Brookfield, get ready to read!
Brookfield Public Library invites families to participate in a new program called “Brookfield Reads – Together,” where special guest readers throughout the winter months present stories of strength and positivity on Facebook Live.
Readers and their titles will be announced on the Monday before the event on social media and the library’s website. The first event will be on Thursday, Jan. 14 at 6 p.m. Dennis and Linda Tischler from Tischler Finer Foods will read “Strictly No Elephants” by Lisa Mantchev and “Time to Roar” by Olivia A. Cole.
More info is available at the library’s virtual events calendar or Brookfield PublicLibrary Facebook page.
Forester presents at Olmsted Society annual meeting
This year, the Frederick Law Olmsted Society’s annual meeting won’t be held in person at the township hall. With COVID-19 resurgent, the group’s leadership has decided to conduct the meeting online via Zoom on Friday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m.
Join FLOS for the election of new officers and board members, committee reports and a special presentation by Riverside Village Forester Michael Collins, who will talk about his 2019 exchange activity in Shanghai, China. Collins will review his week-long trip and provide a pictorial journey, insights and observations into forestry in China.
A link to the annual meeting on Zoom will be provided in an email to FLOS members. To join the organization or for more information, visit the Frederick Law Olmsted Society website.
Two new exhibitions at RAC
Riverside Arts Center, 32 E. Quincy St., presents two new exhibitions. “Softening Space” featuring constructions, installations and paintings by Camille Silverman, who rethinks assumptions about form, boundaries and the rollercoaster of our lives due to the constant trickery of human perception. It is on view in the Freeark Gallery through Feb. 11. An artist talk is TBA.
In the FlexSpace Gallery is “Invisible Visible,” a collaboration between artist Colleen Plumb and writer Katherine Kassouf Cummings. The site-specific installation is designed to be seen through the gallery’s storefront with video projected between 4:30 and 11 p.m.
It invites the viewer to witness the lives of chickens and workers, together subjected to the suffering created by the industrial food system. It is on display through Feb. 22.
There’s an artist talk via Zoom on Jan. 16 at 2 p.m. The gallery is open by appointment. Visit the River Arts Center website for more information.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Chicago
North Riverside Public Library invites you join radio personality Clarence Goodman as he leads you along Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s path through and legacy Chicago in the during the Zoom presentation “In the Belly of the Beast: Dr. King in Chicago” on Tuesday, Jan. 19 at 6:30 p.m.
RSVP to bodenl@northriversidelibrary.org or visit library’s online events calendar for adult Zoom meeting access info.
Zoo patron feted in new lecture series
This winter, Chicago Zoological Society offers a virtual lecture series on an array of topics about Brookfield Zoo’s history, animals and innovative programs which you can enjoy from the comfort of your own home.
The series kicks off Thursday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. with Andrea Friederici Ross, author of “Edith: The Rogue Rockefeller McCormick.” The book recounts the tumultuous life of the woman who donated the land that made Brookfield Zoo possible.
Local character actress Ellie Carlson will join the presentation by portraying the fiercely intellectual, opinionated and cantankerous Edith Rockefeller McCormick.
Online reservations are required and can be made by clicking here.
And more
• Riverside American Legion Post #488 will host a resume workshop for veterans on Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. The program will be streamed free to the public via Facebook Live on the Legion’s Facebook page and will presented by Shannon Deamer CEO of the Georgia-based talent consulting firm The Deamer Group.
• The League of Women Voters of the LaGrange Area and the CommUNITY Diversity Group of LaGrange will co-sponsor a webinar with local police departments and community groups in a discussion of police policies and practices via Zoom on Thursday, Jan. 14 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Free. Click here to register.
• Chicago Zoological Society’s animal care staff presents “Bringing to Zoo to You” Facebook Live chats each weekday at 11 a.m. through February. If you can’t tune in at 11 a.m., you can watch the videos later on Brookfield Zoo’s Facebook page or YouTube channel.
• North Riverside Public Library, 2400 Desplaines Ave., offers a number of virtual programs through Facebook Live, conference calls and the teleconferencing app Zoom. Programs include Game Night Wednesdays on Jan. 13 and 20 at 7 p.m. via Facebook Live on North Riverside Public Library’s Facebook page.
There’s also Deeply Rooted Book Club via Zoom on Jan. 14 at 6:30 p.m. The book club explores inequality and civil rights in America. The book this month is “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas; Stretching and Meditation on Jan. 18 at 6:30 p.m. via conference call (800-747-5150, code 1453322); and WITS Workout for some fun, social brain health activities via Zoom on Jan. 19 at 11 a.m.
RSVP to bodenl@northriversidelibrary.org or visit the library’s online events page for adult Zoom meeting access info.
• Brookfield Public Library offers virtual classes and programs for patrons of all ages throughout the week. Most youth activities will be presented live on the library’s Facebook page. For adults, there’s Chair Yoga via Zoom on Jan. 14 at 11 a.m. and Friday Reads on Facebook Live every Friday at 2 p.m. Hear librarians read aloud sections of new and exciting titles. Visit the library’s online events calendar to register for Zoom programs.
• Riverside Public Library presents the following programs via Zoom. On Jan. 14 at 6 p.m., Gina Barsotti leads Sunset Meditation and the library invites you to Family Game Night on Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. To obtain Zoom access info, visit the library’s online calendar.
