Lunchtime Series

The Atwater Library Lunchtime Series features once-a-week presentations by leading writers, musicians, intellectuals, scientists, and many more people sharing their knowledge and experience with the Atwater Library community. Lunchtime Series events usually take place on Thursdays (but sometimes are on other days), from 12:30 to 1:30 pm. Admission is free though we do appreciate donations! Everyone is welcome and we serve coffee and biscuits.

Upcoming Events

FRIDAY, February 28, 2025 from 12:30 to 1:30 pm
IN PERSON ONLY: To celebrate BLACK HISTORY MONTH, the Imani Gospel Singers, directed by Marcia Bailey, perform a program of spiritual music and discuss the evolution of Black gospel music.
There is no registration process. It’s first come, first seated. Atwater Library Adair Auditorium.

Thursday, March 13, 2025 from 12:30 to 1:30 pm
IN PERSON ONLY: For ST. PATRICK’S DAY, Festival Bloomsday Montréal presents the Gan Anim Trio headed by Gabriel Campagne. They’ll perform tunes and tell stories to celebrate joyful Irish diasporic traditions.

Thursday, March 20, 2025 from 12:30 to 1:30 pm
IN PERSON AND BY ZOOM: WARTIME ARVIDA – Rosalind Pepall shares stories of Arvida in the late 1930s and early ‘40s based on love letters exchanged between her father, an engineer with the aluminum industry there, and her mother, an Ontario College of Art graduate. The model company town in the Saguenay was built in 1926 for the Alcoa (later Alcan) aluminum complex, which became the largest aluminum producer in the world in 1942.
To REGISTER and get the Zoom link, click here.

Thursday, April 10, 2025 from 12:30 to 1:30 pm
IN PERSON AND BY ZOOM: NORTHERN IRELAND – Rev. Dr. Glenn Chestnutt reminisces about growing up in Northern Ireland and shares his observations about the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and what has ensued. He is the Presiding Minister of the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul in Montreal.
This event is co-sponsored by the Irish Protestant Benevolent Society of Montreal.
To REGISTER and get the Zoom link, click here.

Past 2025 Events

WEDNESDAY, January 8, 2025 from 12:30 to 1:30 pm
Heritage, Densification, Westmount and Cabot Square – Dinu Bumbaru, Héritage Montréal Policy Director, discusses issues at play in the proposed redevelopment of the area around the Atwater Library in the context of the Westmount Southeast PPU.

Thursday, January 16, 2025 from 12:30 to 1:30 pm
CANADIAN HISTORY – Award-winning author Stephen R. Bown talks about his books The Company: The Rise and Fall of the Hudson’s Bay Empire and Dominion: The Railway and the Rise of Canada.

Thursday, January 23, 2025 from 12:30 to 1:30 pm
ESTATE PLANNING – Catherine Rahal, Certified Professional Consultant on Aging, gives practical advice for organizing information and documents for those responsible for your affairs following incapacity or death. She will discuss her book If You Love Them Leave Them Lists.

Thursday, January 30, 2025 from 12:30 to 1:30 pm
DIGITAL LITERACY AS WE AGE – Kim Sawchuk, Professor, Communication Studies, Concordia University, gives a presentation on the importance of digital literacy for independent living in later life. Dr. Sawchuk is the Director of the ACT research project on ageing, communication and technologies.

Thursday, February 6, 2025 from 12:30 to 1:30 pm
AUTHOR INTERVIEW – Award-winning writer Peter McFarlane discusses with journalist Anne Lagacé Dowson his book Family Ties: How a Ukrainian Nazi and a living witness link Canada to Ukraine today. The book “provides context and background for understanding the complex dynamics behind the war between Ukraine and Russia, and Canada’s role in that conflict.” – publisher Lorimer.

Thursday, February 13, 2025 from 12:30 to 1:30 pm
THE NEW VIC PROJECT – David Syncox gives a presentation on “The New Vic Project: Creating a dynamic research, teaching and learning hub dedicated to sustainability and public policy at McGill University.” He is the Senior Philanthropic Advisor for the project.

Thursday, February 20, 2025 from 12:30 to 1:30 pm
THE WORLD OF TEA – Tea taster Kevin Gascoyne gives an inside view into the world of tea, his profession and the breathtaking tea gardens of Asia he visits every year to select precious leaves for the world-famous catalogue of Montreal-based Camellia Sinensis.

 

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