Stonington Public Library

Edible Island: Korean Kalbi & Kimchi
2024-08-10 14:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Healthy Island Project Kitchen, 91 S Burnt Cove Rd, Stonington, ME
Chef Sam Noh
SPL and Healthy Island Project welcome back Chef Sam Noh for another workshop in Korean cuisine. Last year, Sam taught everyone how to make Korean gimbap. This year he teaches us kimchi and kalbi, barbecued beef short ribs. Space is limited. Reach out to SPL at the contact information below to register.

Story Garden: Beneficial Insects
2024-08-10 10:00 - 11:00 | Deer Isle Community Garden, 70 Church Street, Deer Isle, ME, 04627
Beneficial insects—moths, butterflies, beetles, and more—story time and garden activity with SPL and led by Mary Cevasco.
The Story Garden Series will run on the second Saturday of every month through September, featuring a different theme each month. Ideal for kids ages 4-10, all ages welcome. No RSVP required.

Downeast with SPL: Sunset Cruise
2024-08-09 19:00 - 20:30 | Isle au Haut Boat Company, 37 Seabreeze Avenue, Stonington, Maine, 04681
Tasty bites, delicious drinks, breathtaking views!
Sunset cruise with SPL and Isle au Haut Boat Services aboard the Otter. Captain Garret Aldrich will take us on an evening tour of Stonington Harbor with delicious bites and sips for all to enjoy. Bask in a glorious sunset while giving back to a public resource—Stonington Public Library—that opens its doors to everyone.
To make reservations and for payment information, contact SPL at the phone or email below. Please note that SPL is handling all reservations for the sunset cruise.
$75 minimum donation
Downeast with SPL is a new fundraising series showcasing local makers, producers, and artists. These small, intimate gatherings are a chance to meet the people and businesses behind the tastes and beauty and moments that we love about Downeast Maine. Our partners are generously donating their time and services and handmade goods to support Stonington Public Library’s mission.

Don Bardole Exhibit Reception
2024-08-07 16:00 - 18:00 | Stonington Public Library, 64 Main Street, Stonington, ME, 04681
Don Bardole hosts a reception for his SPL exhibit with light refreshments and live music performed by Rugosa Rose. A selection of Don’s paintings past and present are on display August 6 through October 19 at SPL.
Don Bardole is originally from upstate New York and had most of his formal education in the Northeast. During his college years, he fiddled with art but only began to paint and sculpt seriously once he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1980. He has taken various classes around Northern California while earning a living as a medical doctor. He currently splits his time between Stonington and San Francisco.
He began as a watercolor painter but now mainly paints in oil. Landscapes, seascapes, and cityscapes are what he paints the most. He captures images of Maine and California that interest him, bringing a different perspective and rich color to the canvas. Much of his work is done from photos that he takes with a composition already in mind; he paints plein-air as well. Don is a member of the Deer Isle Artists Association.

Seaside Series: Linda Nelson
2024-08-07 12:00 - 13:00 | Small Cove Park, 6 Atlantic Avenue, Stonington, ME, 04681
Stonington ROCKS Its History and Future
The Deer Isle Granite Museum on Main Street celebrates the skill and bravery of the island’s stonecutters and Stonington’s hard working culture. Come learn more about the Museum and its relevance to our local culture from the Town of Stonington Economic & Community Development Director Linda Nelson. Nelson is also a board member for the Museum. She was the founding Producing Executive Director for Opera House Arts, responsible for the restoration of the 1912 Stonington Opera House, the only building in Stonington on the National Register of Historic Places; as well as a founder of the Cultural Alliance of Maine, a statewide entity dedicated to increasing the state’s investment in Maine culture.
ROCK out to a piece of Stonington’s history! Rain venue SPL, 64 Main Street.
Susan Tobey White, the Belfast-based artist who painted the lobstering women of Maine series, was originally scheduled to appear in SPL’s Seaside Series this week. She made the very difficult decision to cancel her appearance and SPL art exhibit due to a medical issue. Our thoughts are with her for a fast and full recovery.

The Friendly Maine Lobstermen
2024-08-04 12:00 - 13:00 | Stonington Public Library, 64 Main Street, Stonington, ME, 04681
An Island Family Picture Book
The Friendly Maine Lobstermen: A Voyage of the Kieran Scott is the first picture book by Melissa Jones-Bayley, the author, and her children Rosalie and Gavin Bayley, the illustrators. The book is a sweet tale about cooperation and sharing in the lobster industry, focusing on kindness and helpfulness. The art is inspired by the island’s landscapes and the ever-changing Atlantic Ocean, and the story draws from family history and shared experiences. They will present a reading and a discussion of the creative and collaborative processes from inspiration to publication.
Their talk will be followed by a book signing. You can buy a copy in advance at Penobscot Bay Press or at the event.
Melissa Jones-Bayley is a native of Stonington, where she lives with her husband Chris and their two children, Rosalie, 15, and Gavin, 13. She and her husband are both business owners and active in community service. She is fulfilling her dream of raising her children on the island and immersing them in its vibrant artistic community. The book features Gavin’s intricate pencil sketches and precise ink lines combined with Rosalie’s evocative watercolor palette, resulting in captivating illustrations that bring the story to life.

Faerie Queen Story Hour
2024-08-02 13:00 - 14:00 | Stonington Public Library, 64 Main Street, Stonington, ME, 04681
Enchanted Islands is a living art story project, a collaboration between writer-performer Melody Bates, costume artist Jennifer Paar, and Deer Isle sculptor Peter Beerits. The 2024 residency will include three original versions of beloved fairy tales at Nervous Nellie’s on Deer Isle with the storyteller costumed in spectacular garments designed for each tale.
These stories feature magic, disguise and self-discovery, bravery, and birds. They usher family audiences into 21st century tales of enchantment, and human relationships to the natural world.
Melody will perform one of the three tales in the children’s room at SPL on Friday, August 2 at 1pm.

Seaside Series: Siri Beckman
2024-07-31 12:00 - 13:00 | Small Cove Park, 6 Atlantic Avenue, Stonington, ME, 04681
The Art of Wood Engraving and Woodcut

Siri Beckman will talk about wood engraving and woodcut with a book signing to follow. She recently published The Prints of Siri Beckman: Engraving a Sense of Place with Down East Books, which includes an introduction by renowned New England art critic Carl Little.
Copies of her book will be available to purchase. The rain venue is SPL, 64 Main Street, Stonington.
As a long time resident of Stonington, many of her prints were inspired by experiences on the island throughout the years. Siri is a mid-westerner by birth, and Maine became her adopted home in 1975. She joined other artists and craftsmen in forming a co-op gallery in Stonington in 1976. She taught classes in the adult ed program at Deer Isle-Stonington High School, and worked at Haystack for several summers. She also served on the Memorial Ambulance Corps and the Stonington Planning Board. In 1992, she earned an MFA in Printmaking and Book Arts at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. For many years, she ran a picture framing business from her home studio where she also sold her prints. Learn more about Siri on her website.

Seaside Series: Steve Hindy
2024-07-24 12:00 - 13:00 | Small Cove Park, 6 Atlantic Avenue, Stonington, ME, 04681
What the War in Gaza Means to You
Steve Hindy was a Middle East correspondent for The Associated Press based in Beirut and Cairo from 1979-1984. He now lives in Brooklin, Maine, and has facilitated a community discussion of the war in Brooklin.
The rain venue is SPL, 64 Main Street, Stonington.

Food & Fiction: The Body in the Piazza
2024-07-22 18:30 - 19:30 | Stonington Public Library, 64 Main Street, Stonington, ME, 04681
Our July title is The Body in the Piazza by Katherine Hall Page. The SPL book club meets the fourth Monday of every month at 6:30pm. Readers can choose to participate either in person at SPL or online via Zoom. Contact SPL at the phone or email below to RSVP and/or to join the book club email list.

Seaside Series: Ben Shattuck
2024-07-17 12:00 - 13:00 | Small Cove Park, 6 Atlantic Avenue, Stonington, ME, 04681
The History of Sound
Ben Shattuck will read from his new short story collection, The History of Sound, followed by a Q&A and book signing. Written with breathtaking humanity and humor, The History of Sound is a love letter to New England, a radiant conversation between past and present, and a moving meditation on the abiding search for home. In the collection’s final story, “Origin Stories,” the protagonist travels through Stonington and visits a woman living on Isle au Haut.
Copies of his books will be available to purchase. The rain venue is SPL, 64 Main Street, Stonington.
Ben Shattuck is also the author of Six Walks: In the Footsteps of Henry David Thoreau, which was a New Yorker Best Book of 2022 and nominated for the Massachusetts Book Award. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he lives in Massachusetts, where he owns the oldest general store in America. Follow Ben on Instagram and read more about him on his website.

Downeast with SPL: Modernmaine
2024-07-13 13:30 - 15:30 | Modernmaine Studio, 10 Memorial Lane, Stonington, ME, 04681
Visit the studio where inspiration is transformed into contemporary artist-made lighting. Take home a Modernmaine votive holder.
Studio visit with Modernmaine founder and designer Julie Morringello. Learn how she creates unique light fixtures for homes and businesses. Her work crosses traditional boundaries, in that it is both functional and sculptural, and created from a combination of digital and handmade processes. Most pieces are made from a very thin, translucent wood veneer, to color and pattern may be applied. Take home an original Modernmaine votive holder.
Learn more about Modernmaine here.
To make reservations and for payment information, contact SPL at the phone or email below.
Limited to 12 people
$75 minimum donation
Downeast with SPL is a new fundraising series showcasing local makers, producers, and artists. These small, intimate gatherings are a chance to meet the people and businesses behind the tastes and beauty and moments that we love about Downeast Maine. Our partners are generously donating their time and services and handmade goods to support Stonington Public Library’s mission.

Story Garden: Tree Identification
2024-07-13 10:00 - 11:00 | Deer Isle Community Garden, 70 Church Street, Deer Isle, ME, 04627
Tree identification story time and garden activity with SPL and led by Mary Cevasco.
The Story Garden Series will run on the second Saturday of every month through September, featuring a different theme each month. Ideal for kids ages 4-10, all ages welcome. No RSVP required.

Seaside Series: Kathryn Lasky & Tom Ricks
2024-07-10 12:00 - 13:00 | Small Cove Park, 6 Atlantic Avenue, Stonington, ME, 04681
New Mysteries from Bestselling Deer Isle Authors
Kathryn Lasky and Tom Ricks, two bestselling Deer Isle authors, have changed genres late in their writing careers. Kathryn Lasky, beloved children’s and young adult author, releases her second book in a new Georgia O’Keeffe mystery series for adults, Mortal Radiance, this summer. Tom Ricks, renowned military historian, switches from nonfiction to fiction with a new Maine coast thriller, Everyone Knows But You.
Come hear the authors read from their new novels and discuss the rewards and challenges of a late career pivot. The event will conclude with a book signing; copies of their books will be available to purchase. The rain venue is SPL, 64 Main Street, Stonington.
Kathryn Lasky is the author of over one hundred books for children and young adults, including the Guardians of Ga’hoole series, which has more than eight million copies in print, and was turned into a major motion picture, Legend of the Guardians. Her newest book, Mortal Radiance, is the second in her Georgia O’Keeffe mystery series. The first in the series, Light on Bone, won the 2023 Maine Literary Book Award for Crime Fiction. Follow Kathryn on Instagram or learn more about her on her website.
Thomas E. Ricks, a former resident of Deer Isle, is the military history columnist for the The New York Times Book Review. He is the author of nine books, including Fiasco, First Principles, and, most recently, a thriller titled Everyone Knows But You. His latest is set on the coast of Maine and involves drugs, sharks, and the killing of a rogue lobsterman. Follow Tom on Twitter.

Seaside Series: Frederica Marshall
2024-07-03 12:00 - 13:00 | Small Cove Park, 6 Atlantic Avenue, Stonington, ME, 04681
Sumi-e Painting Demonstration
Frederica Marshall will present a demonstration of the ancient art of sumi-e, Asian brush painting. This medium uses the Four Treasures: ink stick, grinding stone, brush, and paper. There are 270 brushstrokes in the sumi-e artist’s tool box. The basic strokes were originally used for Chinese calligraphy then adapted for painting subjects. This simple and elegant method can be used for painting every subject. It is practiced around the world. She loves to paint Deer Isle in sumi-e. It reminds her of her home in Japan.
Frederica Marshall lived in Japan for 28 years and gained a deep understanding of Japanese art and culture. She teaches sumi-e, watercolor, Asian calligraphy, ikebana, and haiku, and she is a kamishibai storyteller. She has taught more than 23,000 students across many institutions, including for LA Metro College and Ringling College of Art. She serves on the board of the Sumi-e Society of America and is a founding member of the Haiku Project and an active member of the Deer Isle Writers’ Group. She has won international and national awards for her sumi-e and watercolor paintings. She has a gallery and art school at 81 North Deer Isle Road, where she finds great enrichment in developing the creativity of her students. Learn more about Frederica on her website.

Food & Fiction: Convenience Store Woman
2024-06-24 18:30 - 19:30 | Stonington Public Library, 64 Main Street, Stonington, ME, 04681
Our June title is Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata. The SPL book club meets the fourth Monday of every month at 6:30pm. Readers can choose to participate either in person at SPL or online via Zoom. Contact SPL at the phone or email below to RSVP and/or to join the book club email list.

Downeast with SPL: Northern Bay Organics
2024-06-15 10:00 - 12:00 | Northern Bay Organics, 58 Western County Road, Penobscot, ME, 04476
Tour a small-scale, no-till, no-spray market garden—and go home with fresh veggies.
During the farm tour participants will learn about our farm, operation model and growing methods, such as no-till agriculture, cover cropping, composting, crop rotation and animal husbandry. Participants will have the opportunity to stroll through the woods on our newly established nature trail and visit our farmstand.
Established in 2020, Northern Bay Organics is a small-scale, no-till, no-spray market garden in Penobscot on the Blue Hill Peninsula growing mixed vegetables using regenerative / no-till farming methods. In 2024 our farm transitioned from commercial production to a fully not-for-profit operation model.
Learn more about Northern Bay Organics here.
To make reservations and for payment information, contact SPL at the phone or email below.
Limited to 20 people
$75 minimum donation

Downeast with SPL is a new fundraising series showcasing local makers, producers, and artists. These small, intimate gatherings are a chance to meet the people and businesses behind the tastes and beauty and moments that we love about Downeast Maine. Our partners are generously donating their time and services and handmade goods to support Stonington Public Library’s mission.

Book Launch: The Friendly Maine Lobstermen
2024-06-08 13:00 - 16:00 | Stonington Public Library, 64 Main Street, Stonington, ME, 04681
Book launch with reception, reading and signing!
A Penobsoct Books original picture book, The Friendly Maine Lobstermen: A Voyage of the Kieran Scott, written by Melissa Jones-Bayley and illustrated by siblings Rosalie and Gavin Bayley. For children and their families, this sweet tale is about cooperation and sharing in the lobster industry, focusing on kindness and helpfulness. Rosalie and Gavin’s original artwork will be on display. Books will be available for purchase at $21.95.

Story Garden: Edible Flowers
2024-06-08 10:00 - 11:00 | Deer Isle Community Garden, 70 Church Street, Deer Isle, ME, 04627
Edible flowers story time and garden activity with SPL and led by Mary Cevasco.
The Story Garden Series will run on the second Saturday of every month through September, featuring a different theme each month. Ideal for kids ages 4-10, all ages welcome. No RSVP required.

Downeast with SPL: 44 North Coffee
2024-06-06 12:00 - 14:00 | 44 North Coffee Roastery, 56 Church Street, Deer Isle, ME, 04627
Get hands on roasting experience. Taste amazing coffee. And go home with a freshly roasted bag of coffee of your choosing.
See behind the scenes of 44 North Coffee. Join Alix, Head Roaster and Production Manager, during an active roast day. Learn about how 44 North sources coffee, how coffee travels all the way from origin to Deer Isle, and how coffee is transformed “from bean to cup.” See the coffee roasting process in action. Participate in a coffee cupping, a system of evaluation via sniffing, slurping, swishing a sample of coffee. Learn how to apply language to your tastebuds.
44 North Coffee was born in 2010 on a small island off the coast of Maine by Megan Dewey-Wood and Melissa Raftery. Founded on the principle that fresh and ethically sourced coffee sips best, we custom roast organic Arabica coffee beans in Deer Isle. We honor the hard work of the farmers who grow our coffee by fairly purchasing seasonal organic beans and roasting to levels that highlight the best tasting notes in each cup. Enjoy at your own line of latitude!
Alix has been the head roaster for 6 years and has a deep love and respect for coffee. Come feel and learn from her enthusiasm for these magical beans.
Learn more about 44 North Coffee here.
To make reservations and for payment information, contact SPL at the phone or email below.
Limited to 10 people
$75 minimum donation
Downeast with SPL is a new fundraising series showcasing local makers, producers, and artists. These small, intimate gatherings are a chance to meet the people and businesses behind the tastes and beauty and moments that we love about Downeast Maine. Our partners are generously donating their time and services and handmade goods to support Stonington Public Library’s mission.

Edible Island: Eat Like a Kennedy
2024-06-01 16:00 - 18:00 | Healthy Island Project Kitchen, 91 S Burnt Cove Rd, Stonington, ME
Edible Island: food • culture • community, a Stonington Public Library and Healthy Island Project collaboration
Eat Like a Kennedy with Leslie Landrigan, co-author with Dan Landrigan of Eat Like a President: 30 Recipes from the White House to Your House. Celebrate JFK’s birthday (May 29, 1917) with clam chowder and biscuits. Contact SPL at email or phone below to register.

Food & Fiction: Babette's Feast
2024-05-27 18:30 - 19:30 | Stonington Public Library, 64 Main Street, Stonington, ME, 04681
Our May title is Anecdotes of Destiny and Ehrengard by Isak Dinesen. The discussion will specific focus on “Babette’s Feast.”
The SPL book club meets the fourth Monday of every month at 6:30pm. Readers can choose to participate either in person at SPL or online via Zoom. Contact SPL at the phone or email below to RSVP and/or to join the book club email list.

Mental Health First Aid
2024-05-22 09:00 - 17:00 | Stonington Public Library, 64 Main Street, Stonington, ME, 04681
The University of Maine Center on Aging is offering a free Mental Health First Aid class at SPL on Wednesday, May 22, 9am – 5pm. The class teaches you how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental health and substance abuse challenges in adults. Registration required. Contact Laurie at phone or email listed below.

Story Time Aboard the Otter
2024-05-18 11:00 - 12:00 | Isle au Haut Boat Company, 37 Seabreeze Avenue, Stonington, Maine, 04681
Captain Garret Aldrich reads the new Maine classic, Big Truck, Little Island by Chris Van Dusen, for Wings, Waves and Woods. Come aboard the Otter, an Isle au Haut mailboat, for a spin around Stonington Harbor and a read-aloud Maine picture book based on a true story. Chris Van Dusen’s story in rhyme and colorful artwork are sure to captivate any audience. It’s become an annual tradition for Captain Aldrich to lead this trip for Stonington Public Library. Contact SPL at phone or email below to register.
