Summer Reading is right around the corner! Watch for updates, and in the meantime, get the June 24th 10:30am Kick-Off date in your calendar!
Color Our World Summer Reading Program
events
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!
Monica Wood to Accept the 2024 Hale Award
The Richards Free Library proudly announces best-selling Maine author, Monica Wood, as the recipient of the 2024 Sarah Josepha Hale Award.
Monica Wood is an award-winning novelist, memoirist and playwright. Originally from Mexico, Maine, her writing tells character-driven stories about life-changing events. Wood was awarded the 2019 Constance Carlson Prize for contributions to the public humanities in
Maine; and the 2018 Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance Distinguished Achievement Award for her contributions to the literary arts.
Her newest novel, “How to Read a Book,” has already secured translation rights in five countries. Her previous novel, the bestselling “The One-in-a-Million Boy,” has been translated into 20 languages in over 30 countries. She is also the author of “When We Were the Kennedys,” a New England bestseller and winner of the May Sarton Memoir Award. Her other fiction, “Any Bitter Thing,” “Ernie’s Ark,” and “My Only Story” have also won awards and made bestseller lists. Her short stories have been widely anthologized and featured
on Public Radio International. Her nonfiction and reviews have appeared in O, the New York Times, Literary Hub, Down East, the San Francisco Chronicle, Martha Stewart Living, Parade and many other publications. She has also written several books for aspiring writers and three plays including “The Half-Light,” “Saint Dad,” and “Papermaker,” that in 2015 debuted in an extended run at Maine’s Portland Stage. She lives in Portland with her husband, Dan Abbott, and their cat, Susie.
Please join us Saturday September 7, 2024 at 7pm at the Newport Opera House for the award ceremony, which will include a speech by Wood as well as book sales and signing. The award ceremony is free and open to the public.
We will once again host a dinner with the author at the Old Courthouse Restaurant on the same evening at 5pm, prior to the ceremony. Dinner tickets are available for purchase at the library.
New London Hospital’s Community Health Needs Assessment RESULTS Community Conversation
Join us on Tuesday, July 9th at 6 PM at the Richards Free Library for an important New London Hospital Community Health Conversation. This event is an opportunity for you to engage in a meaningful discussion about the results of the Community Health Needs Assessment you participated in this spring.
Your feedback is crucial as New London Hospital begins to develop new programs that address the specific health needs of our community. The library will be providing coffee, so you can enjoy a warm beverage as you share your thoughts. By attending, you can help shape the future of local healthcare and ensure that our community’s voices are heard.
Don’t miss out on this valuable opportunity to make a difference. We look forward to seeing you there and hearing your insights!
Summer Reading 2024 “Adventure Begins at Your Library” Events Schedule
June 27th 10:30am KICKOFF Family “Adventure Concert” with Miss Julieann Join us for a free family concert and adventure that will be fun for the whole family. Sing along to catchy new songs written and performed by music therapist Julieann Hartley, and come along as we go on an adventure around the library grounds and learn to look at things a little closer.
June 28th 10-12pm Kids’ Craft Button Making: Drop in to make a home-made button pin or two to adventure with this summer!
July 1st thru July 3rd Drop in Scavenger Hunt! Try out our library-themed scavenger hunt any time. Will you find everything we hid?
July 3rd 11am Adventure Family Story time! Pretend to be your favorite animal for this animal-themed story time for ages 0-6.
July 5th 10-4pm LEGO Day at the library! Build an obstacle to add to our LEGO obstacle course!
July 9th 2pm-3:30pm Unicorn and Dragon Party! Join us for stories, crafts, activities and snacks at this party celebrating our imaginations. Wear a costume to be part of our party parade!
July 10th 6pm Fantasy Map Making. Make your own fantasy map with some tips from an expert world builder! Big kids ages 8+, teens, and adults are all welcome to join in!
July 12th 12-4pm Let’s Crazy Craft! Make anything with our craft supplies: Summer Edition!
July 15th 2 pm Design a Hero: Needle Felt or use LEGO to build an adventurer to take home or use next week for Stop Motion!
July 17th 11am Adventure Story Time: Wonder Quest! Join in for an inspiring story time, and then we’ll go on a Quest around the library grounds to find the wonder surrounding us in the world outdoors. What will you find?
July 19th 1-3pm World Record Challenge. Kids and teens are invited to try out these challenges to see how quickly you can do them compared to the world record! It’s all fun and games, but can you get the fastest times?
July 22nd 1-3pm Make Your Own Adventure: Stop Motion Video. We’ll work together to film a stop-motion adventure, or you can learn some tricks to try it out in your own small group. For kids age 6-11 with their families.
July 23rd 2pm Author Visit with Marek Bennett, the beloved graphic novel author-illustrator who so many Newport kids love. Bring the whole family to meet Marek! The Children’s Literacy Foundation (CLiF) is sponsoring this visit and bringing 2 books for each child that attends. The presentation will be on the library side lawn.
July 24th 11 / 11:30am Fairy Houses! Come for our 11am family storytime, and stay to build nature-safe fairy houses on the library side lawn at 11:30. Items found in nature (fallen bark, sticks, shells) from home are welcome to supplement ours.
July 29th and 30th 2-5pm Library Escape Room: Register online or call to reserve a time slot to try our library-themed Escape Room with your friends or family. Kids under 9 will need at least one adult, please!
July 31st 11am Special Story Time: Bubbles! After a bubbly story time we’ll play with Ms Mo’s famous soap bubbles! Rain: Aug 7
August 2nd 10:30am-12 Navigation Games! Join expert Dawn Dextraze to learn an adventure skill and have a blast at the same time! Dawn is Sullivan county’s Natural Resources Education and Outreach Specialist, and she Knows. Her. Stuff!
August 3rd 10:30 -1:30 Stuffed animal drop-off! Drop off your stuffy for a weekend of epic stuffy adventures. Make your plushie a button pin before you go! See you Monday! (Registration required.) Note: Stuffies sleepover, not kids.
August 5th 1pm Stuffed Animal Tea Time Pick Up Party! Join the stuffies for a tea party in the ballroom, and watch a slideshow of all the adventures the Stuffies had over the weekend at the library!
August 6th 3:30pm Frozen T-Shirt Challenge: Can you wiggle into a frozen-solid t-shirt? Don’t miss this Newport tradition! We’ll round out the fun with other outdoor games.
August 8th 3pm Summer Reading Finale Ice Cream & Tie Dye Party! with ice cream donated by Sanctuary Dairy Farms. Bring something white to tie-dye! Kids, teens, and their families are all invited.
