Tag Archives: Community Room

Photos of Bethany through the decades! Now on display in the hall outside the Community Room.

Clark Memorial Library and the Bethany Historical Society are working together to create A Historical Walk Through Bethany, an exhibit highlighting the visual history of the town of Bethany through the years. The exhibit will feature photos shared by the community, which will be scanned, enlarged, matted, and arranged by decade in the Library’s Community Room, allowing visitors to “walk through” the everyday lives of Bethany residents.

A few photos have already been collected, and are on display across from the glass display cabinets outside the Community Room! Be sure to stop by and get a glimpse of how life in Bethany has changed over time.

The Library will be hosting Photo Scanning Days on November 23 and December 10 to collect images for the final exhibit. For more information about these events, and the exhibit as a whole, see the Library’s Calendar of Events.

An artist reception will be held on November 16th, 3:00 – 4:30 PM for the local artist featured in our Arts@Clark! exhibits for October and November, Roberta Scott. Her work will be shown in the Community Room and the downstairs display cabinets from Tuesday, October 8th, until Friday, December 6th.

Roberta is, in her own words, “a maker of fine art and not so fine art.”
She grew up in the Four Corners area of New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah, on and off the Navajo reservation and military bases. After high school, she went to work for the Forest Service, served 5 years in the Navy working as an aviation mechanic, and worked locally at Sikorsky Aircraft. She received a BFA in Sculpture at Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, a college of the University of New Haven, and is currently a technical writer for Sikorsky, a mother, and a “fair weather artist.”

What is a cryptid? It’s a mysterious creature that has been claimed (but never proven) to exist, like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster.

Join Patrick Scalisi and Valerie Ruby-Omen, the author and illustrator of Connecticut Cryptids: A Field Guide to the Weird and Wonderful Creatures of the Nutmeg State, for a presentation on Connecticut’s cryptids – including a special look at our local Bethany cryptid, the Downs Road Monster. The presentation will take place in the Library’s Community Room on Saturday, October 12, starting at 3:00 PM.

For more information about the book and its creators (as well as special bonus stories!) you can visit the Connecticut Cryptids website at www.ctcryptids.com.

An artist reception will be held on August 24th, 3:00 – 4:30 PM for the local artist featured in our Arts@Clark! exhibits for August and September, Kim Ahrens. Her work will be shown in the Community Room and the downstairs display cabinets from Saturday, August 3rd, until Thursday, October 3rd.

Kim is a Bethany resident whose favorite subjects include landscapes, chickens and other animals, and flowers, mostly painted in watercolor or acrylic. She paints almost daily in her studio, and hopes her creativity is an inspiration to all who see her work.
Stop in during Library hours to take a look!

Adventure Begins At Your Library!
Coming Up In July:

Special Events
Dragon Eye Adventure – July 18, 3:00–5:00 PM (sign-up required)
5th Annual Outdoor Art Exhibit – July 28, 1:00–5:00 PM

Ongoing Programs
Read & Bead – All Month, During Library Hours
Adult Reading Raffle – All Month, During Library Hours
Drop-In Makerspace Activities – All Month, During Library Hours
Tween Nutmeg Book Club – July 11, 5:45–6:30 PM
Silent Book Club – July 9, 2:00–3:30 PM
Wednesday Morning Storytimes – Wednesdays, 10:30–11:30 AM
BCS Lego Club – Wednesdays, 2:00–4:00 PM
Warm Up America Community Service Project – Thursdays, 3:00–5:00 PM
Thursday Game Nights – Thursdays, 3:30–6:30 PM

For more information, see our Calendar of Events!

Adventure Begins At Your Library!
Coming Up In June:

Special Events
Summer Reading Kickoff – June 8, During Library Hours
What’s the Buzz: Pollinator Presentation – June 8, 2:00–2:30 PM
Karen Cebula Artist Reception – June 15, 2:00–3:30 PM
Campfire Storytime – June 20, 5:30–6:30 PM

Ongoing Programs
Read & Bead – All Month, During Library Hours
Adult Reading Raffle – All Month, During Library Hours
Drop-In Makerspace Activities – All Month, During Library Hours
Tween Nutmeg Book Club – June 13 & 27, 5:45–6:30 PM
Silent Book Club – June 11, 2:00–3:30 PM
Wednesday Morning Storytimes – Wednesdays, 10:30–11:30 AM
BCS Lego Club – Wednesdays, 2:00–4:00 PM
Warm Up America Community Service Project – Thursdays, 3:00–5:00 PM
Thursday Game Nights – Thursdays, 3:30–6:30 PM

For more information, see our Calendar of Events!

An artist reception will be held on June 15th, 2:00 – 3:30 PM for the local artists featured in our Arts@Clark! exhibits for June and July, Karen & Tom Cebula.

Karen, a Northford artist, studied art at Southern CT State University and taught art at public schools for 25 years. Now retired, she focuses on painting with acrylics and is inspired by nature: “I am moved by the light, the color and the texture the feel of the place.” Her work will be on display in the Community Room.

Wooden carvings made by Karen’s husband Tom will be on display in the downstairs display cabinets. Early in life, Tom chanced upon a display of decoys carved by famous carvers. He was inspired to try his hand at carving and enrolled in workshops with Connecticut woodcarvers Joe Cieslowski and Frank Swiatek to develop skills from knowledgeable instructors. Tom has focused on letter carving signs, as well as three dimensional animals such as fish, birds, and decoys.

Be sure to stop by during Library hours and take a look at both of their work!

Welcome to the Tween Nutmeg Book Club at Clark Memorial Library!
 
If you are between the ages of 9-13, we hope you can join us as we explore the 2025 Nutmeg Book Award Intermediate Nominees. Meetings will be held June 13, June 27, and July 11 from 5:45-6:30 PM in the Library. Read 1-2 books (or more!) from the list of ten and then share what you loved, hated, or need more of!
 
We will choose books at our first meeting, and discuss them at the second and third. Come to one or all three dates! For more information, contact the Library at (203) 393-2103.

Silent Book Club
2:00-3:30 PM on June 11, July 9, & August 13

We invite our adult patrons to join our community of readers in the Bethany chapter of the Silent Book Club! Take some time to read companionably in the comfort of Clark Memorial Library. This is a “bring your own book” activity – no assigned reading and no pressure. Come for refreshments and an hour of quiet to focus on your latest read. Afterwards you are welcome to chat and share titles, but the hour of reading time is strictly sweet silence.

Need a new book? Come a bit early to browse our shelves, and then dig in!

Don’t forget! There will be a reception for the Library’s featured artist for April and May, Daniel Eugene Kaminski, on Saturday, April 20th from 2:00 to 4:00 PM. Stop by to meet the artist – and if you haven’t already, check out his work in the Community Room!