Category Archives: Programs

Updates about ongoing programs.

D&D Shorts

D&D Shorts is a new program for players who have already attended one of the Library’s Intro to D&D sessions, or otherwise have prior experience with the game! The program will take place upstairs in the Teens & Tweens area on alternating Saturdays, 1:00 – 4:00 PM, starting on July 18.

Up to 5 players will participate in 1-4 session “one-shot” adventures using premade characters. Registration is required. The program is for all ages, but players will be matched by age when possible, and may be asked to wait to join an age-appropriate group at Library staff’s discretion. Children under 12 must have a caretaker present in the Library during the program’s runtime, in accordance with CT General Statutes. Players (and/or caretakers) will be informed of how many sessions a given adventure is likely to take, and are expected to determine their availability in advance. Players who register after a group is at max capacity can be added to a waitlist; first-time players will be given priority when a new adventure starts.

To register, call the Library at (203) 393-2103 or email Antonio at astrumolo@bethanylibrary.org and provide a player name and age, caretaker name if applicable, and contact information (email preferred).

Comic Book Club

After the success of our Comic Book Workshop in January, we’re happy to be able to offer more comic-creation programming this summer! Join local artist James Vanderberg at the Library on Tuesdays, July 14, 21, & 28 from 2:00 – 4:00 PM for Comic Book Club!

During Comic Book Club sessions you’ll explore cartoon drawing, narrative storytelling, and autobiographical comic making, and work with simple tools and no-fail prompts to ignite your creativity, create your own characters, and tell your own stories. Whether you love reading graphic novels, making comics, or simply reading the Sunday funnies, you’re sure to find this program fun and engaging!

Comic Book Club is intended for ages 10 and up, but no previous artistic experience is needed. All supplies are provided. This is a drop in program – feel free to attend as many or as few sessions as you’d like! – but space is limited, so try to arrive as close to the starting time as possible.

Summer Open Sew

Saturdays | July 11, 18, & 25 | 2:00 – 4:00 PM

Join us on Saturday afternoons in July for our Summer Open Sew sessions, a chance to work on your latest needlework project – quilting, sewing, or mending! These drop-in “open studio” sessions are a chance to ask for pointers, show off your expertise, and enjoy shared interests and camaraderie. Sessions will be in the Community Room. The Library has invested in some beautiful sewing tools for everyone to use (special thanks to the Friends of the Library!), and this is a great option for anyone who works full-time. We hope to see you there!

Duct Tape Crafts!

We will be making duct tape crafts on Wednesdays in July, from 4:30 – 5:30 PM in the Teens & Tweens Maker Studio. We have the supplies to make wallets, clutches, and earrings – come join us and get creative! This is a drop-in activity for ages 12 and up.

Planting Seeds to Read!

6 Week Summer Reading Program – Thursdays, July 9 – August 13
Drop In 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Come join us as we dig into plant-themed books and crafts this summer!
Planting Seeds to Read is a follow-up to last summer’s wildly successful Fractured Fairy Tales program – this time matching the “Plant a Seed, Read” theme of the Summer Reading Program. Each session will include the reading of a book, and then an associated craft. This is a drop-in program for ages 12 and under, and will take place in the Children’s Room. Caregivers must remain in the Library for the duration of the program.

Starting June 26, we invite our patrons to join us on Friday afternoons (3:30 – 4:30 PM) for Flashlight Fridays, when we turn off the lights and draw the curtains in the Children’s Room, then hand out flashlights for you to use to locate books and read them! We’ll keep it safe and magical and supply the flashlights, but feel free to bring your own if you’d like!

Lunch Bunch Book Club

Wednesdays 1:00 – 2:00 | July 1, July 8, & July 15
Grades K – 2. Sign-up required.

Come join us at the Library for a summer book club designed to help our earliest readers, children grades K – 2, maintain and strengthen their reading skills during the summer break. Each week a new book will be discussed – the first meeting will have a read-along, and participants will pick up the book for the following week at the ends of the first two sessions. There will be light snacks provided for all participants, but you are free to bring your own as well!

Registration is required – the number of books available is limited. Call the Library at (203) 393-2103 or email us at clarkmain@bethanylibrary.org to sign up. Caregivers must remain in the Library while the program is in progress.

Summer Reading isn’t all the Library has going on this summer – after the Kickoff this Saturday, join us Thursday of next week for the return of LEGO Club!

The club will meet in the Children’s Room on Thursdays from 2:00 – 4:00 PM, June 18 to August 13. This is a drop in program open to all ages, but a caretaker must be present for participants ages 12 and under. Both LEGO and DUPLO blocks are available for free-building.

Rock Painting

As part of our Summer Reading Kickoff on Saturday, June 13, the Library will be hosting a Rock Painting activity starting at 2:00 PM where visitors will be able to paint custom rocks to add to Rocky the Rock Snake. There will be a table set up outside, to the right of the Library’s main entrance; Rocky is back on display in the garden to the left of the entrance, and after the Kickoff he’ll be bigger and better than ever!

While you’re outside, be sure to check out the Children’s Guide to the Founding Fathers Storywalk on the Library’s front lawn – then head inside to see the rest of our America 250 Celebration displays and sign up for one of the Summer Reading Programs!

Summer Reading Flowers

This program is for children under 10, and will run alongside our Read & Bead program – so your reading times count towards both! When you sign up, you’ll receive a flower head that you can add a colorful petal to for every 20 minutes you read over the summer – and once your flower has fully “bloomed”, it will be added to our Summer Reading Garden in the Children’s Room! You’ll also earn a ladybug or bee to add to the Garden for every 200 minutes you read, and a butterfly for every 500 minutes. By the end of summer, we hope that the Summer Reading Garden will be bustling with life.

The Library’s 2026 Summer Reading Kickoff is Saturday, June 13! Early sign-ups start Tuesday, June 9, but we encourage you to stop by during the Kickoff even if you’ve signed up already. Take part in fun crafts and activities – and while you’re here, check out our displays for the state-wide America 250 Celebration as well!