The Madison and Guilford rivalry has entered a new arena with the announcement of a E-Gaming competition at the Public Library. According to officials at both libraries, on Nov. 18 from 4 to 7 p.m., E.C. Scranton Memorial Library and Guilford Free Library will face off in an epic Super Smash Bros. tournament.

The event will be held in the Johnson Family Community Room at the Scranton Library and feature competitors from both Guilford and Madison, vying for a trophy to represent their winning town.

According to Scranton Library Director Sunnie Scarpa, the grand prize is a gift card to GameStop for the winning participant and a trophy for the winning town, which will be put on display in the public library until next year’s tournament.

“I have total faith in Madison’s teens to bring home the win and I can already picture the trophy proudly displayed right inside our main entrance” said Scarpa jokingly of the rivalry.

Rob McCoole, Library Director at the Guilford Free Library, also has his eye on the prize.

“I have a display case right outside my office, just waiting for that trophy!” he said.

Organizers are confident that a good time will be had by all. Spectators are also encouraged to attend, but they must be aged 12 and over. The respective directors encouraged residents to come out and cheer on your teen and town, and join in the fun.

The tournament will be held at the Scranton Library on Thursday, Nov. 18 from 4 to 7 p.m. It is open to ages 12 to 18. Rhode Island-based One-Up Games will provide all the necessary equipment and technology for the event.

Sign up now through your library’s website:

Madison signup:

bit.ly/scrantonlibrarysmashbros

Guilford signup:

www.guilfordfreelibrary.org/category/

events/teen

Poetry Series Invites Rhonda Ward

Another intriguing event will be held on Thursday, Nov. 11 at 6:30 p.m. The Guilford Poet Guild welcomes Poet Rhonda Ward as part of the Second Thursday Poetry Series.

The program begins with an open mic session and will then feature Rhonda M. Ward, a native of Dayton, Ohio. Ward grew up across the street from the home of the poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar and began reciting his poems at the age of eight.

Ward has organized poetry readings in southeastern Connecticut for nearly 20 years and currently co-hosts the annual Langston Hughes Community Poetry Reading at the Mystic Museum of Art which will celebrate 14 years in 2022.

Ward’s poems have appeared in print and online, most recently in Connecticut Woodlands, Cape Cod Quarterly, the nature anthology Waking Up to the Earth (edited by Connecticut Poet Laureate Margaret Gibson), and online at the Academy of American Poets’ Poem-A-Day Project. She has read her poetry internationally, including Skiathos, Greece, Cumbria, U.K., and Sofia, Bulgaria. She was appointed poet laureate for the City of New London in 2017.

This program is cosponsored by the Guilford Free Library and the Guilford Poets Guild. To participate in the Virtual Open Mic, email guilfordpoets@gmail.com.

To register for the Poetry Series Evening, visit www.guilfordfreelibrary.org. Registration is required to join the program on Zoom.

Lions Gate Trio

On Sunday, Nov. 14 at 1:30 p.m., the Guilford Free Library invites the public to join the internationally acclaimed Lions Gate Trio for an array of chamber music for violin, cello, and piano. This prize-winning chamber group will perform its take on Joseph Haydn Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne, a rare arrangement by the composer for violin and cello.

The group will also present two forgotten Romantic gems by Russian composer Sergie Protopopov and close the concert with Beethoven’s famed Archduke Trio.

The trio—violinist Katie Lansdale, cellist Darrett Adkins, and pianist Florence Millet—has performed across Europe and the U.S., and served residencies at Tanglewood, Yale University, and the University of Pittsburgh.

Seats for this in-person, free concert at Guilford Free Library are limited. Register online at www.guilfordfreelibrary.org or call 203-453-8282.