Upcoming
Chili Night
Friday, May 8, 4:30-6:30pm
The library will be offering quarts of homemade chili along with two pieces of cornbread for just $20! Choose from beef, poultry, or vegetarian. Pre-order by Monday, May 4, and pay by cash, check, or credit card (with a $3 fee) when you pick up at the library. Put away those pots and pans and save your Friday night for other things!
To pre-order, send an email stating which type of chili and how many quarts you’d like to sharonbaxterlibrary@gmail.com
(If you’re interested in cooking up a pot of beef, chicken, or vegetarian chili – or baking cornbread – just email Marian at marbee802@gmail.com)
Plant, Book & Bake Sale
Saturday, May 30, 9am-2pm
The library’s annual Plant, Book and Bake Sale is happening Saturday, May 30, 9am-2pm, and as a special treat, Emerson Gale and Co. will be on hand to provide music 10:30am-12:30pm. Woohoo!!
Drop off your books May 25-28, get those house plants divided, bake up some pies or cookies, and get ready for a great day!
Plant Donations
Because of the presence of the Asian Jumping Worm in Vermont, we’re selling only houseplants and seedlings (no transplants). Please bring plant donations the morning of the sale. (If you’re not available to drop them off Saturday morning, just email the library or call us at 763-2875, and we’ll figure out a time that works for you.)
Book Donations
Have books, DVDs, or audiobooks on CD that are looking for new homes? We’d love to have them for our sale! You can drop off items the week of the sale, May 25-28 during open hours). PLEASE DON’T LEAVE DONATIONS ON THE PORCH. Because finding homes for unwanted books is extraordinarily difficult these days, we are only able to accept sellable items in good condition. Check out our Guidelines for Donated Materials for details.
Baked Goods Donations
Want to help the library by baking something scrumptious? We’re looking for pies, tea breads, cookies, cakes, bars, or anything else that would satisfy a sweet tooth – or a savory one! Please let Shana know what you plan to contribute by emailing the library at sharonbaxterlibrary@gmail.com or calling 802-763-2875.
Questions about the sale? Thinking of volunteering? (We could really use the help!) Email sharonbaxterlibrary@gmail.com or give us a call at 802-763-2875.
Ongoing
National Poetry Month Activities
All April
April is National Poetry Month, and Baxter Memorial Library is offering lots of poetry-related activities all month long, including displays of poetry for kids and adults, a create-your-own blackout poem and book spine poem station, and a basketful of short poems that you can grab and keep in your pocket to read throughout the day!
Decorate the Library with Paper Flowers
All April
The library will have paper flower-making supplies available all month long. Stop in and craft a colorful flower, and the librarian will find the perfect spot for it to bloom. Then, see if you can find it on your next visit!
Silly Egg Month
All April
Stop by the library all April and look for the hidden eggs! Each egg contains a silly, punny joke. Read it to the librarian to get a piece of candy (one per day).
Writing Group
1st & 3rd Mondays 6:00-7:30pm
This group meets twice monthly. The first part of the get together focuses on generative writing through prompts, and the second part focuses on kind critique and supportive feedback of writings that members bring in. All writers of any experience level are welcome. If you’re curious, come check it out! Bring a journal or laptop, a warm drink, and your imagination.
Simplicity Circle
2nd Mondays, 6:00-7:30
Join us each month to chat about the things that really matter to us and the steps we’re taking – or planning to take – to make them happen. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
A Simplicity Circle is a welcoming space where we can explore, practice, and enjoy the benefits of voluntary simplicity. Together, we’ll reflect on ways to cultivate a less pressured, more intentional lifestyle, and we’ll focus on what truly matters: meaningful relationships, creative expression, a sense of “enough,” and the power of sharing.
The Sharon Health Initiative at Baxter Memorial Library
2nd & 4th Wednesdays, 2-3pm
The mission of the Sharon Health Initiative is to provide personal attention, assessment, advocacy & referral within the healthcare system, especially for our elders who need assistance aging in place. Every 2nd and 4th Wednesday from 2pm to 4pm, feel free to stop by and chat about what the Dena Wilkie, the Community Health Care Coordinator, can do for you! Questions? Email Dena at sharonhealthinitiative@gmail.com or give her a call at (802) 230-8458.
Story Time and Play Group
Thursdays 10:30-11:00
Baxter’s weekly toddler/preschooler story time and play group takes place Thursdays at 10:30am. Let your little one read stories with the librarian and explore the library before it opens to the public. Then, stick around for some play time! During the summer, each child attending Storytime can choose a brand new free book thanks to a Winnie Belle Learned Fund grant made possible by the Vermont Public Library Foundation.
Short Story Club
Anytime
No time for a book club? Baxter Memorial Library’s Short Story Club has your back. No novels. No meetings. Just great short stories.
The March/April selection is “The Dress” by Louise Erdrich:
“In every school, in that year, in the Midwest, there was a girl named Candy, whose blond or dark brown hair was naturally thick and long and curled under at the ends, a girl whose father was rich, whose mother shopped in dress shops that catered to girls of twelve, a girl with cuteness, school spirit. In every school there was a Candy whose bite was perfect, whose legs were shaven and bronzed from the summer sun, whose wrists were slung with expensive chains and tiny golden charms, and whose heart, the real one in her chest, was a small black lump of coal, hormonally ignited and burning hot.”
You can pick up copies of the story at the library, see what others thought of it in the SSC binder, and add your own reflections.
Baxter Memorial Library 