Click here to access our events calendar!
Click this link to register for any of the following programs or our Movie Matinees
or call the library.
Documentary Film Screening: Griefwalker
Thursday, August 22 @ 6:30 pm 
A feature length documentary about grief and the death dialogue and practice in Western culture, this film follows Harvard-educated theologian and end-of-life care educator Stephen Jenkinson as he provides compassionate grief counseling to the dying, their friends and family. Stephen embraces the philosophy and learned practice of grief as a skill rather than an enemy of life, and demonstrates how learning grief is central both to being a healthy human being and to making a healthy society.
1hr / 10min.
Seed Saving Program
Tuesday, August 27 @ 6:30 pm 
With the summer coming to an end, it’s time to start thinking about preparing your garden for harvest and saving seeds for next year. Seed saving can be challenging but also rewarding. Join us as we team up with Steep Rock Association’s Judea Garden for a presentation on how to save your seeds from an experienced and passionate farmer. Learn about the biology pertinent to seed saving and the crops native to the northeast that are easiest to save seeds from. Holli Cederholm, a northwestern Connecticut native and expert gardener, will also give a demonstration on what seed saving looks like and the best tips and tricks for saving your seeds!
Holli Cederholm has spent the last fifteen years immersed in sustainable agriculture—as a farmer, advocate, and freelance writer. She first apprenticed on a farm while in college and, upon completing a B.A. in Environmental Writing in 2007, founded her own small farm focused on celebrating the diversity of open-pollinated and heirloom vegetables. As the former general manager of a national non-profit dedicated to organic seed growers, she authored a peer-reviewed handbook on GMO avoidance strategies for farmers and sat on the opposite side of a courtroom as Monsanto’s lawyers. Holli has also been a steward at Forest Farm, the iconic last home of The Good Life authors Helen and Scott Nearing, and an interim radio host for The Farm Report on Heritage Radio Network. She currently resides in northwestern Connecticut where she continues to grow organic vegetables while working as a writer, digital storyteller, and photographer.
Can’t make it to this event? Head down to Steep Rock Association’s Judea Garden on Saturday, August 24 from 3-5 pm where garden intern, Willow Galusha will be demonstrating tricks and tips for seed saving!
The Red Planet
Tuesday, September 10 @ 6:30 pm 
Ray Reich, a Washington resident and former Gunnery physics and astronomy teacher, will give an illustrated presentation on Mars. There has been a fascination with Mars in the scientific community long before the first steps on the moon. The Red Planet has been the subject of innumerable works of sci-fi and inspired countless dreams of adventure and exploration. Now, after decades of scientific breakthroughs, research and determination, we’re finally going to do it: humans are going to Mars. But maybe not so fast! The distance, time and speed needed for Mars manned missions cannot be merely scaled up from NASA’s successful Apollo program designed sixty years ago. Warp speed travel is fine for Star Wars, but hardly suited for the real world. Join us as Ray details progress made to date, some of the difficulties encountered, expectations and the actual usefulness of a Mars base. After his talk Ray will be delighted to answer participant’s questions.
Exhibition on Screen: Rembrandt
Thursday, September 12 @ 6:30 pm 
Every Rembrandt exhibition is eagerly anticipated but this major show hosted by London’s National Gallery and Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum was an event like no other. Given privileged access to both galleries the film documents this landmark exhibition, whilst interweaving Rembrandt’s life story, with behind-the-scenes preparations at these world famous institutions. Exploring many of the exhibition’s key works, through contributions from specially invited guests including curators and leading art historians, this EXHIBITION ON SCREEN documentary marks the 350th anniversary of Rembrandt’s death. For many, Rembrandt is the greatest artist that ever lived and this deeply moving film seeks to explore the truth about the man behind the legend. Directed by Phil Grabsky.
1h 30 min This event is co-sponsored with the Washington Art Association.
National Geographic Climate Change Documentary Screening: Paris to Pittsburgh
Thursday, September 17 @ 6:00 
We will will feature a screening of a National Geographic documentary on climate change. This event, co-sponsored with Washington Environmental Council and First Congregational Church of Washington, CT. Paris to Pittsburgh brings to life the impassioned efforts of individuals who are battling the most severe threats of climate change in their own backyards. Set against the national debate over the United States’ energy future – and the Trump administration’s explosive decision to exit the Paris Climate Agreement – the film captures what’s at stake for communities around the country and the inspiring ways Americans are responding. 1hr / 17min.
Q & A will follow the screening.
How Coffee Explains the World
Thursday, September 26 @ 6:30 pm 
Nick Benson, founder of Washington based Zero Prophet Coffee will explain how coffee explains the world. To meet the burgeoning demand for coffee in developed economies, production has increased by 50% in the last 25 years, involving 150 million people worldwide in the coffee economy, from crop to cup. Coffee is now conservatively estimated to be the world’s fourth most-valuable agricultural commodity. Consumers are much more aware of their power of influence, and it is common to find coffee houses with aspirational names as well as a multitude of certifications regarding proper agricultural and labor practices. This presentation will explore several related questions arising from a deep immersion in strong coffee: beyond do coffee growers, roasters, and cafes serve as catalysts for social change? As the public increasingly expects transparency, and ethical, sustainable practices, does the industry measure up? What can a local micro-roaster do to find out the answers to these questions, and how do local practices on a small scale reflect these broad concerns?
Visit zeroprophetcoffee.org
All programs are free and open to the public, but registration is requested.
Please call 860-868-7586 for further information or visit www.gunnlibrary.org
The Gunn Memorial Library is located at
5 Wykeham Road at Route 47 on the Green, in Washington, CT.
