Book launch party for local anthology: "River Muse: Tales of Lowell and the Merrimack Valley" Friday 7pm @ UML Inn & Conference Center!!!

Sons of Liberty Publishing is having a gala release of the anthology: River Muse: Tales of Lowell & The Merrimack Valley, featuring previously unpublished works from our own Jack Kerouac and thirty-five other local authors. Copies of the book may be purchased at the event ($20) and many of the authors will be there to sign them. All profits from the sale of this book will be donated to veterans' charities. This event is free and open to the public—Friday, June 8th from 7-10pm at the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center. 

Acre Neighborhood Festival - Saturday, June 9th - 12pm -4pm North Common Amphitheater

This is the same day as our Super Special Kids Storytime (10am-11am) for special needs kids and their families. Sounds like a good day to be in the Acre!

This weekend Lowell throws her Doors Open wide

This weekend is shaping up quite nicely. The weather will be beautiful for a stroll and all around Lowell, doors will be thrown open! That's right, it's Doors Open Lowell weekend—and even though the doors are always open during business hours at the Pollard, we'll be participating in this unique event. -- so after you've bought your books at The Friends of the Library annual book sale (Saturday 9am-2pm @ Lowell Senior Center) head on over to the Pollard for a meet and greet from 2pm-5pm with Library Director, Victoria Woodley. She'll be happy to answer any questions about the library, past, present, and future. We will also have a program for you to take to give yourself a self-guided tour of our treasures. For the full listing of Doors Open Lowell events please visit their website.

Lowell Give Back Day - Saturday, May 12, 2012

Just in time for Mother's Day, it's Lowell Give Back Day—Saturday, May 12, 2012. For full details and information how you can help please visit their website or contact Kimberly Jackson at lowellgivebackday@gmail.com or 479-713-0798.

Mill City Skill Share - Sunday, May 6th 10am-6pm - Various Downtown Locations

The buzz for this Mill City Skill Share event is making its way all around Lowell's cyber world. Sounds like a great way to meet your neighbors and add some interesting items to your skill set. Visit their website for full details.

NPS Lowell Folklife & LFC present Monsoon Wedding with tasty delights Friday May 5th

You'll want to head over to the National Park Visitor Center at 246 Market St. next Friday, May 5th at 7pm to check out Sweet Happiness: Wedding Foods in India, the latest in the NPS Lowell Folklife series. The night will feature a talk by artist and educator Krina Patel on the delicious foods central to Hindu weddings (complete with samples!). They're going to show clips of famous Bollywood wedding scenes plus a special screening of Monsoon Wedding sponsored by the Lowell Film Collaborative. Ah, Lowell. You'd be hard pressed to find such luxurious educational entertainment anywhere else.

South Common Haiku Book Project - Sunday April 22nd 2-4pm

Head over to the South Common this Sunday April 22nd from 2-4:30pm for a the South Common Haiku Book Project in celebration of Earth Day and National Poetry Month. Artist and calligrapher Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord, writer Paul Marion, musician Joseph Darensbourg, historian Dick Howe Jr, will be gathering revel in the wonder that is Lowell's South Common Park (past, present, and future). There will be a  tour of the park departing from the front door of the Rogers School at 2pm. Inside the Rogers school from 2-4:30pm Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord will lead a bookmaking workshop where you'll be able to create a limited-edition book of haiku to take home with you. This event is free and open to the public.

Hopefully the weather will cooperate. Though, even rain provide inspiration for poetry, as the imitable Bashō shows us:

Spring rain
conveyed under the trees
in drops


In this warm spring rain
tiny leaves are sprouting
from eggplant seeds.

Plant your metaphorical seeds on the South Common, people. See what sprouts.

This Sunday - Lowell Remembers: The Civil War 1862-1865

AND...speaking of Sunday morning, made me think I should mention Sunday Afternoon. In particular, this Sunday afternoon April 15th from 2-4pm, when the photographic talents of our own reference librarian Tony Sampas will be on full display at the opening reception of the exhibit: Lowell Remembers: The Civil War 1862-1865 (curated by Martha Mayo) over at the Patrick J. Mogan Cultural Center 40 French Street.

The reception will also feature a lecture from Richard P. Howe Jr. entitled Making Sense of the Civil War. If you are at all interested in the history of Lowell's and/or its place in the Civil War you won't want to miss this exciting event. If you have any questions contact: 978-934-499

Vote for Lowell in Google's 3D Sketch "Model Your Hometown Contest"

We hope you already know about this contest (and have cast a vote for Lowell) but we wanted to share this video of 3D designer Beryl Reid's, entry into Google's 2012 Model Your Town Contest. Ms. Reid has been selected as a finalist in the worldwide competition (one of only two US towns so considered). For more info please read Howl in Lowell's excellent write up. And visit Google's Contest Page to cast your vote!

Who's Art is it Anyway? Art & Commerce Panel Discussion - Thursday, April 5th, 7pm UMass O'Leary Library Auditorium

Even though it conflicts with our Non-Ficiton Book Club meeting this Thursday (I figure if you've invested the time to read Cleopatra: A Life you're already coming to the meeting, and if not, it's probably too late to start—I wouldn't say the book is uninteresting but it is formidable) I want to give a quick plug to what looks like a fascinating event happening this Thursday, April 5th at 7pm. That would be the Dickens in Lowell / Parker Lecture Series Performance and Panel discussion on Who's Art is it Anyway? this Thursday April 5th at 7pm at the O'Leary Library Auditorium, Room 222, 61 Wilder St, UMass Lowell South Campus.

A trio of UML professors (writer Andre Dubus III, photographer Arno Minkkinen, and musician Alan Williams) each will be sharing some of their work and then engaging in a panel discussion on some of the gnarly ethical dilemmas they face as producers of creative material—including what they think as creative producers about copyright, artistic influence and artistic property.

Reminds me of Lewis Hyde's book Common As Air: Revolution, Art and Ownership which I'll be advocating for at the Non-Fiction Book Group this Thursday—it all comes full circle.

Mass Memories Road Show Hits the Boot Mills this Saturday 10am-3pm

If you work, live, or feel a connection to Lowell you have an incredible opportunity this weekend to participate in a sweeping state-wide history project. Here's the deal: you bring up to three photos that exemplify life in Lowell, to the Tsongas Industrial History Center on the 4th floor of the Boot Cotton Mills. You can bring historical photos or contemporary casual pictures of your neighborhood—as long as they show what it's like to live in Lowell they're fair game. The photos you bring will be scanned and the originals returned to you. You may also participate in an oral history video project where you would tell the story behind your photo. For more information about this event and the Mass Memories Project please visit their website, or contact Ellen Anstey via e-mail: Ellen_Anstey@uml.edu or by phone: 978-978-5080

Howl Heard Round Lowell

Have you heard the Howl in Lowell? It's rocketing around the local blogosphere, twittersphere, facebookworld and I couldn't help but post the video here. Howl in Lowell is set to launch March 1st as an online arts and entertainment magazine for the Mill City founded by Rita Savard and Caroline Gallagher. Richard Howe posted a full explanation and letter from the editors on his blog this morning. So keep your ears peeled to hear the howl of local "angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night." et al.

Revolving Museum Multimedia Group Show this Friday, January 6th from 6-8pm

Our friends at the Revolving Museum just let us know that this Friday, January 6th, 2012, they will be holding a gallery reception for our first show of the new year: the Revolving Museum Multimedia Group Show. The reception is from 6:00pm-8:00pm, and you can see works (old and new) from all of the staff at the Revolving Museum plus some of their close friends and students. The museum is located at: 290 Jackson St. Lowell, MA 01852

Library Closed for Thanksgiving - Open Friday & Saturday

In observance of Thanksgiving, the Pollard will be closed Thursday, November 24th. We will, however, be open from 9am-5pm, Friday and Saturday, November 25th & 26th.

So stop by on Saturday on your way to the grand City of Lights Parade and Holiday Art Stroll festivities!

Puleo Talk Tomorrow, Old English Cemetery Tour Sunday

Here are a few local events you might find interesting this weekend:

Tomorrow, at 10am, Stephen Puleo, author of Dark Tide, the June selection for the Pollard's non-ficiton book club is reading from his latest book: A City So Grand: The Rise of an American Metropolis, Boston 1850-1900 at the Georgetown Peabody Library. Cost of Admission $12.00. For reservations contact: Mary Paganelli 978 352-2587 Friends of the Library, Mary Ann Walsh 978 535 5680 AAUW


Sunday, November 20, at Noon. Meet at the main gate of Old English Cemetery (1099 Gorham St. Lowell 01852) for a free tour of this rarely seen relic from the days of Lowell’s first founding. Tour led by local cemetery enthusiast Kim Zunino. After the tour, interested parties can proceed on their own to Middlesex Community College Federal Building, 50 Kearney Sq, to hear programs on various aspects of Gravestone Studies. The programs are free and open to the public. Events sponsored by the Lowell Historical Society, the Lowell Historic Board, Middlesex Community College & the Association for Gravestone Studies.

Vote Vote Vote

Today is election day! The polls are open, and will be open until 8pm. So there's plenty of time to do some research and get down there to make it count. Starting at 7:30 you can watch the Lowell Sun's Election night coverage streaming live on their website.

Don't forget to Fall Back

Daylight Saving Time ends at 2am this Sunday November 6th. You might want to just set the clocks back an hour before you go to bed Saturday night.

Sunday Night the kids of Lowell will have to wait that extra hour to go trick-or-treating. Cruel world. (Unless they made off with candy from surrounding communities the nights before).

Free Workshops for Veterans History Project next week at Middlesex Community College

The national Veterans History Project is looking for your help collecting stories from our veterans.

Next week, (just in time for Veterans Day) Middlesex Community College will host two workshops led by Millie Rahn, oral historian and trainer for the Veterans History Project (VHP) at the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress. The workshops will be held at 9 a.m. and at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Nov.8, in the Assembly Room of the MCC Federal Building in Lowell.

The intensive 90-minute workshops will cover topics such as finding people to interview, doing background research, sample questions, creating a transcript, and maintaining a paper trail for those who want to archive interviews in public or private collections. They will also cover interviewing techniques, audio versus video interviews, one-on-one versus group interviews, and how to create the best possible audio or video document with various kinds of technology.

The workshops are free and open to the public. For more information about the workshops, contact Sheri Denk at 978-656-3159 or denks@middlesex.mass.

LFD Winter Coat & Blankets Drive

The Lowell Fire Department is holding a Winter Coat & Blankets Drive. So, please take the time to look through your closets. There is a real need of winter coats and blankets this year. All items can be dropped off at the JFK Fire House any time before October 29th. If you have any questions you can contact Larry Finn, Lowell Fire Department lfinn@lowellma.gov.

Fluff Fest In Somerville this weekend featuring Lowell native Astronaut Richard Linnehan

This Saturday September 24th from 3pm-7pm, Union Square Main Streets in Somerville is holding their annual Fluff Festival. This year Lowell-born NASA Astronaut, Richard Linnehan will sit in as a judge on their cooking competition. In 2008, he brought a fluffernutter on board with him on the Endeavor mission. And if that's not enough for you, Susan Olsen a.k.a. Cindy Brady will be at the festival to showcase digital artwork she's created that was inspired by Fluff.