Special Events

PAUL ALMOND READING and RECEPTION
Co-hosted by the Quebec Writers' Federation

Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at 6:00 pm in the Atwater Library Reading Room

Author Paul Almond reads from and discusses the latest book in his Alford series, which covers 200 years of world history from the perspective of a family who settled on the Gaspé coast of Québec. For more information about the author and his work, see www.paulalmond.com.

Refreshments served.

This event is co-hosted by the Atwater Library and the Quebec Writers' Federation as one of their Writers Out Loud series.

****************************************************************************************************************

Past Events:

SILENT MOVIE SCREENING with PIANO ACCOMPANIMENT

Sunday, March 25, 2012 at 6:30 pm

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, a 1920 silent horror film, was screened in the Library's 1920 auditorium with Jamie Woollard providing accompaniment on our vintage upright piano. 

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari was directed by Robert Wiene from a screenplay by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. It is one of the most influential of German Expressionist films and is considered one of the greatest horror movies of the silent era and credited with introducing the twist ending in cinema.

Admission: Pay what you can. Tax receipts for donations of $15 and more.

All proceeds will go to the Atwater Library's community educational and cultural programs.

Atwater Library BOOKS ROADSHOW
Saturday, February 25, 2012 at 1:00 pm

Antiquarian booksellers Wilfrid de Freitas and Susan Ravdin are in the Library's reading room to give an expert opinion on the value of people's special books.
*FEE $2 per book for Atwater Library members and $3 per book for others. All proceeds are used for Library improvements.

Lawn Book Sale and BBQ
Wednesday, August 17, 2011

A wide variety of lightly-used paperbacks and hardcover books - all for a song!
Delicious barbecued hotdogs and soft drinks available for a donation to the Library.

"For my dear Atwater" - An Exhibit of Treasures from Our Archives

Mid-June to Mid-October 2011

The wonderful exhibit of treasures from our organization's archives continued in the Reading Room until mid-October. Curated by Edward McCann, the exhibit's title is from Leonard Cohen's inscription of his 1964 book Flowers for Hitler, that was in the display. The exhibit was launched at our AGM on June 14, 2011.

Click on this link to see an August 5, 2011 Concordia University Television (CUTV Montréal) interview with volunteer curator Edward McCann: http://www.cutvmontreal.ca/shows/artsculture.html - starts at about 4:15 and ends at 8:00.

AGM + OPENING OF EXHIBIT OF ARCHIVAL TREASURES

Tuesday, June 14, 2011 at 6:00 pm

The Annual General Meeting of the Atwater Library of the Mechanics' Institute of Montreal was held in the Library's Reading Room, where an exhibit of treasures from the organization's archives was launched at the start of the evening. The exhibit, called "For my dear Atwater" (Leonard Cohen's inscription of his 1964 book Flowers for Hitler that is in the display), was curated by Edward McCann.

OCTET PLUS Sings Songs for Springtime: A Benefit Concert for the Atwater Library

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 8:00 pm

OCTET PLUS is a semi-professional choir of about 20 voices, directed by Alan Daye and accompanied by Constance Osborne on the piano and John Osborne on the flute.
*Admission is $15 and includes a post-concert reception with desserts and coffee.

Reception For Israeli Author Alex Epstein

Tuesday, May 3, 2011 at 6:30 pm

The Atwater Library and the Consulate General of Israel co-hosted a reception in honour of visiting Israeli author Alex Epstein. The author read from and discussed his collections of short stories, Blue Has No South and Lunar Savings Time.

Book Launch Reception

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

The Atwater Library had a reception to celebrate the launch of Suzanne Daningburg's novel The Lillivax Inheritance: A Montreal Mystery. The author read from and discussed the book, and there was live music and refreshments. Admission is free.

Atwater Library Scrabble FUNdraiser

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Click here to see a Westmount Examiner story headlined "Scrabble champs put the fun back into fundraising".

The 2011 Atwater Library Scrabble FUNdraiser took place on the afternoon of Saturday, April 2 with world champions Joel Wapnick and David Boys.

Here's a picture of the two champions in action at the 2009 event (standing and wearing black).

The registration fee was $50 minimum for adults and $20 for children (under 18).  Tax receipts were issued for individual donations of $15 and more.

The emphasis was on fun and learning, rather than serious competition.  There was a chance to watch Montreal's world champions Joel Wapnick and David Boys in action.  Participants paid $5 to have one of the champions play a turn for them; it was a "legal cheat". In the second half, they had the chance to be one of six mere mortals up against a champion.  See what Wikipedia says about them:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Boys
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Wapnick

There were refreshments and prizes for best scores, lucky seats and most money raised for the Atwater Library.  Scrabble sets were donated by Hasbro Canada.

Silent Movie Screening With Live Piano Accompaniment

Sunday, March 27, 2011 at 6:30 pm

Buster Keaton’s 1926 silent comedy film The General was screened at the Library's 1920s auditorium with Jamie Woollard providing accompaniment on our vintage upright piano. The doors opened at 6:30 pm for 7:00 pm.

*Admission was "pay what you can". Two Canadian short films by Erin Weisgerber were shown first and the screening of The General was over at 8:30. Refreshments were available. All proceeds went to the Atwater Library's community educational and cultural programs.

Books Roadshow

Saturday, February 26, 2011 at 1:00 pm

Antiquarian booksellers Wilfrid de Freitas and Susan Ravdin were in the Library's reading room to give an expert opinion on the value of people's special books.

*FEE $2 per book for Atwater Library members and $3 per book;for others. All proceeds are used for Library improvements.
(Click the picture to enlarge)

Benefit Concert in Support of the Library

Saturday, November 6, 2010 at 7:00 pm

Music from Brittany, Ireland and Beyond
A dynamic group of ten musicians offered their talents in support of the Atwater Library: Claude Bertrand (Guitar, Irish Bouzouki and Vocals), Claire Boucher (Vocals), Francine Boisvert (Fiddle), Olga Zaric (Vocals), Patti McCurdy (Tin Whistle and Vocals), Dianne Connelly (Celtic Harp and Vocals), Brad Hurley (Guitar, Irish Flute and Vocals) , Erwan Montfort (Vocals) , Danielle LeBlond (Mandolin and Vocals), and Donna-Marie Sullivan (Bodhrán and Vocals).

Freewill Offering at the Door - $10 Suggested

Over $700 was raised for the Library's community educational and cultural programs!

Author Kathleen Winter read from and discussed her critically acclaimed novel Annabel

Thurs., Sept. 16, 2010 at 6:30 pm

Everyone was invited to the Library's Reading Room for this special event, which featured live music and complimentary refreshments.

“A beautiful book, lyrical and compelling . . . Annabel's strength lies in probing the dilemma of sexuality and self-knowledge. I have never read such an intimate portrait of a person struggling to live inside a self that the world sees as a dreadful mistake.”—Katherine Govier, The National Post

The book was on sale at a discount price.

Also, there was a raffle of a basket donated by Kathleen Winter containing:

  •     a handmade doll who could be male, or female, or both
  •     a signed copy of Annabel with a hand-crocheted bookmark
  •     a signed copy of boYs, her award-winning collection of short stories
  •     a Rae Spoon CD

The raffle proceeds went to the Atwater Library for community educational and cultural programs.

****************************************

Link for publisher's website with a wealth of information on Kathleen Winter and Annabel:
http://www.anansi.ca/titles.cfm?pub_id=1395
http://houseofanansipress.wordpress.com/

Click here to see the publisher's news release