Events by this organizer

Fulfill your summer reading goals and enjoy literary adventures with Gunn Junior Library’s Summer Reading Book Club, held every Monday afternoon in July!

Led by Ms. Ashley, this program is designed for rising 4th and 5th graders and will meet from 3:15 to 4:15 PM, July 7–28. Readers will explore Ben Yokoyama and the Cookie of Doom by Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr. A laugh-out-loud story about a boy who takes a fortune cookie’s advice a little too seriously, leading to silly yet meaningful adventures. A 2024 Nutmeg nominee, this book offers the perfect blend of humor and heart, exploring themes of choice, friendship, and what truly matters.

Each session features a discussion and creative activities inspired by surprise weekly “mystery envelopes.” Let’s make summer reading a whole lot of fun.

Register here

Books will be available for pickup in the Jr. Library starting Monday, June 23.

Level up your paper crafting skills with this intermediate workshop all about Cricut and Cricut Design Space! Have you cut a project or two on the Cricut but want to learn more about what this machine and software can do? Join us for this workshop and learn some more advanced features of the Design Space software as you create your own greeting card. We’ll cover how to find, resize, and combine images from the Design Space library; how to use the group, weld, and slice tools in Cricut Design Space; and how to use the cut, score, and draw functionality of the Cricut machine.

Ages 18+

Register here

The Gunn Junior Library partners with Literacy Volunteers on the Green (LVG) to present a series of fun and interactive bilingual storytimes in English and Spanish this July!

Held every Thursday in July, these sessions will feature engaging stories, a literacy-focused book, and hands-on craft activities that inspire creativity and learning. Children and families are invited to join us for this celebration of language, culture, and community connection.

Based in New Milford, LVG provides free English language and literacy tutoring to adult learners across northwestern Connecticut. With a mission rooted in empowerment through education, trained volunteer tutors meet weekly with students to help build essential communication skills for work, home, and civic life. As part of their Family Literacy initiative, LVG uses bilingual children’s books and storytelling to support language learning and help families honor their native languages and cultural heritage.

Don’t miss this opportunity to explore stories, language, and creativity together!

To learn more about LVG, visit www.lvg-ct.org.

Register here

Calling all adventurers! Gather your friends and visit the Makerspace to level up your D&D campaigns with personalized wooden dice trays. You’ll learn how to use some CNC magic to design and create a completely customized accessory for your games- you pick the shape of the tray and the number of slots for dice, and add a personal touch with engraving! *This workshop will focus on the design part of the process. Trays will be cut on the CNC after the workshop and may be picked up from the library at a later date.

* Grades 6-12.
Registration Required.

Gunn Memorial Library invites young readers to join a new program designed to build confidence and a lifelong love of reading. Aligned with the library’s Level-Up summer reading theme, the Read Aloud Book Club will run from the week after July 4 through the first week of August 2025, and is specially tailored for children entering Kindergarten and 1st Grade.

The program features a rich blend of read-aloud sessions and fun crafts, all designed to make reading both enjoyable and educational. The books selected span multiple genres to encourage engagement, imagination, and conversation.

This week’s book is Take Me Out to the Yakyu by Aaron Meshon
A little boy’s grandfathers, one in America and one in Japan, teach him about baseball and its rich, varying cultural traditions.

Register here

Join the Gunn Memorial Library as we continue to explore contemporary American poets. For the next few months, Mark Scarbrough will focus on collections from Joy Harjo, Ocean Vuong, Tracy K. Smith, and Dianne Seuss, each author in a separate session. He will examine how these poets transform personal experiences through their craft.
* Copies will be available for checkout at the circulation desk

This event will take place at Washington Senior Center
6 Bryan Hall Plaza Washington Depot, CT, United States, Connecticut 06794

About Mark Scarbrough:
A former academic, Mark Scarbrough, left the seminary to pursue his doctoral work in nineteenth-century American literature at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He has presented papers on medieval literature at the International Medieval Conference in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and American literature at MLA and regional MLA conferences. He wrote screenplays for various production companies and developed much of the original food content in the early 1990s for a small internet startup called America Online. Mark Scarbrough is the co-author of thirty-five titles and has a thriving cookbook career. In 2020, Mark published his memoir, “Bookmarked: How The Great Works Of Western Civilization F*cked Up My Life,” which Will Schwalbe described as “equal parts charm, wit, and withering self-reflection.” Having left the classroom, Mark now finds himself immersed in literature, leading grant-sponsored book groups and six- to eight-week literary seminars throughout Litchfield County, Connecticut, and Berkshire County, Massachusetts.

Registration is required

Game On: UNO Night for Adults at Gunn Memorial Library!

Join us at Gunn Memorial Library for an evening of strategy, laughs, and a little friendly competition at our UNO Game Night for Adults!

This beloved card game is easy to learn and guaranteed to bring on some excitement. Whether you’re a longtime UNO fan or trying it for the first time, it’s the perfect way to mix, mingle, and enjoy a relaxed evening with fellow community members, accompanied by a glass of Pinot.

Grab a friend or come solo—either way, you’ll leave with great memories and maybe even bragging rights.

Registration is required.

Register here

Continue the Journey: Meditation for Everyday Life

Join us for additional sessions that delve deeper into the art and science of meditation—an age-old practice known to steady the mind, nourish the heart, and ground us amidst life’s constant changes. Whether you’re just beginning or returning to refresh your practice, these gatherings offer a welcoming space to slow down, reflect, and reconnect with what matters most.
Together, we will:

1. Learn practical techniques for cultivating inner steadiness—anytime, anywhere
2. Explore how to navigate common challenges and distractions in practice
3. Sit in guided meditation sessions to experience stillness firsthand
4. Share reflections, questions, and insights in a supportive group space
5. Build a toolkit for sustaining a meaningful home practice

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to quiet a racing mind—or to greet yourself with gentle awareness—this is your invitation. Come with curiosity. Leave with clarity. All are welcome.

BIO: Sheila Klapper’s unwavering dedication to meditation spans many decades, practicing within various traditions. In 2021, she completed an intensive 2-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training program with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach through the Greater Good Science Center, Sounds True, and the Awareness Training Institute. For 9 years, Sheila taught in community centers, adult education programs, and libraries in Northwestern, CT. During COVID, she began leading virtual groups that continued for several years. She started a bi-monthly meditation group at the Litchfield Community Center more than 5 years ago that continues to serve a welcoming group of meditators.

Sheila became a certified Kripalu Yoga Instructor in 2000 and briefly ran her own yoga studio in Glastonbury, CT. Later, she brought her commitment to wellness to Hartford Hospital, where she taught yoga and meditation to both staff and patients while serving as a Medical Librarian.

Bring your family, friends, imagination, and engineering skills to the Junior Library for a creative cardboard construction party! Have fun and express your creativity as you transform basic cardboard boxes and other recyclables into impressive castles, cars, costumes, arcade games, and more—ages 5 with a caregiver.

Registration Encouraged.

Gunn Memorial Library invites young readers to join a new program designed to build confidence and a lifelong love of reading. Aligned with the library’s Level-Up summer reading theme, the Read Aloud Book Club will run from the week after July 4 through the first week of August 2025, and is specially tailored for children entering Kindergarten and 1st Grade.

The program features a rich blend of read-aloud sessions and fun crafts, all designed to make reading both enjoyable and educational. The books selected span multiple genres to encourage engagement, imagination, and conversation.

This week’s book is This Book Just Ate My Dog by Richard Byrne
When her dog disappears into the gutter of a book, Bella calls for help, but when the helpers disappear too, Bella realizes it will take more than a tug on the leash to put things right!

Register here

Immerse Yourself in an Hour of French Conversation at the Gunn Memorial Library

If you are an intermediate or fluent French speaker, join us for an hour of stimulating and immersive French Conversation.

Over the hour, participants will read articles from French magazines covering cultural topics and current events. Guided conversations will encourage lively exchanges, helping participants refine their French while deepening their appreciation for Francophone culture.

This program is an excellent opportunity to connect with fellow Francophiles, share perspectives, and experience the richness of the French language in a welcoming environment.

Join us for a meaningful cultural and linguistic experience!

Registration is required at www.gunnlibrary.org or call 860-868-7586

The Cricut is July’s Maker Machine of the Month! Discover this fantastic machine, explore some sample projects, and create your iron-on decal to personalize a t-shirt in this beginner-friendly workshop. You’ll discover how to use Cricut Design Space software to select a design for cutting, how to work with iron-on vinyl, and how to apply your design to a shirt using the heat press. Please bring a t-shirt to customize.

Ages 18+

Register here

Gunn Memorial Library invites young readers to join a new program designed to build confidence and a lifelong love of reading. Aligned with the library’s Level-Up summer reading theme, the Read Aloud Book Club will run from the week after July 4 through the first week of August 2025, and is specially tailored for children entering Kindergarten and 1st Grade.

The program features a rich blend of read-aloud sessions and fun crafts, all designed to make reading both enjoyable and educational. The books selected span multiple genres to encourage engagement, imagination, and conversation.

This week’s book is Training Day by Raúl the Third
Getting out of bed isn’t always easy, especially for Mexican wrestling star El Toro. But his coach, Kooky Dooky, knows that it’s essential for the wrestler to stay in shape and continue training — even when he doesn’t feel like it. Can Kooky Dooky raise El Toro’s spirits and get him to practice before his next big wrestling match?

Register here

The Gunn Museum and Makerspace present a series of craft workshops inspired by artifacts from the Museum’s collections.

July’s workshop is all about vintage games! See some examples of board games from the museum’s collection, learn about their history, and make a small tray using recycled playing cards and paper folding techniques. All supplies will be provided, but you may also bring your pack of playing cards for the craft.

Ages 18+

Register here

The Cricut is July’s Maker Machine of the Month! Learn about this fantastic machine and create an iron-on decal to personalize a t-shirt in this beginner-friendly workshop. Participants will learn how to use Cricut Design Space software to select a design for cutting, work with iron-on vinyl, and apply their design to a shirt using a heat press. Please bring a t-shirt to customize.

Grades 4-5

Register here

Join the Gunn Memorial Library as we continue to explore contemporary American poets. For the next few months, Mark Scarbrough will focus on collections from Joy Harjo, Ocean Vuong, Tracy K. Smith, and Dianne Seuss, each author in a separate session. He will examine how these poets transform personal experiences through their craft.
* Copies will be available for checkout at the circulation desk

About Mark Scarbrough:
A former academic, Mark Scarbrough, left the seminary to pursue his doctoral work in nineteenth-century American literature at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He has presented papers on medieval literature at the International Medieval Conference in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and American literature at MLA and regional MLA conferences. He wrote screenplays for various production companies and developed much of the original content in the early 1990s for a small internet startup called America Online. Mark Scarbrough is the co-author of thirty-five titles and has a thriving cookbook career. In 2020, Mark published his memoir, “Bookmarked: How The Great Works Of Western Civilization F*cked Up My Life,” which Will Schwalbe described as “equal parts charm, wit, and withering self-reflection.” Having left the classroom, Mark now finds himself immersed in literature, leading grant-sponsored book groups and six- to eight-week literary seminars throughout Litchfield County, Connecticut, and Berkshire County, Massachusetts.

Registration is required

Save the date for September 27th! Join friends for Gunn Memorial Library’s annual fall fundraiser, featuring cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, music, and more. Mark your calendars – more information to come.