Great Neck Library has filled its late November and December calendar with live music, a holiday movie afternoon and a run of seasonal craft and design sessions, spread across its Main Building on Bayview Avenue and its Station and Parkville branches. Most of the adult concerts are free and ask Great Neck Library District residents to register ahead, with non-residents admitted as walk-ins when seats remain.

Here is what is on the schedule between now and the winter break, with times, rooms and how to get in, as posted on the library's own events calendar.

Sunday afternoon concerts

Pianist and songwriter Matthew Fishteyn opens the stretch on Sunday, November 22, from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Main Library Community Room, 159 Bayview Avenue. The library describes him as a classically trained player who moved into blues, funk, soul and country, and who still folds classical writing into his own pieces. The program is listed for adults, and registration for district residents is open through the event page.

On Sunday, December 13, from 2 to 3:15 p.m., Long Island singer and pianist Mary Sollitto performs at the Parkville Branch, 10 Campbell Street in New Hyde Park. Her set covers pop hits from several decades, along with jazz, rhythm and blues, disco and some winter seasonal songs. She has been performing around the tri-state area since 1995. The room holds about 30, so residents should sign up through the listing.

The month closes on Sunday, December 20, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. with the No Gap Generation Jazz Band in the Main Library Community Room. Clarinetist Artie Miller started the group to pair younger players with veteran jazz musicians, and it played its first concert in 1972 at the Overseas Press Club in New York. The afternoon traces jazz from New Orleans blues through Dixieland, swing, bebop, bossa nova and post bop. The lineup posted by the library is Gary Pierce on guitar, Artie Miller on clarinet, Lynn Milano on bass, James Guarnieri on percussion and Niel Ralph on piano. Details and registration are on the concert page.

A movie musical double bill before Thanksgiving

The day before Thanksgiving, Wednesday, November 25, from 2 to 7 p.m., the Main Library Community Room screens two movie musicals back to back: La La Land, starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, and the 2021 film In the Heights, which runs 2 hours and 28 minutes and is rated PG-13. No registration is needed, and seating is first come, first served, per the screening listing.

For young children

The BenAnna Band plays an unplugged, interactive concert for children from crawlers through pre-K on Wednesday, December 9, from 11 a.m. to noon at the Station Branch Community Room, 26 Great Neck Road, second level. Registration opens at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, November 25, through the event page.

Families can also stop by the Main Library Children's Room any time from December 1 through December 31 for a Winter Solstice Scavenger Hunt that walks kids through how people around the world mark the shortest day of the year. It is a self-guided activity, described on the scavenger hunt listing.

Holiday cards in the STEM Lab

On Wednesday, December 2, from 2 to 5:30 p.m., the Main Library STEM Lab runs a drop-in holiday card session on its Cricut Maker machines. Visitors pick from a set of holiday card designs, then write and decorate them to send to friends and family. It is open to ages 7 and up, with walk-ins welcome when space is available, according to the STEM Lab listing.

Already full, with a waiting list

A few seasonal workshops booked up quickly. The Winter Scene Cloche Workshop with Lisa Colon (December 3, Lakeville Branch) and the Winter Paint and Sip with Jess Ressler (December 14, Station Branch) both show as fully booked. The Main Library STEM Lab's class on building a low poly 3D winter scene in Blender, the free 3D software, on Tuesday, December 15, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., is also full, but the library is taking names for a waiting list. It is open to adults and anyone 12 and older with solid computer skills; no Blender experience is required.

How to sign up

Registration for the resident-only programs can be done online, in person or by phone. The Main Building is at 159 Bayview Avenue, Great Neck, and the library's main number is (516) 466-8055. The full list of programs, including weekly story times and classes, is on the Great Neck Library events calendar.

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