Meditation
2026-05-13 15:30 - 16:30, 2026-05-20 15:30 - 16:30, 2026-05-27 15:30 - 16:30, 2026-06-03 15:30 - 16:30, 2026-06-10 15:30 - 16:30 (America/New_York) | Harwinton Public Library, 80 Bentley Drive, Harwinton, CT, 06791, United States
Weekly meditation group. All are welcome

Teen Annual Watercolor Book Tracker Craft
2026-05-13 18:00 - 19:00
Come use watercolors and collage to make a book tracker for the summer!
Ages 11+. Please register.

Spring Storytime (Thurs.)
2026-05-14 10:00 - 10:30, 2026-05-21 10:00 - 10:30, 2026-05-28 10:00 - 10:30, 2026-06-04 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.

Afternoon Book Discussion
2026-05-14 14:00 - 15:00
This month’s selection is Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel-prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with–of all things–her mind. True chemistry results.
But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.
Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.

Plant Book and Bake Sale
2026-05-16 09:30 - 14:00
The Harwinton Library Friends invite you to their Annual Plant Book and Bake Sale. Plants from your neighbors will be for sale as well as baked goods and books from our basement. Take a chance on one of our fantastic Teacup Auction prizes. The Sale takes place rain or shine. All proceeds fund programs right here at the library. We hope to see you there!

Evening Book Discussion
2026-05-18 18:00 - 19:00
This month’s selection is The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?
Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.
Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ’80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

Chess Club
2026-05-18 18:30 - 19:30, 2026-06-01 18:30 - 19:30, 2026-06-08 18:30 - 19:30
Join out weekly chess club. All ages are welcome.

Spring Storytime (Tues.)
2026-05-19 10:00 - 10:30, 2026-05-26 10:00 - 10:30, 2026-06-02 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 Tuesday spring storytime will register you for all Tuesday spring storytimes.

SAVED: Equine Rescues of Connecticut
2026-05-20 18:00 - 19:00
Horses, ponies, donkeys and mules endure shocking forms of abuse and neglect at the hands of those supposed to care for them and keep them safe. SAVED: Equine Rescues of Connecticut tells the story of 9 Connecticut rescue and retirement facilities that work to rebuild the lives of these animals. Author Andrea Steele will present this inspiring program featuring photos and personal stories. Andrea will be joined by Jennifer Smith, founder of Harwinton’s own horse rescue, Operation Hold Your Horses, featured in the book.
Copies of SAVED will be available for purchase for $35. All proceeds from book sales at the program will be donated to Operation Hold Your Horses.
This program is for ages 10 and up. Please register.

Craft & Chat
2026-05-22 15:00 - 17:00
Do you like to craft but rarely make the time? Come to our monthly group with a project and supplies and spend an hour or two working on what you enjoy. We will be snacking and chatting and hope you can join us. Registration is helpful, but not required.

Library Closed
2026-05-25
Closed for Memorial Day

Bubble Science
2026-05-30 10:30 - 11:30
Come explore the magic of bubbles through cool science experiments! We are having Coolology back to our library for this awesome program.
What could be more fun than learning about bubbles? Children measure, experiment and explore the science behind making and blowing the best soap bubbles. Skills learned and phenomena explained by bubbles in this program include: light and color, chemical composition, surface tension, measurement, geometry and much more!
Ages 6-12. Please register.

Library Board Meeting
2026-06-01 19:00 - 20:00
Monthly Library Board Meeting

LIBRARY CLOSING EARLY 4 PM
2026-06-04 16:00 - 17:30
The Library will close early today at 4 pm for staff development. We apologize for any inconvenience. See you Friday at 9:30!

Ink & Watercolor Class
2026-06-06 10:00 - 12:00
Presenter Nancy Roman returns to lead this 2 hour Pen & Ink with Watercolor workshop. Learn the “Line & Wash” technique, popular in book illustrations, which combines a pen and ink drawing with a watercolor overlay. Participants will practice the technique first, then complete a window box portrait working from photo inspirations. This FREE program is open to ages 12 and up. No experience is needed and all supplies will be provided. Even if you’ve never considered yourself “artistic” you will be amazed at the beautiful results Nancy can help you produce. Space is limited. Please register.
Sponsored by the Harwinton Library Friends – Thank You!

Library Friends Meeting
2026-06-08 17:00 - 18:00
Monthly Library Friends Meeting

Homeschool Storytime
2026-06-10 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.

Digital Addiction in Children - POSTPONED
2026-06-10 18:30 - 19:30
THIS PROGRAM WILL BE RESCHEDULED
Summer finds many children with more free time on their hands. Are you concerned that your child will spend their entire summer glued to a screen? Join us for an important program from presenters Paul Tieger and Michael Shelby, authors of the book Reconnect: a Personalized Plan to Protect Your Child From Anxiety and Depression Fueled by Digital Addiction. Learn about the dangers of excessive digital use and how it can affect your child’s physical and mental health. What are the signs to watch for? How can you help your child break free?
This FREE program is open to all adults. Please Register.
Copies of the book Reconnect will be available for purchase after the program.
Sponsored by the Harwinton Library Friends – Thank You!

Afternoon Book Discussion
2026-06-11 14:00 - 15:00
This month’s book selection is The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. Hetty “Handful” Grimke, an urban slave in early nineteenth century Charleston, yearns for life beyond the suffocating walls that enclose her within the wealthy Grimke household. The Grimke’s daughter, Sarah, has known from an early age she is meant to do something large in the world, but she is hemmed in by the limits imposed on women.
Kidd’s sweeping novel is set in motion on Sarah’s eleventh birthday, when she is given ownership of ten year old Handful, who is to be her handmaid. We follow their remarkable journeys over the next thirty five years, as both strive for a life of their own, dramatically shaping each other’s destinies and forming a complex relationship marked by guilt, defiance, estrangement and the uneasy ways of love.
As the stories build to a riveting climax, Handful will endure loss and sorrow, finding courage and a sense of self in the process. Sarah will experience crushed hopes, betrayal, unrequited love, and ostracism before leaving Charleston to find her place alongside her fearless younger sister, Angelina, as one of the early pioneers in the abolition and women’s rights movements.
Inspired by the historical figure of Sarah Grimke, Kidd goes beyond the record to flesh out the rich interior lives of all of her characters, both real and invented, including Handful’s cunning mother, Charlotte, who courts danger in her search for something better.
This exquisitely written novel is a triumph of storytelling that looks with unswerving eyes at a devastating wound in American history, through women whose struggles for liberation, empowerment, and expression will leave no reader unmoved.
