Young Adult Programs

Suggested for people 11 – 18 yrs old.

(Skip to Ongoing YA Programs)


Young Adult Program News

Only the most recent ten Young Adult Programs are shown here. Go to the Young Adult Program Archive for complete listings

Posted: March 11, 2024
Adults, News, Programs, Young Adults, teen

Art Pioneers: Women of Abstract Expressionism (Tuesday, March 19)

Celebrate women’s history as we discover the women who pioneered abstract art: Lee Krasner, Elaine DeKooning, Helen Frankenthaler, and others. Learn about their lives and their groundbreaking creativity in a presentation by Joyce Raimondo, Education Coordinator at the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center and author of children’s art books. Following the presentation, Raimondo will virtually guide participants through Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner’s home and studio – a national landmark in East Hampton, New York.

Date/Time: Tuesday, March 19, 4- 5pm

Location: Virtual via Zoom (note: this event will not be recorded)

Registration: To register and receive the Zoom link, please email programs@hudsonarealibrary.org.

This program is presented by Columbia County Libraries Association in conjunction with the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center, East Hampton, NY.

Photo credit: Lee Krasner, 1962. (Hans Namuth)


Posted: March 11, 2024
Adults, News, Programs, Young Adults, teen

The Fix-It Picnic (Wednesdays, March 20 and April 17)

Do you have a pile of socks that need darning, but lack motivation? A bunch of t-shirts you’ve been meaning to donate, but don’t want to add to the global textile waste crisis? A vision for turning your dad’s old ties into a cool patchwork skirt, but need a sewing lesson? Elise McMahon of LikeMindedObjects and Shaker Museum will facilitate The Fix-It Picnic, where the can-do community fix-it spirit is contagious. Open to all ages and skill levels.

Each drop-in session offers plenty of time to work on the sewing, t-shirt weaving, mending, or crafting project of your choice. The LikeMindedObjects team will be on hand with supplies and tools to help develop your skills. Some sessions will also feature a special guest with an optional skill share. Light snacks provided.

Dates/Times: Wednesday, February 21, March 20, April 17, 5 – 7:30pm
Special guest artists and instructors to be announced!

Location: In person, Hudson Area Library Community Room

Registration: No registration required. First come, first served.

This program is a partnership of  Shaker Museum, LikeMindedObjects, The Spark of Hudson, Waterfront Wednesdays and the Hudson Area Library


The Shakers are known for their extensive woodworking, design, and handicrafts, which they made collectively in their self-sustaining closed communities. They were careful stewards of their shared resources and reused materials, from the scraps left over from the cloak making business that were made into chair pads, to the fabric tape used for chairs that were repurposed into mops. The women worked together to make these objects which were used within the community as well as sold to the public. Shaker Museum stewards the most comprehensive collection of Shaker objects and archives in the world and is currently building its future location in Chatham, NY.

LikeMindedObjects (LMO) studio creates furniture, products, and interiors in a contemporary joyful aesthetic with focus on regional manufacturing, DIY skill building, and diverting useful materials from waste streams before they end up in landfills. LMO director Elise McMahon is an artist, designer, and educator who lives and works in Hudson, NY, and is locally known for co-organizing the Basilica Farm & Flea, a 100+ vendor regional artisan market promoting regenerative entrepreneurship.


Posted: March 11, 2024
Adults, History Room, Programs, Young Adults

BLACC Exhibition: A Dialogue Across Generations: Making Connections through the BLACC Collection

Delve into the cultural, familial, economic, social, and religious history of Black people in the county through our exhibition of the 1980s Black Legacy Association of Columbia County (BLACC) Oral History Project collection. Curated by Tanya Jackson, founder of the annual Columbia County Juneteenth archival exhibit and celebration, Who We Be!, this exhibition is an effort to bridge historical knowledge gaps and foster a more inclusive community narrative.

Date/Time: On display through June when room is not in use for programming. The recording from the opening reception & panel will be shared on our YouTube page when it becomes available.

Location: In person, Hudson Area Library Community Room

There will also be a youth workshop and educator event associated with this exhibition. Email brenda.shufelt@hudsonarealibrary.org for more information or visit historyroom.hudsonarealibrary.org.


Posted: March 11, 2024
Children, LGBTQ+, News, Programs, Young Adults, teen

BLACC Collection Exhibition: Youth Workshop (Saturday, March 9) & Educator Event (Saturday, March 23)

Youth Workshop: In connection with the BLACC Collection Exhibition, Curator Tanya Jackson will share clips from the BLACC Collection, followed by discussion that will creatively connect young people to the collection’s legacy. The workshop will then break into sessions with one taught by Nkoula Badila, which will focus on local home remedies, and the other, led by Zien-Celeste, which will transform a photo through the cyanotype process. In this way, participants will be able to have a creative conversation with the collection while adding to the exhibit themselves.

Date/Time: Saturday, March 9, 12 – 2pm

Educator Event: As a final part of our BLACC exhibit the library will offer an educator workshop to familiarize local public, private, home, out-of-school time and community educators with the BLACC Oral History Project collection and help them discover how it can be used to support learning. Jackson will facilitate the event along with Youth Researcher Jayden Cross, as well as Elaine Eichelberger and Brenda Shufelt, who are also assisting with research and curation for this project. 

Date/Time: Saturday, March 23, 11am – 1pm

Location for both events: In person at the Hudson Area Library Community Room

Registration: For more information and to register, email brenda.shufelt@hudsonarealibrary.org or call 518-828-1792 x106. Please include which event(s) you’d like to attend in the subject line.

This program was funded in part by Humanities New York with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed through this exhibition/programming do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.


Tanya Jackson is a Philmont-based, Hudson-raised polymath in media, education, and curation. As a curator, exhibit designer, and program developer, she’s a dynamic force. Co-founder of the Hudson Juneteenth Celebration, Tanya has curated and directed the artistically immersive Who We Be! exhibit for three years, spotlighting Black life in Columbia County. With roles ranging from educator to administrator, she’s a cultural memory worker, weaving diverse narratives into impactful experiences.

Zien-Celeste is a Queer Black-Creole Louisiana-born multidisciplinary artist, doula, chef and life learner. As a sister, companion and community-tender, they are inspired by rites of passage, ritual making, connection to land and ancestry in both human and non-human forms. Zien showcases these elements in their artistic cakes–Altar Cakes, cyanotype, shrine making and other illustrated and poetic works. Zien will be using cyanotype to engage youth participants in the riches of the BLACC collection.

Nkoula Badila is a multidisciplinary artist, healer, musician and gardener in the Hudson Valley.  Born into a Congolese dancing and drumming family, Nkoula takes up many of her inspirations from her traditional Congolese upbringing to do the work she does with Grow Black Hudson, a movement she created with intentions to re-introduce Hudson’s Black community to the importance and ancestral healing that comes with growing their own food. Nkoula will use her study of traditional African and Black American remedies to explore medicinal tradition with the youth participants.


Posted: March 11, 2024
Adults, News, Programs, Young Adults, teen

Bollywood Dance Classes (All Tuesdays in March)

Dance Bollywood with skilled instructor, Arobi! You will learn moves to trendy and iconic Bollywood songs in a fun, beginner-friendly environment. No experience required. Ages 12+.

Date/Time: Tuesdays, March 5, 12, 19, and 26, 5:30 – 6:30pm

Location: In person, Hudson Area Library Community Room

Registration: Space is limited and registration is required.
To register, email programs@hudsonarealibrary.org or call 518-828-1792 x101.

 


Posted: March 1, 2024
Adults, News, Programs, Young Adults

Free One-on-One Job Search Help and Career Development

Program Description: Nationally Certified Career Services Provider, Beth Gordon, will work with you one-on-one to re-fresh your resume or brush up on your interview skills to land that next job.

Date/Time: Beth is available by appointment for one-one-one sessions offered at a safe distance in person at the Hudson Area Library or by telephone, Skype, Zoom, or FaceTime.

Registration: Email programs@hudsonarealibrary.org or call 518-828-1792 x100 to schedule a one-on-one appointment.

Studies have shown that having a qualified person work through the process of seeking a job gives an individual a much greater chance of success. Beth Gordon is a Certified Career Services Provider, trained as a career coach through NCDA, the National Career Development Association. Beth provides professional development and advocacy to a diverse group of people who are out of work, looking to re-enter or join the workforce. She inspires and empowers individuals to achieve their career and life goals by consulting on resume writing, job search guidance, interview preparation and work ready assistance. Beth has training to help with, not only resumes and interview skills, but online job applications, and finding the right market for your particular job skills. She has access to job search resources online and in our area and has successfully taken many people through the process of searching for a job.


Posted: March 1, 2024
Children, Programs, Young Adults, teen

Bound By Books Youth Radio Show

Our youth radio crew records their weekly Bound By Books radio show remotely on Tuesday afternoons. Tune in Friday evenings and Sunday mornings to hear tweens and teens, along with our library director Emily Chameides discuss books they love, books they’re currently reading, and other tween and teen media and literary topics. Bound By Books has been broadcasting on WGXC since 2011. In addition to the weekly show, past Bound by Books radio shows can be accessed online via the WGXC Audio Archive.

Recording: Tuesdays, 4-5pm

Broadcast: Fridays, 7pm and Sundays, 6:30am on WGXC 90.7FM

Register: Contact Emily at info@hudsonarealibrary.org to learn more.


Posted: February 27, 2024
Adults, News, Programs, Young Adults

Virtual Tech Labs (Wednesday, March 27)

Local tech whiz Pam Doran will lead these free online tech labs, designed to help you navigate the digital world.

Date/Time: All sessions are on Wednesdays at 6:45pm.
Mar 27: Computer Security and Scams
Apr 3: AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ChatGPT

Location: Virtual via Zoom

Registration: To register and receive the Zoom link, email columbiacountylibraries@gmail.com

This program is sponsored by the Columbia County Libraries Association.


Posted: December 6, 2023
Adults, Children, Music, News, Programs, Young Adults, teen

Free Concert: Michael Benedict Jazz Vibes Quartet (Saturday, April 6)

Join us for a free jazz concert with The Michael Benedict Jazz Vibes Quartet. All are welcome!

Date/Time: Saturday, April 6, 12 – 1pm

Location: In person, Hudson Area Library Community Room

Registration: Registration is required. To register, email programs@hudsonarealibrary.org or call 518-828-1792 x101.

This program is brought to you by The Music Performance Trust Fund, The Jim
Clark Memorial Fund and the Albany Musicians’ Association, Local 14 of the
American Federation of Musicians.

Percussionist Michael Benedict received a Bachelor’s degree in music education
from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam and a Master’s degree in Jazz
Studies from Rutgers University.

In his group JAZZ VIBES, Michael plays the vibraphone, a jazz instrument
modeled after the xylophone and marimba. His band plays original compositions,
jazz standards and Brazilian influenced jazz called Bossa Nova. He has toured the
United States extensively, performing at numerous concert halls, colleges, clubs,
and festivals and has performed in Europe. In 2012, Michael went on a US State
Department tour of Tunisia, Africa where he taught and performed with the Planet
Arts Trio.

Michael has released six recordings to date. His album, CIRCULATION, was an
Editor’s pick in Downbeat Magazine and listed as one of the Best Jazz Albums of
2015 by National Public Radio. His newest album, “1-2-3 GO”, earned him the
Local Hero Award for Best Local/Regional Release by J. Hunter for
www.nippertown.com. Michael recently won an award for the Best Jazz Musician
of the Year for 2023 given by WCDB Radio, SUNY Albany, 90.9FM.
The band personnel for the concert at Hudson Area Library will be Michael
Benedict-vibraphone, Joe Finn-guitar, Michael Hurt-bass, and Pete Sweeney-
drums.


Only the most recent ten Young Adult Programs are shown here. Go to the Young Adult Program Archive for complete listings



Ongoing YA Programs

Bound By Books Youth Radio Show

Dates: Recording sessions on Wednesdays at 4pm, broadcasts Fridays at 7pm and Sundays at 9am
Location: WGXC Hudson Studio, at 7th St. and Columbia St. (recording via Zoom during the pandemic)
Ages: 10-19
The Bound By Books youth radio show broadcasts on WGXC 90.7FM every Monday from 3:30-4pm from the WGXC Hudson Studio. On the show, tweens and teens discuss books they have been reading and other bookish topics. Those interested in joining the Bound By Books radio crew should contact youth@hudsonarealibrary.org

Battle of the Books Trivia Team

Dates: dates TBD
Ages for tween program: youth entering grades 6-9 or homeschooled youth of equivalent ages
Ages for teen program: youth entering grades 9-12 or homeschooled youth of equivalent ages
The Battle of the Books is a yearly trivia contest where teams of young readers from throughout the Mid-Hudson Library System read the same 6 titles over the summer and compete in a trivia contest in August/September. Contact the library to sign up for the Hudson Battle of the Books Teams.