The Lanier Library is providing a group of programs for the community during the late winter and spring months. These programs are free and everyone is invited.

The following Tuesday programs are part of the Brown Bag Lunch series and audiences are invited to bring their lunch to enjoy during the program.

Tuesday, January 19, noon.

Naturalist Simon Thompson will speak about birding in our area of Western North Carolina and give tips on taking care of the wild birds that visit our yards and gardens.

Tuesday, February 16, noon.

Musicians Phil and Gaye Johnson will perform traditional and contemporary acoustic folk and bluegrass music, including their own compositions.

Tuesday, March 16, noon.

As a prelude to Easter. this program, titled All about Hats, will include a presentation of her own hats and bonnets by Eleanor Rogers. The audience is encouraged to wear hats for the occasion and there will be a surprise visitor at the end of the program.

February 15 is the deadline for entries to be received for the Sidney Lanier Award Poetry Competition. This annual competition accepts entries from poets throughout the Carolinas. There is a prize of $500 for the winner and an additional $100 for the winning high school student. The prizes will be presented at a special program at the Lanier Library in April.

In May the Library, with support from the Kirby Fund, will sponsor a performance by actress Barbara Smith at the Tryon Fine Arts Center. Ms Smith will play in her off-Broadway role of Ivy Rowe, the heroine in the novel by Lee Smith, Fair and Tender Ladies.

For additional details about any of these events, visit the Lanier Librarys Web site at www.lanierlib.org or just come in to the Library at the corner of Chestnut Street and Melrose Avenue in Tryon.

The Library is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Wednesdays and Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., and on Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m.