Jefferson Market Library Happenings

By CorinNe Neary 

DURING THE VILLAGE HALLOWEEN PARADE ON OCTOBER 31, Jefferson Market Library will be closing at 5pm to allow the spider, above, to emerge from his lair and startle the revelers on Sixth Avenue. Photo courtesy of the Village Halloween Parade.

It’s October, and the spooky season is descending once more upon us at Jefferson Market Library. We know what you’re wondering, and the answer is yes: Basil Twist and Co. will be working their puppeteering magic from our clocktower during the (50th!) Village Halloween Parade on October 31. As always, we’ll be closing at 5pm to allow the spider to emerge from his lair and startle the revelers on Sixth Avenue. Once he has had his fill, he’ll go back into hibernation until next Halloween.

If you were in the neighborhood last year, you may have gotten a chance to attend one of our nighttime interactive dance performances, called Unbound. This month, the creators, Thistle Dance, are back with a whole new limited engagement, Unbound II: The Art of Sin. Fridays October 13, 20, and 27, there will be multiple performances, and no two are ever quite the same. In the words of the choreographers, “Pick a room, follow a character, explore the library. Meet the sins in their own skin.” 

The productions span all three floors of the library, and the audiences are free to move around at a whim, while performers “explore the entwined relationships between the seven deadly sins. Shadow them floor-by-floor and room-to-room for an unrepentantly provocative night. We’ll reframe what are often considered our worst parts and unveil each sin in its own skin. Whether you choose to visit us for a single show or spend your whole evening with us, we’ll have you dying – for more.” Please register for these shows on our website. 

Also in keeping with the spirit of the season, our film screenings this month all explore horror, fear, or dread in one way or another. From the gorgeous gore of Dario Argento’s Suspiria, the question of madness in Deborah Kerr’s performance in The Innocents, and the real-life horror of politics at the 1968 DNC in Medium Cool, we’ve got quite a variety of movies this month. As usual, screenings will be Mondays at 6pm, and for a change of pace, we’re also showing matinees October Fridays at 2pm. Please check our website or flyers for more details.