MARCH NEWS | 2023

SPRING INTO SPRING

Get Ready to Garden

This spring, from learning how to test your soil to expert tips on container gardening, we have a slate of gardening programs to help you improve your green thumb. Want to join a Garden Club? The Poplar-White Station Library Garden Club meets on the first Friday of the month. Need seeds? You can collect and exchange free seeds at our Seed Library at Benjamin L Hooks Central Library, and be on the lookout for special sessions with Booker Leigh, the host of "What's Growing On" on WYPL. To keep up to date with the latest gardening programs, check out our special gardening session at memphislibrary.org

 Spring Break Fun

Are you looking to keep busy during spring break? The Memphis Heritage Trail Arts Collaborative Spring Break Arts Camp will celebrate the rich history of African-Americans through the visual arts. Also, Everyone Has Rhythm Drum Camp teaches tweens how to play the drums. Just want to stay busy one day? Please take a look at our event listings for single-day programs during spring break.

Spring Break Reading Challenge

Get ready for our Spring Break Reading Challenge. Children up to 19 can participate in the challenge via our website. If you read 200 minutes, you can go to any branch to collect their prize. For more information, go to memphislibrary.org 

FIVE FRIDAYS OF JAZZ

Five Fridays of Jazz

Five Fridays of Jazz kicks off March 24 at the Benjamin L Hooks Central Library. This popular music series aims to foster community by connecting enthusiasts and newcomers to jazz. Our 2023 season begins with EKPE and the African Jazz Ensemble. It continues with Memphis Black Arts Alliance featuring Joyce Cobb, Michael Townsend, Hope Clayborn's Soul Scrimmage, and the Memphis Jazz Workshop This event is sponsored by the Memphis Library Foundation and presented in conjunction with the Overton Park Shell. 

 Hattiloo at the Library

Hattiloo Theatre performs live children's plays every Saturday at various libraries during March. A fun activity will accompany the play. Live at the Libraries kicks off March 4 at the Hollywood Library with  Don't Tell Me I Can't Fly, a play about the life and art of Della Wells. 

Small Engine Repair

Do you know if your lawnmower is working? Then make sure to check out our small engine repair. Experts will be present to help you get your troublesome lawn mower, blower, or weed eater going again. Bring your stubborn starter and leave with a fine-tuned machine. Learn maintenance tips to keep it running smoothly. 

RICHARD WRIGHT LITERARY AWARDS

Richard Wright Literary Awards

Memphis Public Libraries will host our very first book awards honoring local authors who have excelled in various categories of writing and publishing. If you are not familiar with Richard Wright's connection to Memphis, he lived here during parts of his teenage years. He tried to check out books to read from the Cossitt Library but could not do so because of segregation laws and practices prohibiting Blacks from entering and using certain establishments. A White man allowed Wright to use his library card under the guise that Wright was checking the books out for him and not Wright. The experience was captured in Wright's autobiography Black Boy. After that, Wright became an iconic literary figure.  Wright embodies so much of what it means to be a fighter, a writer, and a Memphian, and we couldn't have selected a better person to whom to name the awards. 

FEATURED EVENTS

Explore Memphest

Join us as we celebrate all this Memphis at our Explore Memphest event at the South Branch. There will be free food. In addition, you can go on a story walk and a performance by The Turnstyles. 

Photographer Greg McNeal

Photographer Greg McNeal has traveled the world with his camera shooting positive images of Black men. McNeal's work has been featured in numerous publications. He wants to continue empowering and inspiring other artists during this informal meet and greet, and he plans to give out poster copies of some of his famous works.

MEMPHIS SOUND CONNECTION COLLECTION

Memphis Music Sound Connection

Did you know we have a collection of Memphis music? The Memphis Public Libraries and the Memphis Library Foundation's Memphis Sound Connection is an online platform that showcases and shares current local music for free. We want to expand the collection and looking for 50 artists to join the Memphis Sound Connection. They'll submit a track for Library jurors to critique. Chosen artists are paid $200 to upload their albums to the library website. Listen to the Memphis Sound Connection collection for yourself, or submit a track if you are a musician.

JEGHETTO RETURNS

Jeghetto's Puppet Invasion

Tarish Pipkins, AKA Jeghetto, is back. This time, the famous puppeteer will perform on March 18. During this visit to Memphis, he will lead a puppet of superheroes to be co-created with the community. Jeghetto will perform two shows at 1:30 PM, & 3:00 PM. The puppet invasion will begin at 1:00 PM.In addition, we are holding a teen puppet workshop from March 13-17 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. There is also a community puppet-building workshop from 3:00 PM  to 6:00 PM. You can register for these events and get the latest information at memphislibrary.org. This program is funded in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Tennessee Arts Commission. You can learn more about  Pipkins at  https://jeghetto.com

Get Healthy

You can get moving in March from kids' yoga to sassy seniors' exercise class at Memphis Public Libraries. We also offer nutrition and cooking classes for those hoping to improve their overall health. If you want to get healthy, we can help.

Sharpen Your Skills

Do you have a new phone you still need to figure out how to use? Then, come to our Gadget Lab. From computer classes to programs that help you create a business plan, MPL has a list of monthly events to sharpen your skills. 

Get Busy

From St. Patricks Day wreath making to Knitting, you can stay busy at Memphis Public Libraries. Do you like crafting? Painting? Sewing? Writing? Game-playing? Check out programs to keep your hands and mind occupied.

Looking for a Job

If you need a job or are looking for a better one, check out JobLINC. It is a service within the Memphis Public Libraries. We offer career counseling and workshops to sharpen your skills. We also have connections to free digital programs, such as LinkedIn Learning and Github.

Free Tax Prep

Thanks to our partners, AARP and United Way of the Mid-South, free tax assistance continues in March. All sites are first come, first serve. AARP-staffed locations give preference to those over 60 and up. FTP-staffed places give priority to those households with income less than $60,000. Click here for times, dates, and locations, or call 211.

Youth Resource Fair

Join us for the Youth Resource Fair. In collaboration with Memphis Libraries, the UTHSC Center for Youth Advocacy and Well-Being will host a Youth Resource Fair. We will have summer camp information, volunteer opportunities, behavioral health services, and more.

LIBRATION

Libration

Bring yourself, the family, the dog - whomever you want - and all proceeds go to support Memphis Public Library Programming. Each ticket gets you entry to the tent where there will be a live band - TURNSTYLES is back with us this year - and a free drink (beer and their pre-made cocktails). There will be activities for the kids, trivia for the family, and streaming of the award-winning videos our Memphis Public Library teens make in our Teen Innovation Center. We look forward to seeing you all there!

TURN THE PAGE TO APRIL

Friends of the Library Spring Book Sale is April 20-23

Don't miss out on these literary treasures! Our books go out fast!

Bookstock

The Memphis Area Authors' festival, takes place on April 29. This year's festival will highlight more than 60 local authors.