Activity

Program for families, kids, and teens. Come celebrate Back to School at the Essex Library! Bingo for books is fun for everyone! Bring your family and friends, play BINGO and earn books as your prize. Winners will be able to select a book from a selection of children and teen titles. Essex Library programs are free and open to the public. No registration required, drop in!

Program for kids and teens ages 8-18. Essex Library Association and Essex Historical Society invite children and young adults, with their parents, to join the team from Digging for Good in Haddam, CT to ‘dig’ on Pratt House’s grounds, using metal detectors to find buried objects. Digging for Good will provide metal detecting tools to find objects embedded in Pratt’s two-acre field, which was once part of a farm dating from 1701. Anything found will be donated to Essex Historical Society, and may later be placed on exhibit. Digging for Good members will record a video, as well as take photos of the interesting finds. Please dress for the outdoors and wear sturdy shoes and sunscreen, as needed. Essex Library programs are free and open to the public. Registration is required. Click here to register.  

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 Pratt House’s historic grounds. Digging for Good will bring a number of metal detecting tools and lead the search to find objects buried in Pratt’s two-acre property, which was once part of a 12 acre farm dating from 1701. 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. Pratt House is located at 19 West Avenue in Essex, CT. All necessary equipment will be provided. Questions? Contact Outreach Coordinator, Kate Savage

Learn how to master the daily grind and become shatterproof in a tumultuous world with key insights by Dr. Tasha Eurich as she talks about her newest book, "Shatterproof: How to Thrive in a World of Constant Chaos" (And why resilience alone isn’t enough).  Register HERE. This program is FREE and open to the public.

Join us as award-winning author and summer reading champion Katherine Applegate talks to viewers about her enthusiastically heartwarming novel in verse, Odder. Everyone wants to meet Odder, the Queen of Play. Odder spends her days off the coast of central California, practicing her underwater acrobatics and spinning the quirky stories for which she’s known. She’s a fearless daredevil, curious to a fault. But when Odder comes face-to-face with a hungry great white shark, her life takes a dramatic turn, one that will challenge everything she believes about herself―and about the humans who hope to save her. Katherine Applegate’s Odder is inspired by the true story of a Monterey Bay Aquarium program that pairs orphaned otter pups with surrogate mothers. This poignant and humorous tale told in free-verse examines bravery and healing through the eyes of one of nature’s most beloved and charming animals. About the Author: Katherine Applegate is the Newbery Medal-winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author of numerous books for young readers, including The One and Only Ivan, Wishtree, Crenshaw, the Endling series, the Roscoe Riley Rules chapter books series, and the Animorphs series.  She lives with her husband, who writes as the author Michael Grant, and their children in California. Essex Library programs are free and open […]

Stay cool this summer in the Buel Room of Essex Library with a "Book-to-Screen" movie matinee! For more information, including the movie title, call the Library at 860-767-1560 or visit the events calendar section of the Library’s website, www.youressexlibrary.org.

Program for kids birth – age 5. Join us for a hands-on, child-led play session designed to engage the senses! Sensory Playtime encourages exploration, creativity, and early learning through touch, sound, and movement. Kids are invited to move from station to station, at their own pace, to scoop, squish, pour, and play with a variety of textures and materials in a safe, supportive space alongside their caregivers. This program supports sensory development, fine motor skills, and social interaction—come play, learn, and make a (little) mess with us! Essex Library programs are free and open to the public. Program funded in part by the Community Foundation of Middlesex County, and made possible by the GSB Grant Making Fund, and the Whelen Family Fund. Registration is required for each individual session. Click here to register.

Embrace your dark side (and your best evil laugh) and join us in conversation with Hannah Nicole Maehrer, creator of the New York Times bestselling Assistant to the Villain series. REGISTER and submit questions for the author! This program is FREE and open to the public, regardless of residency. Registration is required for all virtual author talks.

Dr. Olena Lennon returns to Essex Library to discuss how Russia’s War on Ukraine continues to pose a threat to global security, along with the implications of Donald Trump’s presidency and Israel-Iran relations. Dr. Lennon will provide a 45-minute lecture on the topic followed by a 15-minute Q&A. This program is FREE and open to the public regardless of residency. Due to limited space, registration is required. Register HERE. About Dr. Olena Lennon Olena Lennon, Ph.D. is an Adjunct Professor of National Security at the University of New Haven, where she teaches such courses as the U.S. Foreign & Defense Policy and International Relations. Formerly a Fulbright scholar from Ukraine, and most recently a scholar at Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., she has dedicated her research to the study of conflict management and identity politics in eastern Europe, focused on domestic and foreign policy of Ukraine. An eastern Ukraine native, Dr. Lennon has been a regular participant in scholarly and media forums related to issues in Ukraine, facilitating a more informed and objective analysis of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. She also serves as an election observer with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and has completed several […]

Program for kids ages 2-5. Get ready for the new school year with stories, songs, and fun activities all about classrooms, backpacks, and first-day jitters at this Back to School-themed story time! 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 ages 0-3 and their caregivers, siblings welcome! Wiggle Worms is a play-based music and movement story time for children and their caregivers! Essex Library programs are free and open to the public. No registration required.

Program for grandparents and their grandchildren, ages 3 and up. For Grandparents Day, come celebrate at the Essex Library! Kids and their grandparents are invited to enjoy tea and snacks together and create a Grandparents Day craft. Essex Library programs are free and open to the public. Registration is required. Please register each attendee (grandparents and kids) separately. Click here to register.

Register HERE. In 1951, with the publication of God and Man at Yale, a scathing attack on his alma mater, twenty-five-year-old William F. Buckley, Jr., seized the public stage—and commanded it for the next half century as he led a new generation of conservative activists and ideologues to the peak of political power and cultural influence. Ten years before his death in 2008, Buckley chose prize-winning biographer Sam Tanenhaus to tell the full, uncensored story of his life and times, granting him extensive interviews and exclusive access to his most private papers. Thus began a deep investigation into the vast and often hidden universe of Bill Buckley and the modern conservative revolution. Buckley vividly captures its subject in all his facets and phases: founding editor of National Review, the twentieth century’s most influential political journal; syndicated columnist, Emmy-winning TV debater, and bestselling spy novelist; ally of Joseph McCarthy and Barry Goldwater; mentor to Ronald Reagan; game-changing candidate for mayor of New York. Tanenhaus also has uncovered the darker trail of Bill Buckley’s secret exploits, including CIA missions in Latin America, dark collusions with Watergate felon Howard Hunt, and Buckley’s struggle in his last years to hold together a movement coming apart over the AIDS epidemic, […]

Program for kids birth – age 5. Join us for a hands-on, child-led play session designed to engage the senses! Sensory Playtime encourages exploration, creativity, and early learning through touch, sound, and movement. Kids are invited to move from station to station, at their own pace, to scoop, squish, pour, and play with a variety of textures and materials in a safe, supportive space alongside their caregivers. This program supports sensory development, fine motor skills, and social interaction—come play, learn, and make a (little) mess with us! Essex Library programs are free and open to the public. Program funded in part by the Community Foundation of Middlesex County, and made possible by the GSB Grant Making Fund, and the Whelen Family Fund. Registration is required for each individual session. Click here to register.

Join us (and be ready to take notes) for an afternoon virtual conversation with communication expert Jefferson Fisher, as we chat about his book, The Next Conversation: Argue Less, Talk More. REGISTER and submit questions for the author! This program is free and open to all regardless of residency. Registration is required for all virtual talks.

Hear from Nicholas Bellantoni, Emeritus Connecticut State Archaeologist, as he discusses his experiences in 2009 as one of the lead researchers on a team investigating the death of Adolph Hitler for the History Channel. After traveling to Germany and Russia to examine and gather evidence, Bellantoni worked with Dr. Linda Strausbaugh and her team from the University of Connecticut’s Center for Applied Genetics and Technology to analyze biological samples for DNA evidence. Hear what they discovered about Hitler’s final moments. This program is FREE and open to the public at 33 West Avenue, Essex, CT. Space is limited, so registration is required. Register HERE. About Nick Bellantoni: Nick Bellantoni serves as Connecticut State Archaeologist Emeritus at the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History and is an Associate Research Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Connecticut. He received his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Connecticut in 1987 and was shortly thereafter appointed the second Connecticut State Archaeologist. He is a former president of the Archaeological Society of Connecticut and the National Association of State Archaeologists.

In this evolving yoga series, yogis will learn valuable breathing and movement sequences that will connect their mind and body.  Each class will include breathing and meditation to prepare the mind as well as deep stretching appropriate for all levels and just a hint of strength work to help keep bodies healthy and agile. Modifications will be provided for anyone that needs them. The library has a limited supply of yoga mats; we suggest bringing your own. This program is FREE and open to ALL at Essex Library, 33 West Avenue, Essex, CT. No registration necessary, drop in!

Join us at Essex Library on Tuesday, September 16 at 6 p.m. for a talk with legendary NFL sports anchor, reporter and producer Suzy Kolber. Kolber will share highlights of her journey from the peewee football field in Philadelphia to becoming a prominent sports anchor with ESPN, delving into her love of the sport as well as the challenges and experiences of her career and personal life. Refreshments provided. This program is free and open to the public at 33 West Avenue, Essex, CT. Registration is required. Register HERE or call the Library at 860-767-1560. About Suzy Kolber Suzy Kolber enjoyed an extensive 27-year career at ESPN.  As one of the original anchors for the launch of ESPN2 and the XGames, she most recently hosted the pregame and halftime shows for Monday Night Football.  Kolber spent more than a decade on the field, where she was widely praised for elevating the NFL sideline role. Considered a trailblazer for her versatility and longevity in sports broadcasting, she was the first female recipient of the Maxwell Football Club’s Sports Broadcaster of the Year Award in 2006. Kolber’s 39 years of experience began as a sports producer at WTVJ- Miami.  Along the way she helped launch Dallas […]

Program for kids birth – age 5. Join us for a hands-on, child-led play session designed to engage the senses! Sensory Playtime encourages exploration, creativity, and early learning through touch, sound, and movement. Kids are invited to move from station to station, at their own pace, to scoop, squish, pour, and play with a variety of textures and materials in a safe, supportive space alongside their caregivers. This program supports sensory development, fine motor skills, and social interaction—come play, learn, and make a (little) mess with us! Essex Library programs are free and open to the public. Program funded in part by the Community Foundation of Middlesex County, and made possible by the GSB Grant Making Fund, and the Whelen Family Fund. Registration is required for each individual session. Click here to register.

Have you ever wondered why the English spelling of words is sometimes… well… just weird? Come on a surprisingly hilarious journey with us and author Gabe Henry through the history of the English language, while we discuss troublemakers like Mark Twain who broke all the rules. REGISTER and submit questions for the author! This program is free and open to all regardless of residency. Registration is required for all virtual author talks.

Hear from Essex’s top law enforcement officers on how to help prevent crimes, as well as how to avoid them, in this talk offered by Essex Library on Thursday, September 18 at 6 PM. Essex Resident State Trooper First Class Mark Roberts and Essex Police Officer Todd Belcourt will discuss the most common crimes and scams that are specific to this area, as well as what steps to take to reduce the chances of being a victim of a crime. This program is FREE and open to the public regardless of residency at Essex Library, 33 West Avenue, Essex, CT. Registration is required. Register HERE or call the library at 860-767-1560.

In this evolving yoga series, yogis will learn valuable breathing and movement sequences that will connect their mind and body.  Each class will include breathing and meditation to prepare the mind as well as deep stretching appropriate for all levels and just a hint of strength work to help keep bodies healthy and agile. Modifications will be provided for anyone that needs them. The library has a limited supply of yoga mats; we suggest bringing your own. This program is FREE and open to ALL at Essex Library, 33 West Avenue, Essex, CT. No registration necessary, drop in!

Program for kids ages 0-3 and their caregivers, siblings welcome! Wiggle Worms is a play-based music and movement story time for children and their caregivers! Essex Library programs are free and open to the public. No registration required.

Warren Leach, talented garden designer and owner of Tranquil Lake Nursery in Rehoboth, MA will recommend a diverse selection of superlative plants with exceptional foliage characteristics in his talk “Beyond Blooms: Creative Design with Color, Structure and Seasonal Senescence”. Warren will highlight woody and herbaceous plants with good garden foliage color, architectural structure, multi-season interest and stunning shape and texture characteristics that can be used in a diversity of ways to compliment flowers, provide structure and offer seasonal succession in the mixed border.  Warren will also suggest plant combinations that you can translate into your own garden, echoing leaf colors and texture to brighten the garden through the seasons. This program is a collaboration of the Essex Garden Club and the Essex Library. The program is FREE and open to the public, regardless of residency, at Essex Library, 33 West Avenue, Essex, CT. Register HERE or call the library at 860-767-1560.

In this evolving yoga series, yogis will learn valuable breathing and movement sequences that will connect their mind and body.  Each class will include breathing and meditation to prepare the mind as well as deep stretching appropriate for all levels and just a hint of strength work to help keep bodies healthy and agile. Modifications will be provided for anyone that needs them. The library has a limited supply of yoga mats; we suggest bringing your own. This program is FREE and open to ALL at Essex Library, 33 West Avenue, Essex, CT. No registration necessary, drop in!

Program for kids ages 0-3 and their caregivers, siblings welcome! Wiggle Worms is a play-based music and movement story time for children and their caregivers! Essex Library programs are free and open to the public. No registration required.