Library Sponsors “Community Read”

Members of Medford’s Rotary Club get in on the Community Read. Courtesy photo.

Story Updated 3:48PM, Tuesday, February 17, 2009

In March and April of 2009, the Medford Public Library will be sponsoring the first Medford Community Read in which everyone is encouraged to read the same book and take part in discussions, lectures, and other events.

The book is Dark Tide by Stephen Puleo, which is about the Great Molasses Flood in the North End of Boston in 1919. Puleo lives in the area, and is scheduled to appear at Tufts on April 27.

In an effort to include youth in the Community Read, children will be encouraged to read their own book about the flood, Joshua’s Song, by Joan Hiatt Harlow.

In addition, on Saturdays, March 28 and April 18, the Friends of the Medford Public Library will be sponsoring walking tours of the North End as part of the Community Read.

The tours will be given by Hannah Diozzi of Boston by Foot and Salem Strolls. Tickets are $20.00, which includes the tour and bus transportation from Medford.

Buses will leave Medford City Hall at 10:00 a.m. The tour will last about 90 minutes, and then there will be time for lunch in the North End. Buses will return to Medford around 3:00 p.m.

Space is limited. Tickets are on sale at the Medford Public Library Information Desk on a first come, first served basis.

A kick-off party and fundraiser for the Community Read is Thursday, March 5 from 7PM-9PM at the Medford Historical Society.  Tickets are $25 and are on sale at the library.  Rum, wine, soda, and light appetizers will be served. There will be a silent auction and kickoff guests will be treated to a private viewing of the Historical Society’s new exhibit Of the People: Faces of the Civil War. The exhibit features portraits from the Society’s notable Civil War photograph collection.

– InsideMedford.com