Community Calendar

Acclaimed folk-rock trio The Sweet Remains return to touring in support of their highly anticipated fifth studio album, Embers—a mesmerizing collection of ten new songs that showcase their signature acoustic-driven, three-part harmonies. Produced by longtime collaborator and Grammy-winner Andy Zulla, the album features standout tracks like When The World Slowed Down, You Say, Don’t Count Me Out, and the title track Ember.

On our annual Family Day, we invite families to explore our collections and buildings with storytelling and art-making activities for all ages. Enjoy learning more about the art right here in New Haven.

Free and open to the public.

Sustainable CT, the statewide organization that supports municipal sustainability initiatives, is now accepting applications for its 2026 Fellowship Program – this is a paid fellowship.
Sustainable CT places highly qualified fellows across the state’s Councils of Governments (COGs) to help cities and towns become registered, certified, or recertified with Sustainable CT during the summer.
Fellows are directly engaged in supporting cutting-edge sustainability initiatives and local government operations.
The application deadline is February 9 at 5pm.
• You must be enrolled in a post-secondary degree program or must have graduated in the most recent academic year (2025-2026).
• You must be either enrolled in a Connecticut college or university or be a permanent resident of the state.
Find out more about the Sustainable CT Fellowship Program at sustainablect.org.

TAKE 2 will perform LIVE music at the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame in Stony Brook Village (97 Main Street, Stony Brook, NY) on January 25th from 3-4pm. The event is free with general admission ticket purchase.

For details on this and upcoming events please visit https://www.limusichalloffame....

About TAKE 2

A dynamic musical duo who will take you on a journey through love and laughter. There will be sing-a-longs, old favorites, and originals, bringing their love and joy to you in song.

TAKE 2 features Candice Baranello and James O’Malley, two talented artists who have each been part of the acoustic music scene for a number of years.

Candice Baranello is a founding member of the acclaimed traditional folk trio, the Mountain Maidens, and is known for her powerful, expressive voice. She plays multiple instruments including the ukulele, banjo, guitar, and dulcimer.

James O'Malley is a singer-songwriter whose music has been played on radio stations across the country. He has a smooth tenor voice and a subtle, intricate guitar style, having learned fingerpicking early in his career from Erik Darling of The Weavers.

Sustainable CT, the statewide organization that supports municipal sustainability initiatives, is now accepting applications for its 2026 Fellowship Program – this is a paid fellowship.
Sustainable CT places highly qualified fellows across the state’s Councils of Governments (COGs) to help cities and towns become registered, certified, or recertified with Sustainable CT during the summer.
Fellows are directly engaged in supporting cutting-edge sustainability initiatives and local government operations.
The application deadline is February 9 at 5pm.
• You must be enrolled in a post-secondary degree program or must have graduated in the most recent academic year (2025-2026).
• You must be either enrolled in a Connecticut college or university or be a permanent resident of the state.
Find out more about the Sustainable CT Fellowship Program at sustainablect.org.

Sustainable CT, the statewide organization that supports municipal sustainability initiatives, is now accepting applications for its 2026 Fellowship Program – this is a paid fellowship.
Sustainable CT places highly qualified fellows across the state’s Councils of Governments (COGs) to help cities and towns become registered, certified, or recertified with Sustainable CT during the summer.
Fellows are directly engaged in supporting cutting-edge sustainability initiatives and local government operations.
The application deadline is February 9 at 5pm.
• You must be enrolled in a post-secondary degree program or must have graduated in the most recent academic year (2025-2026).
• You must be either enrolled in a Connecticut college or university or be a permanent resident of the state.
Find out more about the Sustainable CT Fellowship Program at sustainablect.org.

In partnership with Huntington Learning Center, students in grades K-5 build and program robots, work in teams and learn STEM skills while having fun. Classes held at the YMCA in Westport. Do not have to be a YMCA member to register for these classes.

Sustainable CT, the statewide organization that supports municipal sustainability initiatives, is now accepting applications for its 2026 Fellowship Program – this is a paid fellowship.
Sustainable CT places highly qualified fellows across the state’s Councils of Governments (COGs) to help cities and towns become registered, certified, or recertified with Sustainable CT during the summer.
Fellows are directly engaged in supporting cutting-edge sustainability initiatives and local government operations.
The application deadline is February 9 at 5pm.
• You must be enrolled in a post-secondary degree program or must have graduated in the most recent academic year (2025-2026).
• You must be either enrolled in a Connecticut college or university or be a permanent resident of the state.
Find out more about the Sustainable CT Fellowship Program at sustainablect.org.

Our Workshop Wednesdays are back!

Every other Wednesday afternoon, we will once again open up our program to students from the community to join with our current cohort for a mini project-based learning “sprint” tackling a real-world problem in just 3 hours, end to end!

These immersive, drop-off programs give kids who are looking for additional enrichment for their school-based programs or who are in home-schooling, medical homebound or 1:1 programs the opportunity to develop critical thinking, executive function and peer collaboration skills, together with bright, gifted and twice exceptional peers.

Every week is a new project, so you can come for just a week or join them all. Each project is developed by Cajal Academy staff, or our current students! Previous projects have ranged from, “How can we create a spring garment out of upcycled fashion” to “How can we create a water filtration system using only household goods?” Each project is announced at the start of the program, so kids work through the problem as a group, working within a closed set of information provided to them over the course of the afternoon.

For our currently-enrolled students, these bi-weekly workshops provide opportunities to develop mini projects in areas of their own interests—like the project increasing conservation of Connecticut’s native carnivorous plants that one of our high school students developed for the inaugural series last year! By bringing in students who aren’t already in our community, they also offer the opportunity to develop the unique social skill of connecting, collaborating and sharing your thought leadership with new people: a critical skill in our Vision to Voice Curriculum.

All Cajal Academy programs are open by application to kids who have high analytical reasoning and/or creative thinking skills, including students who have learning, social-emotional, neurophysio and/or chronic medical differences, even ones as complex as connective tissue disorders like Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. As with all Cajal Academy programs, learner needs are support through our unique Neuro- and Trauma-Informed Approach to understanding and supporting gifted and/or neurodivergent kids’ learning and social-emotional needs.

All Cajal curriculum is developed in ability-based groupings but part of the power of our program is the nurturing, mixed-age community that develops among our students so our Workshop Wednesdays Series is open to kids in grade-equivalencies of 2-12 who are not physically aggressive towards staff or peers and do not have a current history of elopement or substance abuse. For older learners, this provides unique opportunities to develop leadership skills, together with teens currently enrolled in our high school program.

In Hostage, a raw and unflinching memoir, Eli Sharabi, a survivor of 491 days in Hamas captivity, recounts the harrowing ordeal of his abduction from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 2023, the loss of his wife and daughters, and his unyielding resolve to survive. Sharabi has since become a global advocate for the remaining hostages, meeting with world leaders, speaking at the United Nations, and sharing his story with audiences around the world.

In this special appearance at the Library, Sharabi will speak about his harrowing experience.

Why You Should Come
To hear this searing first-hand account for a man who spent nearly a year-and-a-half in captivity. Compared to Elie Wiesel’s Night and Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken, Hostage is a profound witness to history, so it shall be neither forgotten nor erased.

A New York Times best-seller and a TIME Must-Read Book of 2025, Hostage is the first published account by a released Israeli hostage. It became an instant #1 best-seller in Hebrew and the fastest-selling book in Israeli history.

About Eli Sharabi
Eli Sharabi is a former hostage who survived 491 days in Hamas captivity following his abduction from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 2023. Sharabi has since become a global advocate for the remaining hostages, speaking at the United Nations and sharing his story with audiences around the world.

Born in Tel Aviv to Yemenite and Moroccan parents, Sharabi moved to Be’eri as a teenager and later married Lianne, a British woman with whom he shared two daughters, Noiya and Yahel, aged 16 and 13. A longtime resident of Be’eri, Sharabi served as the Kibbutz’s business manager, as well as the Chief Financial Officer of the Kibbutz, Be’eri Printing, and other private companies in Israel. Sharabi continues to work tirelessly as a leader in the campaign for the release of captives.

About Hostage
On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists stormed Kibbutz Be’eri, shattering the peaceful life Eli Sharabi had built with his British wife and their teenage daughters. Dragged from his home, Sharabi was plunged deep into the suffocating darkness of Gaza’s tunnels. As war raged above him, he endured 491 days in captivity, all the while holding onto the hope that he would one day be reunited with his loved ones.

Sharabi’s story is one of hunger and heartache, of physical pain, longing, loneliness, and a helplessness that threatens to destroy the soul. But it is also a story of strength, of resilience, and of the human spirit’s refusal to surrender. It is about the camaraderie forged in captivity, the quiet power of faith, and one man’s unrelenting decision to choose life, time and time again.

(Information courtesy of Harper Collins)

Refund Policy
Programs, prices, and dates are subject to change. Tickets are transferrable. There are no refunds unless The Westport Library cancels an event. If you are unable to use your tickets, please notify us more than three hours prior to the start of the event; in that case, the cost of the tickets can be considered a tax-deductible contribution supporting the Library. In the case of a postponed or rescheduled event, the Library is not obligated to offer refunds if the event is rescheduled within 12 months of the original date. No cash refunds.