Easton Library to Show British Film 'Broken'

The British independent film "Broken", starring actors Tim Roth ("Lie to Me", "Reservoir Dogs", and "Pulp Fiction") and Cillian Murphy ("28 Days Later" and "Batman Begins") will be shown at the Easton Area Public Library, 515 Church St., on Monday, January 27 at 7 p.m.

Eleven-year-old Skunk is an innocent daydreamer until the day she witnesses her bitter and angry older neighbor, Mr. Oswald, savagely beating Rick, a psychologically-troubled boy from the neighborhood. Skunk’s innocence begins to fade as she is unwittingly drawn into her neighbors’ dark troubles. Her home, her neighborhood, and her school all become dangerous environments where her happy childhood gives way to fear-filled doubt and the promise of a complex, broken future.

The unrated film, which runs approximately 90 minutes, will be shown in the Catherine Drake Meeting Room, which is handicapped accessible from Church Street. Patrons are welcome to bring light refreshments, and the screening is free and open to the public.

Broken is part of the Film Movement series featured at the Library. The DVD will be available to patrons for checkout after the public showing.

For more information, call 610-258-2917 ext 307.

Family Games Night Planned at the Easton Library

Hungry Hungry Hippos is among the games children can
enjoy during "Family Games Night" at the Easton Area
Public Library next Tuesday evening.

Adults can enjoy board, card, and trivia games while children play games of their choice on Tuesday, January 14, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the main branch of the Easton Area Public Library, 515 Church St. during  "Family Games Night", which is being presented by the  Junior Friends of the Library in collaboration with the library's adult Friends group.

Options for children include Charades, Headband, Uno, Connect 4 Launcher, Hungry Hungry Hippos, and a special library book scavenger hunt created by the Junior Friends,

Children’s games are for ages 6 to 12 with a limit of 20 children. Registration is required for children’s games.  Adult games are open to everyone.

A second adult games session is scheduled for Tuesday, January 21, from 2 to 4 p.m.  No registration for that event is required.

To register children, call 610-258-2917 ext 306. For information about adult games, call 610-258-2917 ext 393.

Easton Library to Hold Huge Holiday Book Sale

If there are any book lovers on your holiday shopping list, or you just love reading yourself, the Easton Area Public Library's main branch at 515 Church St. will be the place to stop in next weekend.

A book and media sale featuring about 40,000 items will be held there from Friday, December 6 to 10. Most hardcover books, books on CD, and DVDs will be priced at $1, and paperbacks and most children's books will be 50 cents.

About 90 percent of the sale items have been donated, and leftovers from the last sale have been removed, an announcement about the event said.

A preview sale for members of the Friends of the Library will be held in advance of the regular sale too, on Thursday, December 5, from 6 to 8 p.m. Those that are not currently members but wish to attend are invited to join the Friends of the Library. Membership forms are available at the main branch, both the Palmer and South Side branches, and also online at www.eastonpl.org

Hours for the sale are set for:

• 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, December 6
• 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, December 7
• 1 to 7 p.m. on Monday, December 9, "Half-Price Day"

On Tuesday, December 10, from 1 to 7 p.m., shoppers can fill a standard brown grocery bag with books for $5.

The sale will be held in library's Catherine Drake Meeting Room, on the lower level, which is handicapped accessible.

For more information, call the Library at 610-258-2917, ext. 393 or email at maryannh@eastonpl.org

Classical Musicians to Be Featured at the Easton Public Library

Pianists Vlada Yaneva and Matthew Harrison will
present "Masterwork Conversations: Paris!
A Movable Musical Feast" to the
Easton Area Public Library this Thursday, October 24
at 7 p.m. The event offers the audience a chance
to forge a stronger link with classical music
and learn more about the genre.
Contributed photo

Pianists Matthew Harrison and Vlada Yaneva will bring their program "Masterwork Conversations: Paris! A Movable Musical Feast" to the Easton Area Public Library, 515 Church St., this Thursday, October 24 at 7 p.m.

The event will feature music by Mozart, DeBussy, Chopin, Liszt, and Rameau, and offers the audience a chance to forge a stronger link with classical music and learn more about the genre.

"Through our years of performance experience, we have discovered how much listeners enjoy learning about the composers, the history of the pieces, and curious aspects of the creative process," Harrison and Yaneva say on their website. "We encourage our audience to ask questions or comment about what they hear onstage in a process which brings them closer to the music and renews the way they listen to the classics."

Harrison and Yaneva have been bringing Masterwork Conversations to audiences since their inaugural Chopin series in 2010. Their performances have taken them from stages in Europe to Carnegie Hall.

The Friends of the Library are sponsoring this program in celebration of National Friends of the Library Week.

The program is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided.

To learn more about the program, visit www.masterworkconversations.com

For more information about Thursday evening's event, call 610-258-2917 ext 307.

Springsteen Photographer to Give Talk at Easton Library

Debra Rothenberg has photographed Bruce Springsteen for 32 years, from performances in small Jersey Shore clubs to international stadiums. She’ll be at the Easton Library at 7 p.m. on Thursday, October 17, to talk about her book "Bruce Springsteen in Focus 1980-2012". The book chronicles her photographic journey with more than 200 unique and memorable photos of The Boss.

Rothenberg has been a concert photographer for New York Daily News since 1999. Her extensive clientele includes ABC-TV, People, Rolling Stone Magazine, NYC Dept. of Health, Entertainment Weekly, Columbia/CBS Records, EMI Music Publishing, Prudential, New York University, Williams College, and The Port Authority of New York/New Jersey among many others.

Among her accomplishments is a National First Place award in the sports category from the National Press Photographers Association. One of her images also appeared on several Bruce Springsteen official tour t-shirts for his 1999-2000 World Tour.

Copies of "Bruce Springsteen in Focus 1980-2012" will be available for purchase at the Main Library and the Palmer Branch and at the book talk. This first edition hardcover sells for $28 (regularly priced $44.95). Rothenberg will sign books at the conclusion of her talk.

The program is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided.

The program will be held in the Catherine Drake Room at the Easton Public Library, 515 Church St. The room is handicapped-accessible from the lower level entrance. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Call 610-258-2917 ext. 310 to pre-register and for more information.

Author and TV Personality John Searles to Speak at Easton Public Library

Best-selling author John Searles will give a talk at the Easton Public Library next Wednesday, October 2 to discuss his latest novel, "Help for the Haunted".

Searles new book is described as being "an expertly-wrought, coming-of-age story with a healthy dose of creepiness." The plot centers around Sylvie Mason, whose demonologist parents are murdered in a church basement one snowy night after a mysterious phone call that brings them to the site. The tale offers "chills and family secrets that heighten the tension with each turn of the page."

Searles is the author of the best-selling novels "Boy Still Missing" and "Strange but True". He appears frequently on morning shows such as NBC’s Today, CBS’s The Early Show, and CNN to discuss favorite book selections. Searles is also editor-at-large for Cosmopolitan Magazine and can be heard on Sirius/XM’s Cosmo Radio. His essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Daily Beast, and other national media.

First edition hardcover copies of "Help for the Haunted" are available for purchase at the main and Palmer branches of the Easton Public Library, as well as at the book talk, for $18. Searles will sign books at the conclusion of the talk too.

The program is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided.

The event will be held in the Catherine Drake Room at the Main Library located at 515 Church St. The room is handicapped-accessible from the lower level entrance. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Call 610-258-2917 ext. 310 to pre-register or for more information. For more about the Easton Public Library and other upcoming events, visit www.eastonpl.org

Library Presents Penn Patent Copy to Knights Templar

By Christina Georgiou


Knights Templar Generalissimo Robert Sarnofsky, of Stockertown,
Eminent Commander Lester Morrow, of Nazareth and
Captain General Louis Starniri, of Wilson Borough, with Easton Public
Library Director Jennifer Stocker and Marx Room curator Barbara Wieman.



Representatives from the Easton Public Library presented a high-definition digital copy of a Penn patent to Knights Templar Friday night as a thank you gift to the Masonic organization for donating the original document to the library's history collection earlier this year.

"The original has been restored and now hangs in the Marx Room of the Easton Public Library," library director Jennifer Stocker, accompanied by Mark Room curator Barbara told members of Hugh de Payens Commandery No. 19 as the facsimile was presented.

The copy, which is visually undistinguishable from the original, was presented in the same frame the original document was found in.

The digital copy, in the frame the original Penn land grant
patent was found in.

Knights Templar Generalissimo Robert Sarnofsky, of Stockertown, Eminent Commander Lester Morrow, of Nazareth and Captain General Louis Starniri, of Wilson Borough, thanked the library for the high-quality copy, and said they were happy the original is in a safe, temperature-controlled location where the public is able to view and enjoy it.

"But also, a copy has come home too, so I think it's the best of both worlds," Starniri said.

The Knights also quipped that the copy of the document being in the frame the original was found in was a bit like the custom "returning the Tupperware full."


The original Penn patent land grant, top center, hangs
in the Marx Room at the Easton Public Library.

The original, which hangs with other important Easton documents such as a portrait of Declaration signer George Taylor and where the original Easton flag is displayed, is available for viewing by the public during regular Marx Room hours.

The patent was discovered in a locked antique safe in the Masonic Temple on South Third Street after the long-lost combination was discovered while organization members were going through some old papers.

Dated Jan. 10, 1763, the nearly 250-year-old document is the original deed to the property on which the Masonic building today stands, which was the site of the first county jail. Signed by Richard Penn, the payment for the grant of the land was "one red rose", to be presented to the son of William Penn annually on March 1.

Memorial Art Event to Benefit Judge's Favorite Charities

Friends of Easton district magistrate Gay Elwell are organizing a "Bring Your Own Art" event  entitled "Can't Fill These Shoes" to commemorate her memory and raise funds to be donated to  causes she supported during her lifetime.

Anyone is welcome to participate either by decorating a pair of stiletto heels, or by donating a pair to be decorated. The artful pumps will then be auctioned at an event planned for Saturday, January 5, and the proceeds are to be donated to all or one of three of Elwell's favorite local charities--The Center for Animal Welfare, the Easton Public Library and The Sigal Museum.

While those that would like to participate are welcome to submit their creative footwear creations independently, there is also a stiletto-heel decorating party planned for Saturday, December 30, where volunteers can get together to embellish the fancy footwear.

Those that would like to donate a pair of heels, decorated or plain, can drop them off at Just Around the Corner, 5 North Bank St., Noble Arts Pianos and Institute of Music, 226 Bushkill St., or at Connexions, 213 Northampton St. during any of the business' regular hours.

Click on the image for a
full size version of the
registration form to print.

Those that are decorating stilettos are asked to fill out a registration form and submit it with their creation by January 4.

Both the decorating party on Saturday, Dec. 30 and the art event, on Saturday, Jan. 5, will be held at 1 p.m. at Easton Yoga, located at 524 Northampton St., though attendees should enter the location from the back entrance on Pine Street.

For more information, visit the "Can't Fill These Shoes" event page on Facebook.
Elwell, an Easton district judge since 1996 and former reporter for the Morning Call, died unexpectedly on Monday, Dec. 3, at the age of 54 in her home of natural causes.