April 8th @ 9:00am to 5:00pm:   The Friends of the Ridgefield Library invite you to stop by the Friends Sorting Room on the Lower Level of the Library for their monthly Secret Stacks Book Sale, held on the second Saturday of the month.

The Friends of the Ridgefield Library accept book donations! Leave your donated books on the cart(s) outside the Friends Sorting Room on the lower level of the Library during regular open hours. (Please do not leave donations in the Library Lobby or anywhere outside the building.)

Save the Date for the Friends Big Book Sales in May!  

Children’s Sale:  May 5th – 7th
General Sale:  May 12th – 15th

We’re in the running! The Ridgefield Library is honored to be one of the charities in contention for Fairfield County Bank’s Charity of the Month for March. PLEASE VOTE and help us to receive a $1,000 donation from the bank. Anyone can vote daily by 1. heading to the Charity of the Month page on the Fairfield County Bank website to vote online, 2.  in person at one of the bank’s branch offices and drive-ups, and 3. by calling the bank’s Customer Care Center at (203) 431-7431. Thank you, Fairfield County Bank, for your support of local Fairfield County non-profits!

The Ridgefield Library Association is seeking applications from Ridgefield residents for membership on its Board of Directors. Self-nominations are encouraged. Three-year terms begin on July 1.

The Library Board is a working board, with up to 16 members who are responsible for the organization’s fiduciary oversight, strategic planning and policy-setting. Board members take an active role in helping the Library raise the nearly 30% of its annual operating budget that comes through fundraising, donations and gifts.

The Board seeks diverse, broad and balanced representation of people, skill sets and experience from the community. Examples of particular skills in demand for new members include, but are not limited to, development, finance, legal, marketing, technology and nonprofit governance. We encourage all interested parties to apply.

Completed applications must be received by March 31, 2023 for consideration. For more information on the roles and responsibilities of Library Board members, and to apply, please contact Library Director Brenda McKinley at [email protected]

Announcing the Walker Library of the History of Human Imagination Youth Tour Contest for students ages 10-18 who attend school in Ridgefield, CT!

About the Contest:

Thanks to the generosity of Jay and Eileen Walker as well as that of an anonymous local donor, the Ridgefield Library is thrilled to announce a contest to choose 5 winners who along with a friend of their choice, will experience an amazing tour of The Walker Library of the History of Human Imagination.

The Walker Library of the History of Human Imagination celebrates humanity’s intellectual and emotional adventure of discovery, learning, and creativity by showcasing thousands of rare books, artworks, maps and manuscripts as well as museum-quality artifacts both modern and ancient.

Walker Library Gallery

Entrants must choose an object from the ‘Walker Library Gallery’ that sparks their imagination. Using the object as a prompt for their imagination, students will create something unique in any medium.

Follow the above link to see more objects from the Library.

If you have any questions, please contact Meg Klein, Teen Librarian, at [email protected]

Bring your love of poetry to Ridgefield! Poet and educator Barb Jennes’ three-year tenure as the inaugural Ridgefield Poet Laureate will end in March 2023. Those wishing to learn more or to be considered for this Town-appointed position of Ridgefield Poet Laureate should click here for more information and application details. Do you know someone who would be perfect? Please encourage them to apply!

For further information email [email protected] or call 203-438-2282 ext. 120.

March 5th @ 2:00pm:  Award-winning actor and singer Kimberly Wilson wrote and stars in “A Journey: A Musical One-Woman Show.”  In this powerful performance Wilson embodies seven women, whose lives span hundreds of years, telling their stories of faith, hope and sense of calling that truly helped to shape American history. 

Love and truth form the foundation of this inspirational performance. The women featured in the show like Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Rosa Parks and more had the courage to make their dreams a reality that not only elevated their own lives, but also helped lay the foundation for future generations.  Through song, movement and dialogue Wilson brings these characters, and their triumphs and truths to life. Each performance is immediately followed by an audience talkback.

This program is co-hosted by the League of Women Voters of Ridgefield and is offered in partnership with the Ridgefield Historical Society.

Learn more and register here.

Ready to show your love for the Ridgefield Library? Thursday 2.23.23 is FCCF Giving Day:  Your online donation on 2.23.23 supports all that you love about the Ridgefield Library and ensures vital access for everyone in our community to exceptional programs, resources, collections and services.

February 18th @ 2:00pm:  H. Lloyd Weston is a former Ridgefield resident and an internationally known Jamaican-born artist whose work is in significant private collections in New York, Rome, Tokyo, London and Paris. Join us for this very special artist’s reception celebrating the artist and his work.

This exhibition — Color, Concept, Creativity — is on view in the Library’s Lower Level Gallery through March 29th. It represents a large body of Weston’s work from 1989 – 2019 which is influenced by Impressionism and Abstract Expressionism. Weston’s luminous paintings often have an affinity with nature. He is a strong colorist who conveys warmth and dynamism in his landscapes and abstract paintings. Weston’s objective is to make paintings with a sense of beauty and immediacy that intimately connect with the viewer.

Please register to attend the artist’s reception.

Pictured: Sunrise on Lake Lugano, 2016

February 19th @ 2:00pm:  Too Blue is a quartet whose members hail from CT & NY state. They have been performing in the area for over 20 years. As individual musicians, they’ve won numerous instrumental awards, and as a group are noted for being one of the top bluegrass bands in the area. Banjo, mandolin, guitar and upright bass are all acoustic, and the band sparkles with drive and energy.

Too Blue will entertain you with a unique blend of bluegrass old & new, flavored with country & swing, sizzling with hot instrumentals and sweet harmonies. Their vocal and instrumental repertoire ranges from country-flavored Patsy Cline, to traditional bluegrass Bill Monroe, to jazz standards, as well as their own originals.

This program is made possible thanks to the Friends of the Ridgefield Library’s generous support of the Ridgefield Folk Concert Series.

Registration is encouraged.

February 15th @ 7:00pm:   An enormously popular event in 2022, “An Evening of Rap, Hip-Hop & Poetry” returns for 2023, this time featuring five of Connecticut’s best-known spoken-word performers: Iyaba Ibo Mangingo, “Goddess” Tymani Rain, New London Poet Laureate Josh Brown (aka “AnUrbanNerd”), MayaRose, and Sharmont “Influence” Little. Ridgefield Poet Laureate Barb Jennes will host and lead a brief talk-back at the program’s conclusion.

IYABA IBO MANDINGO is a painter, poet, writer, actor, playwright, and Master Teaching Artist. In addition to three poetry chapbooks—41 TimesAmerikkkan Exile, and 40 days & 40 nites of write—Iyaba authored full-length poetry collection, You Tongue Heavy Lakka 56.

GODDESS TYMANI RAIN is a multifaceted artist who placed 3rd in the 2023 Z Experience Poetry Slam and ranked 17th in the 2021 International SIPS competition. Tymani currently hosts Poetz Realm Open Mic in Bridgeport on the 1st and 4th Wednesday of each month.

JOSH BROWN (aka AnUrbanNerd) is a rap and spoken-word artist who currently serves as the poet laureate of New London. Josh also directs the ScHOLA2RS House Learning Community, an organization focused on increasing the graduation rate of black men studying at UConn.

MAYAROSE has performed theatre, improv, and poetry throughout CT, NY, and LA. MayaRose’s first book, Poems from My Broken Heart, was published in 2016. She currently cohosts the Coffeehouse Speakeasy open mic at Studio Hill Gallery in Woodbury.

SHARMONT “INFLUENCE” LITTLE has won over 100 poetry slams nationwide. He was a five-time member of the CT slam team Verbal Slap, was the 2018 Connecticut Grand Slam Champion, and opened for the NAACP Image Awards in 2009.

Registration is encouraged.