Monday, January 20, 2025: Families with children of all ages are invited to celebrate MLK Day with an act of community service.
10:30-11:00 am: MLK Day Family Storytime Families with children of all ages are invited to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday with a special storytime. Immediately following storytime, families can join our community service project making a birthday craft for Meals on Wheels of Ridgefield.
11:00 am-12:00 pm: Meals on Wheels Service Families with children of all ages are invited to celebrate MLK day with an act of community service. We’ll be decorating bags and crafting special birthday gifts to donate to Ridgefield’s Meals on Wheels. Drop in after All-Age Storytime to help us honor Dr. King’s birthday!
2:00-2:45 pm: ROAR Service Students in Grades K-5 are invited to celebrate MLK Day with acts of service for the Ridgefield community. We’ll meet a volunteer team from ROAR and hear about the important ways therapy dogs help members our community. Then we’ll work together to make cat toys and decorate adoption folders to donate back to ROAR. Registration required.
4:30-5:30 pm: MLK Birthday Boxes Students in Grades K-5 are invited to celebrate MLK Day with acts of service for the Ridgefield community. We’ll meet local student Ruby Weiner and learn more about her service projects, including Ruby’s Little Pantries, small structures that hold food free to those who need it. In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday, we’ll assemble Birthday Boxes to donate to the five Ruby’s Little Pantries locations across town. Registration is required.
Saturday, January 18th from 9:00am to 4:00pm: Recycle your old electronics safely and securely! Decluttering after the holidays? Here’s your chance to clean out your home or office, recycle responsibly, protect your private information and support a great cause, all in one simple act.
Bring your old phones, tablets, laptops, hard drives, PCs, Macs, printers, TVs, DVD players and other technology to the Lower Level of the Library. Computer parts will be destroyed and then safely recycled. Other home electronics and small appliances will also be accepted for recycling, except for large kitchen appliances and any device containing mercury, Freon or hazardous liquids. Secure e-waste recycling and final disposal will be provided by Take 2 Inc of Waterbury, the Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority’s certified electronics recycling provider. Suggested donation is $20 per item, with proceeds supporting the Library’s technology initiatives, including STEAM programming for all ages. (E-waste recycling is also available at no charge at the Ridgefield Recycling Center.)
Thursday, January 16th @ 7:00 pm: Join us as we welcome author Jean Hanff Korelitz, who has followed her New York Times bestseller The Plot with an equally captivating new novel, The Sequel:
Anna Williams-Bonner has taken care of business. That is to say, she’s taken care of her husband, bestselling novelist Jacob Finch Bonner, and laid to rest those anonymous accusations of plagiarism that so tormented him. Now she is living the contented life of a literary widow, enjoying her husband’s royalty checks in perpetuity, but for the second time in her life, a work of fiction intercedes, and this time it’s her own debut novel, The Afterword. After all, how hard can it really be to write a universally lauded bestseller?
With her signature wit and sardonic humor, Jean Hanff Korelitz gives readers an antihero to root for while illuminating and satirizing the world of publishing in this deliciously fun and suspenseful read.
Books on the Common will have copies for sale and signing.
Click here to learn more and to register.
Tuesday, January 14th @ 1:00 pm: This presentation features Ridgefield Station Assisted Living and Compass Memory Center on Quarry Road. Ridgefield Station opened four years ago. It is operated by SLR Senior Living Residences. The company has been at the forefront of innovative Assisted Living and Memory Support for thirty-five years.
Hugh Salazar, Director of Compass Programming will lead the presentation about the therapeutic Compass Memory Support Program at Ridgefield Station. Maureen McLam, Director of Community Relations, will describe the services available to residents living in Ridgefield and continuing to be active in their community. Jeff Williams, Executive Director, oversees and manages the entire operation while making efforts to create a well educated community.
Senior Voices is a free event and a hybrid program held on the second Tuesday of the month. Individuals may attend in person and online. Light refreshments will be served. If you have any questions, please contact the Commission on Aging at [email protected].
Click here to learn more and register.
Saturday, May 31st, 2025: Save the date for the Ridgefield Library’s Annual Gala! This year’s Ridgefield Library Gala will honor Dean and Theresa Miller with the Hope H. Swenson Visionary Award for their many years of generous support and service to the Library’s vision and mission.
Dean joined the board of the Ridgefield Library in 2012, where he served for six years, including as Treasurer for four years and as Board Chair for his last two years. He was proud to be part of the team who helped oversee the completion of the new Library building and the hiring of Brenda McKinley as the new director. Dean and Theresa both served on the Gala committee from its inception in 2014 through 2021. They are past recipients of the Library’s Paccadolmi Award for extraordinary volunteer service.
“It’s a privilege to honor the Millers with the Hope H. Swenson Visionary Award. Their commitment to making the Library better and to making our Ridgefield community better is simply remarkable,” says Brenda McKinley, Library Director. “Their dedication to the needs of the community through service and leadership roles with Meals on Wheels, RVNAIhealth and Thrown Stone exceeds any definition of above and beyond. On May 31st of next year, we’ll be delighted to gather at our annual Library Gala to celebrate the Millers and shine a light on their inspiring leadership, support and service. We hope you’ll save the date and join us for a wonderful evening.”
For information on sponsoring the 2025 Annual Ridgefield Library Gala, contact Jane Lindenburg, Development Director, at [email protected] or 203-438-2282 x 104.
Ridgefielders agree – it’s easy to LOVE the Library! While the Library receives funding from the town, we also depend on broad support from the Ridgefield community to fund our exceptional collections, programs and services.
Thank you for helping us meet our annual fundraising goals– your donation to the Annual Appeal matters and makes a difference in the Library’s ability to serve our entire community!
Please donate here: https://ridgefieldlibrary.ejoinme.org/…/Default.aspx
Tuesday, December 31st @ 11:15 am: Join us for our annual Noon Year’s Eve Balloon Drop in the Bossidy Commons. Families with children all ages are invited to join us as we count down to 2025 with DJ Miles from Ridgefield’s Bach to Rock leading to our balloon drop at noon, and concluding with an apple juice toast. Take & Makes will be available for families to bring home. Drop-ins welcome, but registration required for refreshments. To register or for more information, please visit the event calendar: https://ridgefieldlibrary.librarymarket.com/event/noon-years-eve-balloon-drop-108299
Friday, December 27, 2024: Families with children ages 2-5 years old are invited to a lively read-aloud followed by some pretend shopping and baking with author and grandma Margot Mustich as we celebrate grandmas around the world in her first illustrated children’s book, When Grandmas Cook. There might even be a sweet surprise to take home! Books on the Common will have copies for sale and signing. Registration is required and opens on November 27, 2024. To register or for more information, visit the event page.
Fall 2024 Scholarly Series: The Ridgefield Library will be celebrating the boundless human capacity and desire to explore, learn and discover with special programming for all ages this fall. The Curious Mind: Exploration and Discovery is the title for this year’s Scholarly Series, the Library’s annual in-depth examination of a topic or author supported by funding provided by the Friends of the Ridgefield Library.
Upcoming programs in the series are listed here – all programs will be held in person at the Ridgefield Library, unless otherwise noted.
Be sure to watch the inspiring closing keynote presentation held on December 5th by technology legend Nick Donofrio:
On October 24th Dr. Heidi B. Hammel of NASA talked about the amazing discoveries by the James Webb Space Telescope:
And if you missed the fascinating opening keynote presentation by Dr. Rudy L Ruggles, Jr., on September 12th, view the recording here:
Saturday, December 21, 2024: Families with children of all ages are invited to join Ms. Kathleen and dancers from the Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance for an interactive storytime at 2:00 pm. We’ll march like soldiers, creep like mice, and twirl like snowflakes as we explore the story behind the popular Nutcracker ballet. Stay for a special meet-and-greet with the dancers and pick up a take and make to continue the magic at home! Registration encouraged to reserve a craft. To register or for more information, visit the program event page.