.	Tuesday, July 15 at 6:30
SEPTEMBER 2008
Library Book Group Meeting. Please join the library staff in a discussion of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Scientist Victor Frankenstein learns how to create life and makes a being in the likeness of man but larger and more powerful. Written by Mary Shelley when she was just 19 years old and published in 1818, this novel is a mesmerizing combination of Gothic horror and science fiction. Readers may bring their own copy or place a hold on a library item. Refreshments will be served.	Tuesday, September 16 at 6:30 PM
Take a sunset cruise on the classic wooden schooner, the "Aurora" from Goat Island. The cruise has been generously donated by IDC INC The Newport Experience to support services at the Library. Tickets are $35 per person and include a complimentary boxed lunch, wine, beer, soft drinks and bottled water. Space on the "Aurora" is limited so early purchase of your ticket is recommended.	Thursday, September 18 time is 5 PM to 7 PM
Lindsey Adler and Ray Price will bring the audience on an exotic and imaginative musical journey "around the world" as they blend together an unusual array of ancient and contemporary stringed instruments, original songs and poetry with beautifully haunting melodies and vocal harmonies.*	Tuesday, September 23 at 6:30 PM
Local author Jan Shapin will discuss the writing process and her novel A Snug Life Somewhere. An historical novel set in Washington state during the labor uprisings of the Northwest in 1916-1920, the novel has a strong female protagonist with an independent nature.	Thursday, September 25 at 6:30 PM
OCTOBER 2008
All Hallows Eve Tea with Rita Parisi performing as Mrs. Gordon. Join Mrs. Gordon for a ghostly tea party perfect for the haunting season. Be chilled and thrilled as she recounts some of her own uncanny experiences with the supernatural. Mrs. Gordon will also discuss 1908 Halloween traditions and spiritualism including her recent attendance of a seance. *	Thursday, October 9 at 7 PM
Ghosts of Newport with John Brennan. Listen to tales of haunted sites such as the Jailhouse Inn, Astor's Beechwood, the White Horse Tavern--America's oldest tavern--and many more. These stories show a side of Newport that history books alone could never tell, and help you peer past the city's gilded facade to discover dark secrets sure to spook and surprise.	Thursday, October 23 at 7 PM
NOVEMBER 2008
The Road to Dallas : The Assassination of John F. Kennedy by David Kaiser. Naval War College history professor and author Kaiser's scrupulous attention to detail in his research of the available archives, and his use of recently released FBI and CIA files put this analysis of the Kennedy assassination ahead of many of its fellows. Lecture and book signing. *	Thursday, November 6 at 7 PM
Two Old Friends, Mac McHale & Emery Hutchins, affectionately known as Mac & Hutch, have joined forces to sing and play songs from Ireland, the mountains and the sea. The program is sure to include some of your favorite sea songs, a good amount of hot picking instrumentals and some great sing-a-longs. Mac & Hutch will be playing the banjo, guitar, mandolin, concertina, bodran and the harmonica. Join us for a fun-filled evening of song.*	Thursday, November 13 at 7 PM
Author Robert Grandchamp's The Seventh Rhode Island Infantry in the Civil War is a gripping historical look at some of the fiercest battles the regiment participated in during the Civil War. From its muster in the fall of 1862 through the death of the Seventh's last surviving veteran in 1939, this regimental history follows the Seventh from Providence, Rhode Island, through the swamps of the Mississippi to the grueling Overland Campaign. This meticulously research account provides firsthand sources such as letters and diaries, it includes period photographs, portraits and sketches.	Thursday, November 20 at 7 PM

All events will be held at the Portsmouth Free Public Library. Events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. Please call the library at 683-9457 for more information or to register for any of the programs.