Please join us for a screening of “My Secret Country” a film by local filmmaker Marlo McKenzie. Marlo will be present for Q&A after the screening
MY SECRET COUNTRY
Get inside a child’s mind of pretend friends, imaginary worlds, horror, and wonder!
This film is a sweet ode to the power of play, imagination and creativity that journeys into the imagination of three children. This allegorical tale and feature-length hybrid documentary will spark wonder in children and adults. Brought to life through 2D animation and co-written with the young protagonists, this award-winning film blends fantasy and reality to spark wonder in audiences of all ages.
Join the thought leaders, parents, imaginary friends, and the kids themselves as they Inspire, Imagine, Play, and Build their way through the Minecraft challenge before them.
MY SECRET COUNTRY made its world premiere at the San Francisco Documentary Festival in June and has since screened at festivals worldwide. It received the Best Feature Documentary award at the San Diego International Kids Film Festival, Best Documentary North America at the Kids International Family Film Festival, and earned an Honorable Mention at the Atlanta Children’s Film Festival. The film was also highlighted in an article by The New York Times.
Marlo McKenzie is a storyteller originally from Metro Detroit. She’s studied language in France, worked in theater in Germany, and co-founded a video production company that trains underserved youth in Australia.
*To be notified of upcoming showings of our Filmmakers in Focus series, contact Lea at lea.aschkenas@cityofsanrafael.org.
Make 2025 be the year that you get to some of those classics you’d always planned to read! With our quarterly meetings, you can read leisurely and dive deeply. We’ll explore both fiction and nonfiction from the US and abroad for an expansive view of the past and, perhaps, a better understanding of the present.
Meets first Thursday of every third month.
First ten registered participants receive a free copy of each meeting’s book.
To register, email Lea at lea.aschkenas@cityofsanrafael.org.
Make 2026 be the year that you get to some of those classics you’d always planned to read! With our quarterly meetings, you can read leisurely and dive deeply. We’ll explore both fiction and nonfiction from the US and abroad for an expansive view of the past and, perhaps, a better understanding of the present.
Meets first Thursday of every third month.
First ten registered participants receive a free copy of each meeting’s book.
To register, email Lea at lea.aschkenas@cityofsanrafael.org.
August 6 — The Autobiography of Malcolm X, by Alex Haley
Make 2025 be the year that you get to some of those classics you’d always planned to read! With our quarterly meetings, you can read leisurely and dive deeply. We’ll explore both fiction and nonfiction from the US and abroad for an expansive view of the past and, perhaps, a better understanding of the present.
Meets first Thursday of every third month, starting in February 2025.
First ten registered participants receive a free copy of each meeting’s book.
To register, email Lea at lea.aschkenas@cityofsanrafael.org.
February 6— If Beale Street Could Talk, by James Baldwin
Make 2026 be the year that you get to some of those classics you’d always planned to read! With our quarterly meetings, you can read leisurely and dive deeply. We’ll explore both fiction and nonfiction from the US and abroad for an expansive view of the past and, perhaps, a better understanding of the present.
Meets first Thursday of every third month.
First ten registered participants receive a free copy of each meeting’s book.
To register, email Lea at lea.aschkenas@cityofsanrafael.org.
May 7 — The Awakening, by Kate Chopin
August 6 — The Autobiography of Malcolm X, by Alex Haley
Make 2025 be the year that you get to some of those classics you’d always planned to read! With our quarterly meetings, you can read leisurely and dive deeply. We’ll explore both fiction and nonfiction from the US and abroad for an expansive view of the past and, perhaps, a better understanding of the present.
Meets first Thursday of every third month.
First ten registered participants receive a free copy of each meeting’s book.
To register, email Lea at lea.aschkenas@cityofsanrafael.org.
August 7 — Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe
November 6 — A Moveable Feast, by Ernest Hemingway
Make 2025 be the year that you get to some of those classics you’d always planned to read! With our quarterly meetings, you can read leisurely and dive deeply. We’ll explore both fiction and nonfiction from the US and abroad for an expansive view of the past and, perhaps, a better understanding of the present.
Meets first Thursday of every third month.
First ten registered participants receive a free copy of each meeting’s book.
To register, email Lea at lea.aschkenas@cityofsanrafael.org.
November 6 — A Moveable Feast, by Ernest Hemingway
Make 2026 be the year that you get to some of those classics you’d always planned to read! With our quarterly meetings, you can read leisurely and dive deeply. We’ll explore both fiction and nonfiction from the US and abroad for an expansive view of the past and, perhaps, a better understanding of the present.
Meets first Thursday of every third month.
First ten registered participants receive a free copy of each meeting’s book.
To register, email Lea at lea.aschkenas@cityofsanrafael.org.
February 5 — It Can’t Happen Here, by Sinclair Lewis
May 7 — The Awakening, by Kate Chopin
August 6 — The Autobiography of Malcolm X, by Alex Haley
Video games and snacks that sounds like a great time.
What?! Yes, the library has got you covered!
Come get your game on with the new Pickleweed Library Video Game Club. The Club is an inclusive place for all tweens and teens to come a hangout, make new friends, play video games and eat delicious snacks.
We will have a Nintendo Switch running some of your favorite games. Come on by and enjoy good company and video games.
Ages 9 to 17.
You are more than welcome to bring your own portable system to play.
Snacks will be provided.
This program is brought to you thanks to the support of The Friends of the Library.
Video juegos y bocadillos suena a un rato divertido.
Ven a jugar con el nuevo Club de Videojuegos de la Biblioteca Pickleweed. El Club es un lugar inclusivo para todos los preadolescentes y adolescentes para venir a pasar el rato, hacer nuevos amigos, jugar videojuegos y comer deliciosos bocadillos.
Tendremos una Nintendo Switch con algunos de tus juegos favoritos. Ven y disfruta de buena compañía y videojuegos.
Edades de 9 a 17 años.
Puedes traer tu propia consola portátil para jugar.
Habrá bocadillos.
Este programa es traído a usted gracias al apoyo de The Friends of the Library.
This art talk will showcase a period room at the Legion of Honor, the Salon Doré, originally constructed in 1781 at the Hôtel de La Trémoille in Paris during the reign of Louis XVI. It was later installed as a ballroom in a California home, then donated and reconstructed at the Legion of Honor in 1959. Twenty-first century visitors can get both a visceral and intellectual sense of how social life was conducted in an aristocratic environment during the eighteenth century. The salon de compagnie was designed to receive guests and invite conversation; it was meant for music and games and its elaborate rituals are embedded in everything from the arrangement of chairs to the quality of the lighting. Said to be one of the four finest French period rooms in an American museum, the Salon Doré is distinguished by having all the appropriate furnishings as well as lighting that creates the impression and atmosphere of candlelight.
FAMSF Docent: Marsha Holm
First Wednesday Art Talks are provided by the Friends of the San Rafael Library
