Celebrate Bilbo Baggins’ birthday at a "Hobbit"-themed book party, hosted by the New Orleans Public Library on Sept. 23 at Algiers Regional Library, 3014 Holiday Drive.
The hairy-footed fun kicks off at 10:30 a.m. with "Lord of the Rings"-themed crafts and activities. There will be Hobbit trivia and a riddle contest -- are you as clever at answering as Bilbo? Craft a Hobbit door -- think small -- and search the library in a Hobbit-themed scavenger hunt.
Here's a short "Hobbit" refresher: A middle-aged Hobbit named Bilbo leaves his home in the Shire after his friend Gandalf, a wizard, asks him to help a group of dwarves get back their home, which had been overtaken by the dragon Smaug. Along the way, Bilbo acquires the Ring of Power and answers a lot of riddles from the creature Gollum. Adventures are plentiful for the home-loving Bilbo. "The Hobbit," by J.R.R. Tolkien, was the precursor to the "Lord of the Rings."??
This event is designed for children aged 6-12 and their caregivers and is sponsored by the Friends of the New Orleans Public Library.
PLANT TALK:?Fall is the ideal time to plant many Louisiana Super Plants, particularly hardy shrubs and trees and cool-season annual color. Master Gardener?Linda Wegmann will talk about the latest plants tested and recommended by LSU AgCenter Sept. 23 at 11 a.m. at the Latter Library, 5120 St. Charles Ave.
Wegmann has been an active volunteer with the Louisiana Master Gardener program for over 20 years. An advocate of the Louisiana Super Plant program, she volunteers at the LSP Demonstration Garden in City Park.
REACH CENTER: The New Orleans Public Library’s REACH Center is hosting a variety of pop-up events while gearing up for a grand opening early next year.
This new library initiative will feature a community event and resource center, free coworking space and public art gallery, located inside building C of the Corpus Christi Epiphany Church Community Center at 2022 St. Bernard Ave.
Guided by a focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion, the REACH Center aims to be a thriving community center.
On Sept. 23, the library will host an African dancing and drumming workshop at the REACH Center, led by Myiene, a Guinea-certified dance instructor, who will teach attendees about West African music, dance and folklore. The hourlong class kicks off at 11 a.m. in the REACH Center gym.
FILM SCREENING: The New Orleans Public Library’s City Archives & Special Collections will present a screening of John Richie’s “Iron Sharpens Iron,” at 1 p.m. Sept. 23 at Algiers Regional Library, 3014 Holiday Drive.
This event is part of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities "Currents" film series.
"Iron Sharpens Iron" is the story of the historically Black community of Ironton in Plaquemines Parish, which has found itself at the forefront of both coastal change and recent efforts to address it.
The film captures the community’s fight against the development of the Plaquemines Liquids Terminal atop land that includes an ancestral cemetery.
A discussion will follow the screening, led by the two consulting producers, Angela A. Allen-Bell and Dr. Alex Kolker.
The event will also stream on Zoom at nolalibrary.co/Iron-Sharpens-Iron.
Jane LeGros is the director of marketing and communications for the Orleans Parish Library.?