Events at this location

Celebrating 50 years in Washington, CT!

WEC is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the environmental quality of the town of Washington and beyond through advocacy, leadership, education, and collaboration. Check out the display at the Gunn Memorial Library through October 15th to see what we are all about, peek at some of our original archives, find out about our upcoming events, and see how you can get involved.

Elizabeth Snow Rowe discusses finding and publishing a collection of stories found in an attic of her ancestors circa 1883.

GML & the Hickory Stick Bookshop present:

For several generations, inside one of several dusty boxes residing in an attic, Elizabeth Snow Rowe discovered the stories of her great grandparents’ life as Episcopal ministers in Washington, Connecticut and eastern New York dating back to 1883. Despite the century separating us from them, the parallels of their joys in family life and challenges with housing, health-care, child rearing, and transportation are striking. Elizabeth Snow Rowe will discuss the collection of stories she edited of her ancestors. These Chronicles are a testament to the strength of the human spirit. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing at the event courtesy of the Hickory Stick Book Shop. Cash or check only.

“Chronicles of a Parson’s Wife provides delightful insight into 19th century clergy life on the Connecticut frontier. Would that all of our great-grandparents and grandparents provide such wonderful details of their everyday lives and struggles! The family members come alive in ways that such everyday people do not in other history books. A must read.” — The Reverend Dr. Geoffrey Hahneman, D.Phil (Oxon) Priest-in-Charge, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Washington, CT

Register here

This month we will be reading two short stories by Roddy Doyle.

Register here

Solo guitarist Peter Biedermann performs at Gunn Memorial Library.

Peter Biedermann is a solo fingerstyle instrumental guitarist based in Green Valley, AZ that has performed in several different contexts since the mid 70’s. While his music doesn’t settle into any particular genre, it is a hybrid, contemporary style that melds elements of American, European and other world influences into a jambalaya of sound enhanced by subtle electronics and live looping on various guitars in unique tunings. PB began focusing on performing original music starting in the mid 80’s.

The focus of the concert program will be on pieces from his catalog of recordings beginning with ‘Sound & Spirit’ (2000) through the latest live release ‘Say What?’ (2020). The program also encourages questions from the audience and will include some of the history and evolution of original fingerstyle guitar playing. CD’s will be for sale after the concert. Please go to www.biedermannmusic.com to learn more about Peter.

Register here

Join us Monday, October 17th @ 1:00pm for a showing of “Elvis”

Follows the story of infamous rock ‘n’ roll star Elvis Presley seen through the eyes of his controversial manager Colonel Tom Parker. The film explores Elvis Presley’s highs and lows and the many challenges and controversies he received throughout his career. PG-13 2h 39m.

Register here

Author and Architect Noushin Ehsan discusses her recently published memoir.

It is often stated that we are the sum of our experiences; that each moment of self-discovery, big or small, adds up to who we are as a whole person. Author and Architect Noushin Ehsan reflects that sentiment in her recently published memoir, Noushin: The Making of a Woman Architect. Noushin is an Iranian-born American architect who has studied her craft in many places around the world and seeks to bring the Spirit of Space into her work as an architect.

Ehsan will discuss her memoir, her design work, and her unique experiences from around the world. Her story is a testament to perseverance, to starting over early and often and to believing that you are never too far in to make a change.

Copies of Ehsan’s memoir will be available for purchase and signing at the event.

Noushin Ehsan is an award-winning Iranian-born American Architect who studied at the Decorative School of Fine arts and School of Architecture at Tehran University, Beaux-Arts in Paris and UCLA Architecture and Planning. She has held numerous faculty positions at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Architectural Association School of Architecture, and London Polytechnic Institute. Ehsan co-founded and served as the managing director of BEB Consultants with offices in New York, London, Paris and Tehran.

Register here

Bring your own pumpkin and paint with us!

Children can paint and decorate their own plump, holiday pumpkin using stickers, paint, yarn, glitter and more. All paints and decorative supplies provided. Dress for mess! Registration is required and each participant will need to register on our website to attend the program.

Register here

Join us Monday, October 24th @ 1:00pm for a showing of “The Forgiven”

Explores the reverberations of a random accident on the lives of both the local Muslims, and Western visitors to a house party at a grand villa in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco over a single weekend. Starring Matt Smith, Jessica Chastain, and Ralph Fiennes. R 1h 57m.

Register here

Join us for a spooktacular time trick-or treating throughout the library! Play ghostly games and make chilling crafts too. Registration is required and each participant will need to register on our website to attend the program. Children, parents and caregivers are encouraged to dress up in their favorite Halloween costumes!

Register here

Join us Monday, October 30th @ 1:00pm for a showing of “Little Shop of Horrors”

Seymour Krelborn is a nerdy orphan working at Mushnik’s, a flower shop in urban Skid Row. He harbors a crush on fellow co-worker Audrey Fulquard, and is berated by Mr. Mushnik daily. One day as Seymour is seeking a new mysterious plant, he finds a very mysterious unidentified plant which he calls Audrey II. The plant seems to have a craving for blood and soon begins to sing for his supper. Soon enough, Seymour feeds Audrey’s sadistic dentist boyfriend to the plant and later, Mushnik for witnessing the death of Audrey’s ex. Will Audrey II take over the world or will Seymour and Audrey defeat it? PG13- 1h 34m.

Register here

Gunn Memorial Library and the Hickory Stick Bookshop are pleased to welcome author Soon Wiley to the library for a conversation on Wiley’s debut novel, When We Fell Apart. Copies of Wiley’s novel will be available for purchase and signing courtesy of the Hickory Stick Bookshop.

Wiley’s novel is a profoundly moving and suspenseful drama that untangles the complicated ties that bind families together—or break them apart—as a young Korean American man’s search for answers about his girlfriend’s mysterious death becomes a soul-searching journey into his own bi-cultural identity.

When the Seoul police inform Min that his girlfriend Yu-jin has committed suicide, he’s sure it can’t be true. She was successful, ambitious, happy, just on the cusp of graduating from university and claiming the future she’d always dreamed of. Min, on the other hand, born to an American father and Korean mother, has never felt quite the same certainty as Yu-jin about his life’s path. After growing up in California, where he always felt “too Korean” to fit in, he’s moved to Seoul in the hope that exploring his Korean heritage will help him find a sense of purpose. And when he meets Yu-jin, little does he know that their carefree relationship will set off a chain of events with tragic consequences for them both.

This event is free and open to the public. Registration required.

Register here

About the Author: Soon Wiley is A native of Nyack, New York and received his BA in English & Philosophy from Connecticut College. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Wichita State University. His writing has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and earned him fellowships in Wyoming and France. He resides in Connecticut with his wife and their two cats.