Richards Free Library

Engage, Enrich, Entertain

events

RFL September Calendar of Events

September

To download the calendar, scroll to the bottom of this post!

9/2 Temporary Tattoos (grades 6-12), 3 PM.

9/3 After School Coloring Party! Join us when you get out of school today to color with friends and get to know the Children’s Librarian.

9/4 Teen Hang-Out (grades 6-12), 2:30-4 PM.

9/8 LEGO Day Drop in, 2-4pm. Let your imagination loose to build anything at all with the library’s LEGOs.

9/9 My First Book Group, 3:30. Read a beginning reader book together. We’ll have a snack, read, and discuss. Grownups are asked to stay. BOOK: Dot the Ladybug: Dot Day

9/9 Chapter Chats, 4pm. We’ll start a chapter book together and discuss it! This is intended for grades 2-5, depending on children’s reading level. BOOK: Amber Brown is Not a Crayon

9/10 Needle Felting (Kids age 6-11), 1-4pm. learn how to needle felt or practice your skills! Make your favorite animal out of wool or try a simpler project!

9/11 Teen Hang-Out (grades 6-12), 2:30-4 PM.

9/16 Beaded Necklace (Kids 6-11 and their families), 3:30 pm. String a necklace or bracelet to take home!

9/16 Knitting group (adult), 6-8PM.

9/17 Craft Club: Paper Jewelry (adult), 5:30-7PM. Want to make a new accessory? We will make paper beads and quilled paper pendants! We’ll provide the supplies!

9/17 Teen Advisory Board (grades 6-12), 3 PM.

9/18 Kids’ Window Painting, 3:30pm-4:30pm. Help us decorate the Children’s Room with a fresh fall mural on the big window!

9/18 Legends and Truths About New England’s Wolves Presented by Susie Spikol (adults), 6 – 7PM. Discover how wolves survived, what forces lead to its extinction from the New England landscape, and how the stories and myths we tell about this creature continue to influence our perception of it today.

9/18 Teen Hang-Out (grades 6-12), 2:30-4 PM.

9/19 Newport Rec Building Play Group story time: 10-11am. We’ll be hanging out and reading stories at the Rec’s play group! Stop in and play and listen.

9/22 Bingo for Books (Kids 6-11 and their families), 3:30pm. Play Bingo for a chance to win free books!

9/22 Library Board of Trustees Meeting (open to the public), 6:30PM.

9/23 Writing Games (grades 6-12), 3 PM .

9/24 LEGO Day Drop in 1-5pm. Let your imagination loose to build anything at all with the library’s LEGOs.

9/24 Movie Night: West Side Story (2021), 5PM – 7:30PM. Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. An adaptation of the 1957 musical, West Side Story explores forbidden love and the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds.

9/25 Poetry group (adult), 6-8PM.

9/25 Teen Hang-Out (grades 6-12), 2:30-4 PM.

9/29 Board Games (grades 6-12), 3 PM

9/30 Kids Stomp Rockets (Kids 6-11 and their families), 3:30. Weather permitting! Make a paper rocket and launch it with a stomp.

September 2025 Official (1)Download

2025 Library Festival!

The Library Festival Book Sale is on August 23rd!

Don’t miss our famous annual Library Festival with its huge book sale, raffles, cookie walk, giant bubbles, children’s craft, and face painting!
Right across the road from the giant Apple Pie Craft Fair, the Book Sale opens at 8am for members only, and 9am for everyone else. Stock up on books for the year at incredibly low prices! Teachers get books half-price starting at 1pm with their school ID. Everyone gets books for 1$ a bag starting at 2pm!
Fun for the whole family! Children will love getting their face painted, trying our free craft, and enjoying our famous giant bubbles! Come early to do the “cookie walk” to fill a bag with cookies before they sell out!
The Library Festival has been hosted by the Friends of the Richards Free Library in Newport NH for well over 50 years. The whole community pitches in to help put together this huge event, from Friends volunteers who spend hours sorting books, to local sports teams who help move books and tables, to the community sponsors. Thank you all for your incredible support!
This year will look a little different! The library is reseeding the grass on the giant side lawn after getting trees taken down over the winter, so the event will take place in the parking lot! The library will still be open during their Saturday hours of 10am-2pm, so folks can cool off in the AC, have a rest, or use the facilities.
Look for the special pre-sale event, new this year, called Books and Brews Preview Night, August 22nd 5pm-7:30pm. $25 tickets will buy you access to the preview-sale to get an exclusive first chance to buy books, as well as two drink tickets, with beer provided by Rockingham Brewery West.
For more information or to volunteer to bake cookies or help with the event, please email friends@newport.lib.nh.us

May 12th-17th 2025 Teen Programs

Monday May 12th: No program, but feel free to come hang out in our teen space and use the computers, coloring pages, or board games.

Tuesday May 13th: No program, but feel free to come hang out in our teen space and use the computers, coloring pages, or board games.

Wednesday May 14th: Teen Advisory Board @ 3pm: Share your thoughts on teen programs, YA books, and more! Teens 14+ can earn volunteer hours on Teen Advisory Board.

Thursday May 15th: Video Games @ 3pm: Hang out in the Oval Room and play classic Nintendo games on the library’s Switch!

Friday May 16th: No program, but feel free to come hang out in our teen space and use the computers, coloring pages, or board games.

Saturday May 17th: Dungeon’s and Dragons @ 10-2pm: Local DM Reggie from the Dragon’s Maze leads a drop-in campaign free for all!

Keep Sarah Warm 2024

This year, we’re inviting our community of knitters to come together once again to create a beautiful scarf for the Sarah Josepha Hale statue in front of the library.

Here’s how you can contribute:

  • Knit a piece measuring 8 inches on one side.
  • Bring your knitted piece to the front desk of the library.
  • Fill out a card with your contact information

If you don’t have your own supplies, don’t worry! There will be knitting needles and yarn on display at the library, generously provided by the library. You can knit your contribution right there. Signs will provide knitting instructions to help you get started.

Need some yarn to get started at home? Stop by the library for a free skein, generously donated by a fellow craft enthusiast.

We will kick off this years “Scarf Season” by celebrating Sarah Josepha Hale’s 236th birthday on October 24th at the RFL! Then it’s time to bring your pieces in and register to be a part of the scarf! A dedicated volunteer will assemble all the contributions into a single, magnificent scarf.

Come and sip some cider at the “Wrap Party” on November 22nd and help wrap the scarf around the Sarah Josepha Hale statue in time to honor her for Thanksgiving. The scarf will remain on display until the first snowfall and will be taken down before the New Year.

When you bring in your contribution, you’ll be asked to fill out a registration form with your contact information. This year we would love to credit contributors with a list that will be displayed next to the scarf! You can also opt to sign up for the library newsletter or express your interest in joining our knitting group.

Let’s come together to celebrate Sarah Josepha Hale and keep her warm this season. Happy knitting!