Programs


 

On-Demand Classes available this summer!

This summer, Gunn Library has partnered with Tri Gable Lea Farm in Colchester, CT to bring you two on-demand classes teaching you how to make fermented foods and drinks right in your kitchen!

Mark Gostkiewicz from Tri Gable Lea Farm combines his passion for sustainable farming and homesteading with his background as an educator to bring you these on-demand classes. Click the link below if you are interested in one or both of these classes, fill out the form to sign up and you will have access to the class materials through August.

Keep track of your progress and you’ll have a chance to ask Mark questions about the process in a live virtual Q&A on August 15.

Click here to register for: Sour and Savory: Mastering the art of fermented foods

Click here to register for: Raise a Glass to Fermentation: Homemade kombucha and more

 


Book Club- One Italian Summer

Thursday, June 22 at 5:30 pm in the Wykeham Room

In person program 

Register here 

Gunn Library’s monthly book club will read One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle this month.

When Katy’s mother dies, she is left reeling. Carol wasn’t just Katy’s mom, but her best friend and first phone call. She had all the answers and now, when Katy needs her the most, she is gone. To make matters worse, their planned mother-daughter trip of a lifetime looms: to Positano, the magical town where Carol spent the summer right before she met Katy’s father. Katy has been waiting years for Carol to take her, and now she is faced with embarking on the adventure alone.

But as soon as she steps foot on the Amalfi Coast, Katy begins to feel her mother’s spirit. Buoyed by the stunning waters, beautiful cliffsides, delightful residents, and, of course, delectable food, Katy feels herself coming back to life.

And then Carol appears—in the flesh, healthy, sun-tanned, and thirty years old. Katy doesn’t understand what is happening, or how—all she can focus on is that she has somehow, impossibly, gotten her mother back. Over the course of one Italian summer, Katy gets to know Carol, not as her mother, but as the young woman before her. She is not exactly who Katy imagined she might be, however, and soon Katy must reconcile the mother who knew everything with the young woman who does not yet have a clue.


Author Talk with Dahlia Adler

Tuesday, June 27 @ 1:30 pm at the First Congregational Church 

In-person program 

Register here. 

In celebration of Pride Month, Gunn Memorial Library and the First Congregational Church in Washington, CT are pleased to welcome author Dahlia Adler for a virtual author talk on her latest book Going Bicoastal. This program will be held at the First Congregational Church with the author making a virtual appearance.  

“This is what it looks like when a brilliant high concept is executed to perfection. It’s got all the Dahlia Adler trademarks―romance, wry humor, specificity, and genuine emotional depth.” – Becky Albertalli, New York Times bestselling author of Kate in Waiting and Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda.

In addition to discussing her work as an author, Adler will also talk about her work on lgbtqreads.com, a website dedicated to aggregating and highlighting queer-focused stories for all ages and in all formats. 

Light refreshments will be served at this event. 

Dahlia Adler (she/her) is an editor by day, a freelance writer by night, and an author and anthologist at every spare moment in between. She is the founder of LGBTQReads.com; the editor of several anthologies, including His Hideous Heart; and the author of many novels, including Cool for the Summer and Home Field Advantage. She lives in New York with her family and an obscene number of books.


Johnathan Trumbull and the American Revolution: A virtual presentation with CT Historian Morgan O’Brien 

Thursday, June 29 at 6:30 pm via Zoom

Online program 

Register here. 

Gunn Library and Museum welcome Connecticut Historian Morgan O’Brien for a virtual presentation on John Trumbull, the painter of the American Revolution and son of the first non-royal Governor of Connecticut. This presentation will take place via Zoom.

Through twists and turns, O’Brien takes viewers through Trumbull’s life and explains the possibility of him being one of Benjamin Franklin’s spies. During the Revolutionary War, John Trumbull served as an aide-de-camp to General George Washington. After a few years in that position, a dispute with Congress over his position led to Trumbull resigning in protest, after which, he traveled to London to study under a renowned painter named Benjamin West. 

This presentation will take viewers through the life and times of John Trumbull and walk everyone through the story behind his time in London. By the end of the presentation, you will have a clear picture of John Trumbull, Benjamin Franklin’s spy.

Morgan O’Brien is a Connecticut Historian with a Masters degree in American History from American Public University. She has interned for CT Congressman Jim Himes, worked as an Architectural Historian at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, and is now a freelance researcher, writer, and educator teaching the public about American history. Learn more about her work at searchinghistory.com