Events for Adults
The Library, while committed to providing an oasis of calm and quiet, enthusiastically makes room for discussion and engagement. Our programs — always free — represent a range of interests as eclectic and inclusive as our community. Supported by the Friends organization, the Library screens films, presents concerts, holds art workshops, and hosts author talks and lecture series.
Planning such events, we have the enviable advantage of a rich pool of resident talent upon which to draw: writers, scholars, educators, scientists, musicians, and other accomplished individuals eager to share their expertise and experience. Widespread attendance by the public enlarges the scope of the Library and affirms its pride of place in village life.
Local Luminaries: Slavery and Black-Owned Farms in Early Hastings with Keith Doherty
April 25
7:00 p.m.
Though rarely acknowledged, slavery was a reality in Hastings from 1750 to 1820. Keith Dohertyʼs interactive talk will explore the extent and nature of slavery in our village’s earliest years. He will also detail the lives of several free Black landowners who established farms in the village from 1799-1827, when slavery was slowly being abolished.
Dr. Doherty is a former art history professor at Boston University and Harvard. He is also the founder of Historic Homes of New York, which draws on local and academic sources to reveal historical secrets and architectural idiosyncrasies of homes in the Hudson River Valley.
Songs of Love & Life: A Concert of Yiddish Songs
April 28
3:00 p.m.
The Hudson Valley Singers explores the rich cultural tradition of Yiddish folk music, presenting songs from Ukraine, Poland and Czechoslovakia. Join us in singing music of deep and varied emotions, touching on themes of love, struggle, sorrow and resilience. Sung in Yiddish. Accompanied by accordion and piano.
Arranged and directed by Eugene Sirotkine.
The Greater Good: Leading the Way in the Nonprofit World
May 19
2:00 p.m.
Hastings resident Don Chen has led the Surdna Foundation since 2018. Prior to that, Don directed the Cities & States program at the Ford Foundation, supporting urban development initiatives to make housing more affordable and to promote more equitable land use practices.
Don will talk about Surdna’s substantial grant making to foster sustainable communities in the United States and Surdna’s particular ties to Yonkers and Hastings (including its support of this Library).
Light refreshments will be served.
“Keeping It Real” Book Club
Date TBA
Time TBA
The Hastings Public Library’s non-fiction book club will be discussing Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare, by Stephen Greenblatt.
Copies will be available at the Circulation Desk of the Library.
Email has@hastingslibrary.org to register or for more information.
Mahjong Group
Tuesdays
11:30 a.m.
If interested in playing Mahjong at the Library, call (914) 478-3307 or visit the Circulation Desk and leave your name and number.
Players will need to bring:
- Card from Mahjong League
- Mahjong set
Knitting and Crocheting Group
Tuesdays
2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
At the present time, we have reached our maximum number of participants. Please know this is not a teaching group, but a social gathering for knitters and crocheters to work on individual projects.
For more information or to be added to the waiting list, please contact Reference Librarian, Jeanne Bastone: jbastone@hastingslibrary.org
The Seed Exchange
The Seed Exchange is at the Hastings Public Library!
Thanks to Katie Tolson and the Hastings Pollinator Pathway, the Fred and Louise Hubbard Heirloom Seed Collection has been revived.
The drawers of a vintage card catalog are labeled with the genre of seeds therein: flowers, herbs, vegetables and native plants. And, there is a clear container on top of the card catalog where you may place seeds you would like to contribute.
For questions or more information please stop by the exchange or go to the Hastings Pollinator Pathway website.