The Judy Black Memorial Park and Gardens is pleased to present Just Passing Through, an art exhibition by Brooke Hirsheimer, on view beginning Friday, June 6.

An opening reception will be held at the park on Saturday, June 7, from 3 to 5 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

Brooke Hirsheimer is a contemporary mixed media artist whose work explores the whimsical and grounding relationship between humans and the natural world. Her playful yet introspective style combines color and abstraction, reminding us that we’re all here navigating a beautiful and wild planet.

This show will remain on view through Sunday, June 29. Check our social media for weekly open hours: @judyblackpark on Instagram and Facebook.

Annual two-week residency June 9-22. Please see our website and social media for public-facing workshops and showings of new work in development!

Connecticut Theatre Exchange (CTX) exists to bring together theatre artists from various backgrounds and identities to support their process of developing new projects and new skills in a nurturing environment that is both accessible and affordable.

We do this by:

• Offering residencies for playwrights and screenwriters and their teams in various forms of development 
• Providing low-cost residencies to existing ensembles to experience an uninterrupted and deeper developmental rehearsal process
• Giving space and time for professional artists to study new skills and new ideas, contributing to their artistic process
• Garnering resources for historically under-represented or under-supported populations and actively identifying ways to remove barriers to the CTX experience
• Welcoming the public to free showings of new work and inviting curated feedback
• Programming a variety of free or low-cost workshops of exploration of the artistic process
• Developing partnerships with organizations that promote equitable development of creative work

The Judy Black Memorial Park and Gardens is pleased to present Just Passing Through, an art exhibition by Brooke Hirsheimer, on view beginning Friday, June 6.

An opening reception will be held at the park on Saturday, June 7, from 3 to 5 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

Brooke Hirsheimer is a contemporary mixed media artist whose work explores the whimsical and grounding relationship between humans and the natural world. Her playful yet introspective style combines color and abstraction, reminding us that we’re all here navigating a beautiful and wild planet.

This show will remain on view through Sunday, June 29. Check our social media for weekly open hours: @judyblackpark on Instagram and Facebook.

Annual two-week residency June 9-22. Please see our website and social media for public-facing workshops and showings of new work in development!

Connecticut Theatre Exchange (CTX) exists to bring together theatre artists from various backgrounds and identities to support their process of developing new projects and new skills in a nurturing environment that is both accessible and affordable.

We do this by:

• Offering residencies for playwrights and screenwriters and their teams in various forms of development 
• Providing low-cost residencies to existing ensembles to experience an uninterrupted and deeper developmental rehearsal process
• Giving space and time for professional artists to study new skills and new ideas, contributing to their artistic process
• Garnering resources for historically under-represented or under-supported populations and actively identifying ways to remove barriers to the CTX experience
• Welcoming the public to free showings of new work and inviting curated feedback
• Programming a variety of free or low-cost workshops of exploration of the artistic process
• Developing partnerships with organizations that promote equitable development of creative work

The Judy Black Memorial Park and Gardens is pleased to present Just Passing Through, an art exhibition by Brooke Hirsheimer, on view beginning Friday, June 6.

An opening reception will be held at the park on Saturday, June 7, from 3 to 5 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

Brooke Hirsheimer is a contemporary mixed media artist whose work explores the whimsical and grounding relationship between humans and the natural world. Her playful yet introspective style combines color and abstraction, reminding us that we’re all here navigating a beautiful and wild planet.

This show will remain on view through Sunday, June 29. Check our social media for weekly open hours: @judyblackpark on Instagram and Facebook.

Annual two-week residency June 9-22. Please see our website and social media for public-facing workshops and showings of new work in development!

Connecticut Theatre Exchange (CTX) exists to bring together theatre artists from various backgrounds and identities to support their process of developing new projects and new skills in a nurturing environment that is both accessible and affordable.

We do this by:

• Offering residencies for playwrights and screenwriters and their teams in various forms of development 
• Providing low-cost residencies to existing ensembles to experience an uninterrupted and deeper developmental rehearsal process
• Giving space and time for professional artists to study new skills and new ideas, contributing to their artistic process
• Garnering resources for historically under-represented or under-supported populations and actively identifying ways to remove barriers to the CTX experience
• Welcoming the public to free showings of new work and inviting curated feedback
• Programming a variety of free or low-cost workshops of exploration of the artistic process
• Developing partnerships with organizations that promote equitable development of creative work

Kids Sewing Workshop: Sew a Playing Card Holder (Grades 4-5) | June 17, 3:30-5:00 pm

Summer is an excellent time to play card games with friends. Make it easier to track all the cards with a handmade playing card holder! In this beginner-friendly workshop, participants will learn how to thread a sewing machine, sew straight stitches with an accurate seam allowance, pivot around corners, and sew topstitching as they create a practical item that’s also great for gifting. 

Grades 4+5, Registration Required: https://www.gunnlibrary.org/calendar/kids-workshop-sew-a-playing-card-holder/

Enjoy an acclaimed movie taken from a celebrated book!

Small Things Like These, the acclaimed 2024 historical drama directed by Tim Mielants and adapted by Enda Walsh from Claire Keegan’s Booker Prize–nominated novella, offers a powerful meditation on moral courage and institutional silence. Set in 1985 in a small Irish town, the film follows coal merchant Bill Furlong (Cillian Murphy). He uncovers disturbing truths about the local convent’s treatment of young women, echoing the real-life atrocities of Ireland’s Magdalene laundries.

Registration is required: https://www.gunnlibrary.org/calendar/june-movie-small-things-like-these/1H 38M

PG-13

The Judy Black Memorial Park and Gardens is pleased to present Just Passing Through, an art exhibition by Brooke Hirsheimer, on view beginning Friday, June 6.

An opening reception will be held at the park on Saturday, June 7, from 3 to 5 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

Brooke Hirsheimer is a contemporary mixed media artist whose work explores the whimsical and grounding relationship between humans and the natural world. Her playful yet introspective style combines color and abstraction, reminding us that we’re all here navigating a beautiful and wild planet.

This show will remain on view through Sunday, June 29. Check our social media for weekly open hours: @judyblackpark on Instagram and Facebook.

Annual two-week residency June 9-22. Please see our website and social media for public-facing workshops and showings of new work in development!

Connecticut Theatre Exchange (CTX) exists to bring together theatre artists from various backgrounds and identities to support their process of developing new projects and new skills in a nurturing environment that is both accessible and affordable.

We do this by:

• Offering residencies for playwrights and screenwriters and their teams in various forms of development 
• Providing low-cost residencies to existing ensembles to experience an uninterrupted and deeper developmental rehearsal process
• Giving space and time for professional artists to study new skills and new ideas, contributing to their artistic process
• Garnering resources for historically under-represented or under-supported populations and actively identifying ways to remove barriers to the CTX experience
• Welcoming the public to free showings of new work and inviting curated feedback
• Programming a variety of free or low-cost workshops of exploration of the artistic process
• Developing partnerships with organizations that promote equitable development of creative work

The Judy Black Memorial Park and Gardens is pleased to present Just Passing Through, an art exhibition by Brooke Hirsheimer, on view beginning Friday, June 6.

An opening reception will be held at the park on Saturday, June 7, from 3 to 5 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

Brooke Hirsheimer is a contemporary mixed media artist whose work explores the whimsical and grounding relationship between humans and the natural world. Her playful yet introspective style combines color and abstraction, reminding us that we’re all here navigating a beautiful and wild planet.

This show will remain on view through Sunday, June 29. Check our social media for weekly open hours: @judyblackpark on Instagram and Facebook.

Annual two-week residency June 9-22. Please see our website and social media for public-facing workshops and showings of new work in development!

Connecticut Theatre Exchange (CTX) exists to bring together theatre artists from various backgrounds and identities to support their process of developing new projects and new skills in a nurturing environment that is both accessible and affordable.

We do this by:

• Offering residencies for playwrights and screenwriters and their teams in various forms of development 
• Providing low-cost residencies to existing ensembles to experience an uninterrupted and deeper developmental rehearsal process
• Giving space and time for professional artists to study new skills and new ideas, contributing to their artistic process
• Garnering resources for historically under-represented or under-supported populations and actively identifying ways to remove barriers to the CTX experience
• Welcoming the public to free showings of new work and inviting curated feedback
• Programming a variety of free or low-cost workshops of exploration of the artistic process
• Developing partnerships with organizations that promote equitable development of creative work

Free outdoor family movie nights are back at The Judy Black Memorial Park and Gardens on the third Friday of each month June through September, this time with an exciting new twist. Each screening will be part of a themed evening experience, featuring pre-movie fun which might include trivia, games, live music, sing-alongs and interactive audience activities.

On June 20, we'll be screening "The Birdcage," sponsored by National Iron Bank. In this 1996 remake of the classic French farce La Cage aux Folles, engaged couple Val Goldman (Dan Futterman) and Barbara Keeley (Calista Flockhart) nervously arrange a dinner to introduce their very different families. Val’s father, Armand (the late Robin Williams), who runs a flashy Miami nightclub, agrees to tone things down for the evening and hide his long-time relationship with Albert (Nathan Lane), the club’s larger-than-life star. The goal? To impress Barbara’s father, played by the late Gene Hackman, a buttoned-up political figure with traditional views.

Movie rolls at dusk. Check our website, Instagram or Facebook accounts for any changes or updates.

Begin your story-filled summer adventure at the Gunn Jr. Library on Saturday, June 21 from 10am to 12pm during a special Summer Reading Kick-Off event in collaboration with The GIANT Room, a NYC-based innovation hub for kids.

This community event invites kids and families to level up your imagination with hands-on activity stations led by The GIANT Room. You can create characters, build new worlds, try stop motion animation, and more! It’s the perfect way to jumpstart your summer reading and dive into a season of creativity.

Whether you participated in the GIANT Room remix stations this spring or are joining in for the first time, this is a great opportunity to dive into storytelling through hands-on play and shared creativity.

This program is made possible with generous support from the Connecticut State Library.

Registration Encouraged.

Join the Sherman Chamber Ensemble for a special concert celebrating the genius of Antonín Dvořák.

Featuring Susan Rotholz on flute, Suliman Tekalli and Jane Chung on violin, Sarah Adams on viola, and Eliot Bailen on cello. Works include String Quartet No. 13 in G major, Op. 106 and Terzetto in C Major, Op. 74 for flute (originally violin), violin and viola.

Dvořák (1841-1904) was the first Bohemian composer to achieve worldwide recognition, noted for turning folk material into 19th-century Romantic music.

Violinist Suliman Tekalli joins the Sherman Chamber Ensemble for the first time. He has established his unique voice as an exciting and versatile soloist and chamber musician through his visceral yet elegant and mature performance style, captivating audiences with the depth of his interpretations an assured technique.

As the top prize winner of the 2015 Seoul International Music Competition and prize winner in the Sendai, Lipizer, and Szeryng International Violin Competition, Suliman Tekalli’s performing career has taken him throughout the U.S., Canada, Central America, Europe, and Asia, gracing the stages of numerous halls including Stern Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Seoul Arts Center, Wigmore Hall, and the Millennial Hall at the Kennedy Center among others. His performances have been broadcasted on live TV and radio from KBS TV in Korea, Montreal Canada’s CBC Radio 3, WQXR, and NPR.

Tickets $30. Children ages 16 and under free.

Purchase tickets at www.SCEmusic.org

The Judy Black Memorial Park and Gardens is pleased to present Just Passing Through, an art exhibition by Brooke Hirsheimer, on view beginning Friday, June 6.

An opening reception will be held at the park on Saturday, June 7, from 3 to 5 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

Brooke Hirsheimer is a contemporary mixed media artist whose work explores the whimsical and grounding relationship between humans and the natural world. Her playful yet introspective style combines color and abstraction, reminding us that we’re all here navigating a beautiful and wild planet.

This show will remain on view through Sunday, June 29. Check our social media for weekly open hours: @judyblackpark on Instagram and Facebook.

Beyond the Basics: Foundation Paper Pieced Quilt Blocks | June 24, 2:00-4:00 pm

Level up your sewing skills with this intermediate workshop! Do you like the look of intricate quilt blocks but dislike fiddly cutting, measuring, and trimming? Foundation paper piecing might be the technique for you! In this workshop, you’ll learn how to “sew by number” and create a beautiful quilt block by machine stitching fabric on top of a removable paper template. Once you know the basics, you can visit the Makerspace during Open Hours to create more blocks and transform them into a fully finished quilted project! Ages 18+, Registration Required: https://www.gunnlibrary.org/calendar/beyond-the-basics-foundation-paper-pieced-quilt-blocks/

The Judy Black Memorial Park and Gardens is pleased to present Just Passing Through, an art exhibition by Brooke Hirsheimer, on view beginning Friday, June 6.

An opening reception will be held at the park on Saturday, June 7, from 3 to 5 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

Brooke Hirsheimer is a contemporary mixed media artist whose work explores the whimsical and grounding relationship between humans and the natural world. Her playful yet introspective style combines color and abstraction, reminding us that we’re all here navigating a beautiful and wild planet.

This show will remain on view through Sunday, June 29. Check our social media for weekly open hours: @judyblackpark on Instagram and Facebook.

Join the Gunn Library Book Club on Thursday evening for a rewarding discussion on celebrated author Niall Williams's beautiful book, The Time of the Child.

Doctor Jack Troy was born and raised in Faha, but his responsibilities for the sick and his care for the dying mean he has always been set apart from the town. His eldest daughter, Ronnie, has grown up in her father's shadow, and remains there, having missed one chance at love – and passed up another offer of marriage from an unsuitable man.

But in the Advent season of 1962, as the town readies itself for Christmas, Ronnie and Doctor Troy's lives are turned upside down when a baby is left in their care. As the winter passes, father and daughter's lives, the understanding of their family, and their role in their community are changed forever.

Registration is required: https://www.gunnlibrary.org/calendar/gml-thursday-book-club-the-time-of-the-child-by-niall-williams/