Writing Your Own Declaration: A Writing Workshop

Join the Boston Public Library community to write your own declaration! This program will take place at four branches in Spring 2026.&nbsp; What is in a declaration? How do we declare our own values, thoughts, and ideas and share them with others? This workshop invites patrons into a deep dive of self-exploration and public writing. Join us for an active learning environment where we read, discuss, and draw inspiration from several pieces of declarative writing that emerged over the course of history. Patrons will then be led in a writing session that asks you to reflect on your own values and compose your own “declaration of self.” At the end of the workshop patrons will have the option to loan their declarative writing pieces to an exhibition that will be on view in Boston’s Old South Meeting House Museum &amp; Historic Site and the Central Library in Copley Square. More information will be given during the program. If you have questions, please contact <a href="mailto:communityhistory@bpl.org">communityhistory@bpl.org</a>.&nbsp; These events are part of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bpl.org/blogs/post/life-liberty-and-the-pursuit-of-happiness-a-program-series/">“Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness”</a>&nbsp;program series, which is a joint initiative between BPL's&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bpl.org/community-history/">Community History team</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://revolutionaryspaces.org/">Revolutionary Spaces.</a>

North End Branch of the Boston Public Library

West End Branch of the Boston Public Library

Protest! Relief Printmaking Workshop

Join the Boston Public Library community to create revolutionary art! Boston is a city of revolutionaries and prints are the medium for the message. As we mark the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution we invite you to make your own small-scale protest posters with Boston-based artist and printmaker&nbsp;Crystalle Lacouture. In this three hour workshop we will learn about the history of the print and the press as tools for people to share ideas and to affordably reproduce urgent political images and texts with fellow citizens. Patrons will learn how to carve a simple linoleum block and print its image using BPL’s historic etching press. Additional pre-cut ornamental blocks, moveable type, and stamps will be available to further embellish posters. At the end of the workshop patrons will have the option to loan their prints to an exhibition that will be on view in Boston’s Old South Meeting House Museum &amp; Historic Site and the Central Library in Copley Square. More information will be given during the program. If you have questions, please contact <a href="mailto:communityhistory@bpl.org">communityhistory@bpl.org</a>. All materials provided. No experience necessary. All are welcome. These events are part of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bpl.org/blogs/post/life-liberty-and-the-pursuit-of-happiness-a-program-series/">“Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness”</a>&nbsp;program series, which is a joint initiative between BPL's&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bpl.org/community-history/">Community History team</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://revolutionaryspaces.org/">Revolutionary Spaces.</a> Programming at the Boston Public Library is funded through private support. To learn more about supporting the Library, please&nbsp;<a href="https://bplfund.org/">visit the Boston Public Library Fund's website</a>.

Central Library at Copley Square

Lower Mills Branch of the Boston Public Library

Brighton Branch of the Boston Public Library

Dancing Through History

“Dancing Though History” explores the cross-pollination of concert dance and social dance in the United States from the mid-20th century to the present. This program will explore the ways that dances are translated from the streets and clubs to the stage, addressing the sometimes complicated pathways of their arrivals and departures and the human impulse to make community through movement. This three-hour program will include a lecture and a movement workshop. No previous dance experience is required, all levels and abilities are welcome. Come curious and ready to move! Facilitator Bio: Laila J. Franklin is an independent, multidisciplinary dance artist based in Boston, MA by way of Washington, DC. Recently featured as one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” (2024), Laila's work is interested in meta-commentary, deconstruction, and bits, approaching themes surrounding the human experience with complexity, nuance, curiosity, and humor. Photo credit to Cameron Kincheloe.

Parker Hill Branch of the Boston Public Library

Oral History Live: Trans Stories Panel with SpeakOUT

Join Boston Public Library,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.historyproject.org/">The History Project</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.speakoutboston.org/">SpeakOUT</a>&nbsp;for&nbsp;Oral History Live, our ongoing event series dedicated to documenting LGBTQ+ history in the making. In this special edition, we partner with SpeakOUT Boston (the nation's oldest LGBTQ+ speakers bureau) to highlight trans voices, because trans stories need to be documented, preserved, and shared—now more than ever. SpeakOUT will provide a panel of speakers and The History Project will facilitate the conversation, collecting these oral histories and contextualizing them within the broader arc of LGBTQ+ history. By documenting today’s trans experiences, we ensure they become the histories that future generations can learn from, honor, and build upon. This program is generously funded by The Howard Cooper LGBTQ+ Endowment Fund at Boston Public Library.

Connolly Branch of the Boston Public Library

A Night of Line Dancing with Gays for Patsy Dance Club

Join us for a night of line dancing hosted by the Gays for Patsy Dance Club!  Come on your own or with a group of friends. You do not need to bring a partner. This program is for all levels. We will start with a lesson for beginners. Then, you can try out your new dancing skills while listening to music from every genre. Expect to hear pop, R&amp;B, and country tunes. We will be dancing on carpet, so please wear smooth-soled shoes. Remember - the first rule of line dancing is to have FUN!<ul><li>6:00 PM - Lesson for beginners</li><li>7:00 PM - Line dancing</li></ul>About Gays for Patsy: "Two Stepping with a Purpose in Jamaica Plain" Gays for Patsy (GFP) is a Boston-based, non-profit dance organization that promotes country-western partner and line dancing in a supportive environment for the LGBTQ+ community and friends. Founded more than 30 years ago, our mission is to create welcoming events that allow our participants to dance, learn, and socialize. Our primary dance styles include two-step, line dancing, west coast swing, east coast swing, and waltz. We provide free or low-cost lessons and social dance events and strive to make them accessible to anyone who wishes to participate. This program was generously funded by The Howard Cooper LGBTQ+ Endowment Fund

Charlestown Branch of the Boston Public Library

Author Talk: Theresa Okokon - "Who I Always Was"

Join local author Theresa Okokon as she discusses her memoir,&nbsp;Who I Always Was.&nbsp; The talk will end at 7:15 PM after a Q&amp;A session from the audience. Afterwards, there will be an in-person author signing facilitated by Frugal Bookstore. About the book:&nbsp;When Theresa Okokon was nine, her father traveled to his hometown in Nigeria to attend his mother’s funeral…and never returned. His mysterious death shattered Theresa as her family’s world unraveled. Now a storyteller and television cohost, Okokon sets out to explore the ripple effects of that profound loss and the way heartache shapes our sense of self and of the world—for the rest of our lives. Using her grief and her father’s death as a backdrop, Okokon delves deeply into intrinsic themes of Blackness, African spirituality, family, abandonment, belonging, and the seemingly endless, unrequited romantic pursuits of a Black woman who came of age as a Black girl in Wisconsin suburbs where she was—in many ways—always an anomaly.

Rabb Hall, Boston Public Library

Candy-Making and Memory in Boston

The Boston candy-making industry goes back to the 1760s, when an Irish immigrant named John Hannon built a chocolate mill on the Neponset River in Dorchester. For over 250 years, the city was a confectionary hub, boasting over a hundred candy producers at its peak in the early 20th century.&nbsp; The story of candy-making (and candy-eating) here is a complex one whose origins include the rise of industrialization, immigration, and the legacy of slavery both in Massachusetts and in the Caribbean. This program will explore several centuries of candy history, focusing on the people who worked in the candy industry, and those who have consumed and enjoyed it over the decades. Presenter Bio:&nbsp; Beth Folsom is program manager at History Cambridge, where she works to create programming that shares the stories of all Cantabrigians. Beth is a graduate of Wellesley College and American University, with a B.A. and M.A. in early American history. She has worked as an adjunct professor at Framingham State University, Emmanuel College, and the University of Massachusetts Boston, as well as at the Winsor School. Beth is particularly passionate about monuments and memorials, and the landscape of public memory in New England. Accessibility Notice: We strive to make our events accessible. To request a disability accommodation and/or language services, contact the department listed in the "Contact Info" pane on the right. Please allow at least two weeks to arrange accommodation.

Commonwealth Salon, Central Library in Copley Square 

The Seltzer Factory: Film Screening and Conversation with Writer and Director Paloma Valenzuela

Join us for a matinee screening of The Seltzer Factory, written and directed by the Dominican-American, Boston-based filmmaker Paloma Valenzuela. This short documentary follows Paloma as she investigates her family history and explores her identity as a biracial Latina Jewish-American, piecing together the connecting events that shaped her family's story from Marghita to Oradea, to Cleveland, to the Dominican Republic to Boston. The film will be followed by an audience Q&amp;A with Paloma Valenzuela. This event will be held in Rabb Hall, in the Lower Level of the Boylston St. Building at the Central Library in Copley Square. Content warnings: mentions but no visual depictions of violence, war, death, genocide, suicide, antisemitism, religious bigotry, deportation, concentration camps

Oral History Workshop

Join us for an interactive oral history workshop led by the Community History Department. Together, we’ll go over the basics of oral history and interview practices. Then, we’ll do a hands-on demonstration of the BPL Oral History Backpack. Come ready to practice interviewing and active listening. Registration recommended.

Faneuil Branch of the Boston Public Library

Join us for an interactive oral history workshop led by the Community History Department. Together, we’ll go over the basics of oral history and interview practices. Then, we’ll do a hands-on demonstration of the BPL Oral History Backpack. Come ready to practice interviewing and active listening. Registration recommended. Note: This workshop takes place at the Fenway Community Center.&nbsp;The address is&nbsp;1282 Boylston Street #123,&nbsp;Boston, MA 02215&nbsp;(enter off Jersey Street).

Fenway Community Center

Join us for a matinee screening of The Seltzer Factory, written and directed by the Dominican-American, Boston-based filmmaker Paloma Valenzuela. This short documentary follows Paloma as she investigates her family history and explores her identity as a biracial Latina Jewish-American, piecing together the connecting events that shaped her family's story from Marghita to Oradea, to Cleveland to the Dominican Republic to Boston. The film will be followed by an audience Q&amp;A with Paloma Valenzuela. This event will be held in Rabb Hall, in the Lower Level of the Boylston St. Building at the Central Library in Copley Square. Content warnings: mentions but no visual depictions of violence, war, death, genocide, suicide, antisemitism, religious bigotry, deportation, concentration camps

S22: conversations

Wondering what to do in Boston? Places to eat? Free activities? Good for a group? Date night spot? Girls night out? The best things to do? Ask Joyraft!

Best places to go in Boston? Things to do? Places to eat?

Questions & answers about things to do in Boston

Recs 💬

Community recs 💬

S4: top picks

The most fun, cool and unique things to do in Boston. Can’t miss events, shows and experiences. Concerts, restaurants, bars, free things in Boston and beyond.

The most fun and cool events happening around Boston

Hot and new things to do in Boston

Hot & new

Hot & new 🔥

S11: happening this weekend

What to do in Boston this weekend? From festivals, concerts, performances, free events, screenings and more, Joyraft has the best things to do in Boston.

25+ things to do in Boston/Cambridge/Somerville this weekend

Things to do in Boston this weekend

This wknd

This weekend for you

S21: roundups

Our top picks: outdoor dining, free events, spring festivals, best bars, upcoming concerts, museum parties - the latest in and around Boston.  Slug: joyraft-top-picks-best-things-to-do-boston-ma

Top picks of the best things to do in and around Boston

Joyraft picks: Boston’s best things to do

Roundups ⭐️

Curated by Joyraft ⭐️

S28: calendar experiences

This week in Boston

This week in Boston 📆

This week 📆

S20: c+d experiences

Discover new, unique events and experiences happening in and around Boston. Perfect for date night, good for a group or with a friend. Be the first to know.

The newest events happening in and around Boston

The newest events on Joyraft

Just added

Just added to Joyraft

S16: editor picks

The most unique and can’t miss things coming up in Boston / Cambridge / Somerville and beyond. Festivals, food, drinks, fairs, concerts, art and free activities.

Unique and Can’t Miss Things to Do in Boston

Can’t-miss things to do in Boston 🚨

Can't-miss things to do 🚨

S2 (A): top experiences

The most popular things to do on Joyraft. Concerts, restaurants, bars, events, parties, openings, kid friendly, date ideas, free things in Boston and beyond.

Top 20 things to do in Boston

Top 20: Joyraft’s most popular

Top 20

Top 20 on Joyraft

S3 (A): trending experiences

Discover can’t miss events and things to do in Boston. The most fun, unique and cool events coming to the Boston area this spring and summer.

The hottest events happening in Boston

Trending events on Joyraft

Trending 📈

S17: interest based

Your guide to everything free in and around Boston. From events, to fairs, to festivals, to outdoors. Joyraft has all the free events happening near you.

100+ free things to do in Boston and beyond

Free things to do in Boston

Free things to do

S19: interest based

Kid-friendly events in Boston

S18: interest based

Where to eat and drink in Boston? Joyraft has Boston’s newest bars, restaurants and specials. Drinks and pre fixe dinner menus. Cambridge & Somerville too.

Where

joyraft.host59858

Experiences

Writing Your Own Declaration: A Writing Workshop

Writing Your Own Declaration: A Writing Workshop

Protest! Relief Printmaking Workshop

Writing Your Own Declaration: A Writing Workshop

Protest! Relief Printmaking Workshop

Writing Your Own Declaration: A Writing Workshop

Dancing Through History

Oral History Live: Trans Stories Panel with SpeakOUT

A Night of Line Dancing with Gays for Patsy Dance Club

Author Talk: Theresa Okokon - "Who I Always Was"

Candy-Making and Memory in Boston

The Seltzer Factory: Film Screening and Conversation with Writer and Director Paloma Valenzuela

Oral History Workshop

Oral History Workshop

The Seltzer Factory: Film Screening and Conversation with Writer and Director Paloma Valenzuela