Activity

Celebrate the vibrant energy of Litha—the Summer Solstice—by crafting intentional herb bundles that honor the season of abundance, protection, and solar energy. In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn the traditional and magical uses of seasonal herbs, create their own ritual bundles, and connect with the natural rhythms of the Wheel of the Year. Registration is required. Register on our website here: Litha Herb Bundles Registration

Program for kids ages 2-5. Gather 'round the (pretend) campfire for a cozy camping-themed story time filled with stories, songs, and outdoor adventure fun! Join us for themed stories, songs, rhymes, and crafts! We’ll learn early literacy concepts like colors, shapes, opposites, the ABCs and much more, to prepare our pre-school age children for kindergarten. Essex Library programs are free and open to the public. Registration is encouraged to ensure enough crafts are prepared. Click here to register!

Program for kids entering Kindergarten – grade 6 in the Fall! School is (officially) out for summer! Kick off summer reading with Essex and Ivoryton Libraries at our Snow Cone Social and sign up for our awesome dragon-themed summer reading program! T his year, when you sign up for summer reading you will receive a commemorative Dragon Trading Card folder to track your summer reading progress, (while supplies last)! After you sign up, enjoy a snow cone from Kona Ice & play some games! This program will be held at Grove Street Park, 16 Grove St, Essex, CT. Rain location in Essex Town Hall Auditorium. This program is free and open to the public. Registration is required to attend the summer kickoff event. Click here to register.

Join us for a class of gentle movement, breath awareness and relaxation to calm and nourish your nervous system. Yoga is a great way to support inner and outer stability and ease. All levels welcome. Please bring a mat and a small cushion. Chairs will also be available. This program is FREE and available to ALL at Essex Library, 33 West Avenue, Essex, CT. Registration is required. Register HERE or by calling the Library at 860-767-1560. About Ellen McNally Ellen McNally, E-RYT 500, has been teaching yoga since 2012. Since 2018, she has taught Restorative and Gentle yoga classes via Zoom for Smilow Cancer Hospital, as well as Slow & Steady Yoga classes in Hamden. She is also a certified meditation teacher. She welcomes everyone who wants to experience the benefits of yoga.

Program for kids and teens ages 6-18! Join award-winning polymer clay artist Deb Jaffe to create one-of-a-kind dragons! Each dragon will be as unique as their creator. All tools and materials will be supplied. Essex Library programs are free and open to the public. Registration is required. Click here to register.

Program for participants ages 6 to adult! Level up your fishing skills with DEEP’s CARE program! Open to ANYONE age 6+ (with an adult accompanying anyone under age 16). Participants 16+ must have a valid CT fishing license. Participants aged 15 & below must also obtain a free Conservation ID before registering. This program will be held at Sunset Pond, West Avenue, Essex, CT. Program will be held rain or shine. In the event of storms, a make-up event will be scheduled. This program is free and open to the public. Registration is required. Register with DEEP at https://he.aspirafocus.com/huntersafety/Account/Register?controllingSpc=9

On select Saturday mornings at 10:00 am, we offer a special cruise, designed for young children and their parents, grandparents, etc., aboard RiverQuest. On this cruise, we will show young children how to use binoculars, teach them about the birds we see, nautical terms, river ecology, and other points of interest. This is a fun cruise to introduce young children to the fragile beauty of the Connecticut River and it allows kids to be kids! For kids ages 2 to 12 ticket price will be only $10, ages 12 to 100 only $20.  Online booking only. 10:00 – 11:00 am: May 24 June 21 July 19 August 2

Program for kids ages 4-8 & mentors age 13-18.  Level up your reading skills, work on your summer reading goals & beat the Summer Slide with a Teen Buddy! Build social skills, reading fluency, and confidence! Each teen volunteer (ages 13-18) is paired with a younger reader (ages 4-8) for a relaxed hour of literacy fun. Essex Library programs are free and open to the public. Registration is required to ensure that each reader is matched with a mentor. Click here to register.

The talk “Who’s in your pollinator garden? Notes from a garden journal,” is focused on the results of three years of observations in a pollinator garden designed and managed by Master Gardeners at the Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington, CT. Lessons learned, such as those related to native plants and which bees, butterflies, and moths are frequent visitors as well as when they come and their preferred flowers, can be applied to home gardens across the state. A general planting scheme developed by the University of Rhode Island will be discussed along with a handout of recommended flowers for pollinator gardens. This program is FREE and open to the public at 33 West Avenue, Essex, CT 06426. Register HERE or by calling the library at 860-767-1560. About Pat Sabosik  Pat Sabosik is the owner of Silver Spade Garden Design, LLC, and an advanced Master Gardener. She manages the UConn Master Gardener Pollinator Garden at the Hill-Stead Museum and is active in the Garden Club of New Haven. She is a frequent speaker on garden design, pollinator gardens, and native plants for gardens.

Essex Historical Society and Essex Library Association invite children and young adults ages 8-18, with their guardians, to join the Digging for Good team from Haddam, CT to metal detect and ‘dig’ on Hills Academy’s historic grounds. Digging for Good will bring a number of metal detecting tools and lead the search to find metal objects buried in the front lawn of 1832 Hill's Academy: a former school that operated for at least 80 years.  Anything found will be donated to Essex Historical Society, and may later be placed on exhibit.  Digging for Good may take photos and videos of interesting finds for their You Tube channel. This program is a partnership between EHS, Digging for Good, and Essex Library Association. You must REGISTER for this event through Essex Library so that we may contact participants in the case of inclement weather. Please dress for the outdoors and wear sturdy shoes and sunscreen, as needed. Hills Academy History Center is located at 22 Prospect Street in Essex, CT. Parking is in the back of the building. Questions? Contact Outreach Coordinator, Kate Savage