Harwinton Public Library

Spring Storytime (Tues.)
2026-05-12 10:00 - 10:30, 2026-05-05 10:00 - 10:30, 2026-04-21 10:00 - 10:30 (America/New_York) | Harwinton Public Library, 80 Bentley Drive, Harwinton, CT, 06791, United States
Come enjoy storytime with Mrs. Molly! Read a book, sing songs, and either make a craft, play with scarves, or do simple yoga!
Each week has a different theme and all are welcome to attend!
Ages 0-5. Please register. Registering for one Tuesday spring storytime will register you for all Tuesday spring storytimes.

Chess Club
2026-05-11 18:30 - 19:30, 2026-05-04 18:30 - 19:30, 2026-04-27 18:30 - 19:30, 2026-04-20 18:30 - 19:30, 2026-04-13 18:30 - 19:30
Join out weekly chess club. All ages are welcome.

Library Friends Meeting
2026-05-11 17:00 - 18:00
Monthly Library Friends Meeting

Passports to CT Libraries 2026 Due
2026-05-11 12:30 - 20:30
Today is the final day to return your stamped Passports to Connecticut Libraries! Don’t miss the chance to win a $200 VISA gift card. Passports must have stamps from at least 5 participating libraries in order to be eligible for a prize. Adults and children will compete separately in the following categories: 5 or More Visited, 25 or More Visited, and Top Traveler. Statewide winners will be drawn on Friday, June 12. Good luck to our participants! We hope you had fun visiting other libraries and exploring their buildings and collections. Please tell us about the things you’ve seen that might be great additions to our library!

Mother's Day Craft
2026-05-09 10:30 - 11:30
The Harwinton Women’s Club is coming back to the library to do another craft with the kids! This year they are making pop-up cards and tissue paper flowers for mom!
Ages 4-10. Please register. Spots fill up fast!

Spring Storytime (Thurs.)
2026-05-07 10:00 - 10:30, 2026-04-30 10:00 - 10:30, 2026-04-23 10:00 - 10:30
Come enjoy storytime with Mrs. Molly! Read a book, sing songs, and either make a craft, play with scarves, or do simple yoga!
Each week has a different theme and all are welcome to attend!
Ages 0-5. Please register. Registering for one Thursday spring storytime will register you for all Thursday spring storytimes.

Meditation
2026-05-06 15:30 - 16:30, 2026-04-29 15:30 - 16:30, 2026-04-22 15:30 - 16:30, 2026-04-15 15:30 - 16:30
Weekly meditation group. All are welcome

Library Board Meeting
2026-05-04 19:00 - 20:00
Monthly Library Board Meeting

From Liberty to Legacy: Exploring American Ideals in the Musicals 1776 and Hamilton
2026-05-02 11:00
1776 and Hamilton: two American musicals, almost 40 years apart, telling the story of the founding of our nation. This program looks at these revolutionary musicals and their contrasting visions of an America society at a crossroads. Join presenter and theatre director Michael Langlois for this fascinating lecture featuring video clips from the two musicals. This FREE program is part of Harwinton’s America 250 Celebration and sponsored by donations to our 2025 Annual Appeal – Thank You to Pat & Bill Green and Dustin & Andrea Bingham!

Film Screening: 1776
2026-05-01 13:30 - 16:30
All are invited to a free screening of the musical 1776. This 1972 feature film, based on the Broadway musical, stars William Daniels, Ken Howard, and Blythe Danner. It is set in Philadelphia in the summer of 1776 and tells the story of the events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Portions of dialogue and some lyrics were taken directly from the letters and memoirs of the actual participants of the Second Continental Congress. How accurate is the film’s depiction of our revolutionary history? Join us the following day at 11 for From Liberty to Legacy: Exploring American Ideals in the Musicals 1776 and Hamilton.
Patrons are welcome to bring a box lunch or snack to enjoy during the film.
Running time: 2 hours 46 minutes

Passport to CT Libraries 2026: FINAL DAY for Stamps
2026-04-30 09:30 - 17:30
Just a reminder that April 30 is the final day to visit any of the 175 public libraries participating in the 2026 Passport to CT Libraries program and have your passport stamped!
How does it work?
Ask for a passport at our library or any participating library.
Visit any participating library during the month of April to have your passport stamped (and maybe get a token gift!)
Visit at least 5 libraries to qualify for a prize drawing. Both adults and children can fill out passports and will compete separately.
Return your passport to the Library by May 10.
Statewide winners will be randomly drawn on June 12 in the following categories: 5 or More Libraries Visited, 25 or More Libraries Visited, and Top Traveler. Winners will receive a $200 VISA gift card.
Every library in Connecticut is unique, from their architectural styles to their programs and collections. This is a great way to explore all that the Connecticut library system has to offer. Don’t forget if you see something you like, you can use your Harwinton Public Library card to borrow from any public library in the state!

Let's Talk Gardening
2026-04-27 19:00 - 20:00
Join us for our first Let’s Talk Gardening session for the 2026 gardening season. Spring is here!

Family Fairy Terrarium Craft
2026-04-25 11:00 - 12:30
Please register the first and last name as the family name and then # of people attending. For ex. Smith, 3
Come enjoy making a fairy terrarium as a family! All materials will be provided, but everyone is free to bring things from their own home and yard if they so desire! Take your time and when you are finished, take it home to put in your garden or window.
Please register. Space is limited.

Veterans Benefits Outreach
2026-04-23 11:00 - 12:30
Are you a veteran or family member of a veteran who is unsure about what benefits are available to you? The Harwinton Municipal Veterans Representative and members from Veterans Benefits Administration and Veterans Healthcare Administration will be presenting an overview of programs and services, along with eligibility requirements. There will be time for Q & A. All veterans are welcome regardless of branch of service or character of discharge. No registration needed. Please stop in – and thank you for your service!

Homeschool Storytime
2026-04-22 14:00 - 15:00
One of our local homeschooling mom’s, Andrea Fitzpatrick, is providing a homeschooler storytime for homeschoolers in the area! All are welcome, of course, whether they are homeschooled or not!
This storytime series will be for slightly older kids than the normal story times that Mrs. Molly provides! This is a great opportunity for kids who still love being read to!
Ages 6-10 years old.
Parents must attend with their kids.
No need to register.

Evening Book Discussion
2026-04-20 18:00 - 19:00
This month’s book selection is: This is Your Mind on Plants by Michael Pollan. In This Is Your Mind on Plants, Michael Pollan dives deep into three plant drugs–opium, caffeine, and mescaline–and throws the fundamental strangeness, and arbitrariness, of our thinking about them into sharp relief. Exploring and participating in the cultures that have grown up around these drugs while consuming (or, in the case of caffeine, trying not to consume) them, Pollan reckons with the powerful human attraction to psychoactive plants. Why do we go to such great lengths to seek these shifts in consciousness, and then why do we fence that universal desire with laws and customs and fraught feelings?
In this unique blend of history, science, and memoir, as well as participatory journalism, Pollan examines and experiences these plants from several very different angles and contexts, and shines a fresh light on a subject that is all too often treated reductively–as a drug, whether licit or illicit. But that is one of the least interesting things you can say about these plants, Pollan shows, for when we take them into our bodies and let them change our minds, we are engaging with nature in one of the most profound ways we can. Based in part on an essay published almost twenty-five years ago, this groundbreaking and singular consideration of psychoactive plants, and our attraction to them through time, holds up a mirror to our fundamental human needs and aspirations, the operations of our minds, and our entanglement with the natural world.

April Book Sale
2026-04-18 10:00 - 12:00
Get a head start on Spring with a special April Book Sale from our Library Friends. Shop unbeatable prices on gently used books for all ages. And mark your calendars for our Annual Plant, Book & Bake Sale on Saturday, May 16th!

Craft & Chat
2026-04-17 15:00 - 17:00
We have a monthly craft club. We all bring a project we are currently working on & spend some time being productive, chatting & enjoying some snacks. Join us!

Teen Spring Chicken Craft - CANCELLED
2026-04-15 18:00 - 19:30
Tonight’s event has been cancelled due to staff illness. We will reschedule at a later date. Our apologies for the inconvenience.
Come enjoy this folding book craft that anyone can do! Create a spring chicken out of an old book and take it home when you’re done.
The last time we did a book folding craft, we made hedgehogs, and they came out so cute!
Listen to music and hang out with friends as you fold.
Ages 11+.
