If, like me, you’re interested in finding out more about contemporary music, and Southern Maine’s role in its development, you won’t want to miss local author Ford Reich’s presentation being held June 21 here at Libby Memorial Library. He’ll be here to discuss his latest book, “A Long, Long Time Ago: Major Rock and Roll Concerts in Southern Maine, 1955-1977.”
During that time Southern Maine served as a kind of “Off Broadway” where major acts like Bill Haley and His Comets, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa and Queen could warm up at venues like the Portland Expo, Lewiston City Hall or the Palace here in Old Orchard Beach before going on to Boston, New York, Philadelphia and other major cities. Joining Ford for this fun and informative discussion will be Jim Leo, the former operations manager at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
We also have something for the younger book lovers this month. Maine author Kalee Gwarjanski will be here the following day, Saturday, June 22 at 12:30 p.m. to kick off our Summer Reading Program. She’ll be telling us about her wonderful new children’s book, “Miss MacDonald Has a Farm.” In her highly creative re-working of Old MacDonald Had a Farm, she takes her readers on an imaginative visit to Miss MacDonald’s vegetable farm, where they learn what’s involved in growing tasty and nutritious vegetables. The book is a joyous celebration of healthy eating, plant-based meals, local produce and women farmers.
While we’re on the subject of healthy meals … the Library will be offering nutritious free meals for those under 18 starting June 18. These meals will be served in our Community Room Tuesdays through Friday at 11:30 am.
Finally, if you’re interested in music, we have a real treat on hand for you this month. In addition to Ford Reichs presentation on Southern Maine’s role in Rock history, we’re going to feature movies about major music artists as well. Our Music Movie Mania month includes a film about Bruce Springsteen, “Blinded by the Light” on Friday June 14 and “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a movie about Freddie Mercury, lead singer for the musical group Queen, on Saturday, June 15. The two Friday films will be shown from 3 to 5 p.m. The films will be presented in our Community Room where free popcorn will be available.
You can find out more about these and other exciting summer events by liking our Facebook page, following us on instagram @ooblibrary pr logging onto our website, ooblibrary.org. You can also follow our mascot, Libby Lobster’s, feats of derring-do and derring-don’t at ooblibrary.blogspot.com.
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