Editor’s note: This announcement was provided by the Town of Pelham Public Library. The Pelham Examiner publishes announcements in the form received as a service to the community.

Attention: Summer Reading for Kids is back! Join us for programs celebrating Pride Month and Juneteenth, plus kids can learn babysitting skills, make a Pride button or create a Father’s Day gift. For details about this and much more, please see below.

Adult Programs and News

English as a Second Language (ESL) for Intermediate Students

Come to the Library to practice your English by joining our ESL classes.

This class is intended for low-intermediate to advanced students who are learning English as a second or foreign language. (No beginners please!)

Our teacher is Pelham resident, EJ Sepp who has taught ESL for 20 years, and is the co-author of English Express New York: A Cultural Reading & Writing Text for English Language Learners.

These classes are walk-ins that do not require preregistration or attending all sessions, but please arrive on time.

Mondays, June 5 and 12, 6:15-7 pm 🏛

Crafty Adults: Polymer Clay Rainbow Cake Pins and Pom-Pom Garlands

Join us as we double the fun in June with two crafts instead of one! We’ll make sweet rainbow layer cake pins out of polymer clay followed by quick and easy rainbow garlands while our cakes bake. All materials will be provided.

This event will take place in-person at the Library and registration is required. To register please click here. Sign up early, as space and supplies are limited.

Monday, June 5, 7:30-8:30 pm 🏛

Safe/Haven: Gay Life in 1950s Cherry Grove with the New-York Historical Society

Welcome to Cherry Grove! In the years before the Stonewall Uprising, this secluded beach enclave on Fire Island was a respite for gay men and women. Explore this fascinating and forgotten history with nearly 70 photographs from the 1950s courtesy of the Cherry Grove Archives Collection.

This program takes place on Zoom and registration is required. To register please click here.

Wednesday, June 7, 7-8 pm 💻

Ayurvedic Approaches

Join us for a series of health lectures from Dr. Somesh N. Kaushik! This month’s session will cover Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Practiced in India for more than 5,000 years, Ayurveda is a comprehensive system of medicine. It emphasizes a preventive and holistic approach. To register, please click here.

Tuesday, June 13, 7-8 pm 💻

Over the Rainbow: The Hollywood Career of Judy Garland with Brian Rose

From breaking an audience’s heart with a song, to effortlessly dancing up a storm, to delivering comic and dramatic performances that still enthrall today, there wasn’t anything Judy Garland couldn’t do! Join us to examine her remarkable Hollywood career, which began in her young teens at MGM and continued with such timeless classics as The Wizard of Oz, Meet Me in St. Louis, Easter Parade, and her stirring comeback in 1954’s A Star is Born.

This program takes place on Zoom and registration is required. To register please click here.

Thursday, June 15, 7-8 pm  💻

Roots of Black Music with Karlus Trapp

Join us for a journey back through 100 years of America’s black musical giants. This joyful, informative talk from Karlus Trapp comes alive through songs, stories and history.

This program takes place on Zoom and registration is required. To register please click here.

Wednesday, June 21, 7-8 pm 💻

Adult Hybrid Book Clubs

The After-Dark Book Club will meet on Thursday, June 1 at 7:30 pm to discuss The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. The After-Dark Book Club will be taking a break during July and August and will resume in September.  The 2nd-Friday Book Club will meet on June 2 at 10:30 am to discuss Oh William!: A Novel by Elizabeth Strout and on July 14 at 10:30 am to discuss The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King.  Book Clubs are currently meeting both in person at the Library and on Zoom. This is subject to change. Please check our website for updates.

To join, email [email protected]. For more information about the 2nd-Friday Book Club click here and for the After-Dark Book Club click here.

Celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month with This List of Library Resources

Our librarians have put together a list of books, eBooks, and downloadable movies that encompass history, memoirs, and romances about the LGBTQ experience. You can access our list by clicking here. You can also browse the Stonewall Book Awards List to find more exceptional books about the LGBTQ experience going back to 1971.

Celebrate Juneteenth with This List of Library Resources

Join the Town of Pelham Public Library as we honor Juneteenth on June 19. Our librarians have put together a list of books for adults, children and teens exploring African American history including Juneteenth, the holiday that commemorates the day the Emancipation Proclamation reached enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865. You can access the list by clicking here.

The Library Will Be Closed in Observance of Juneteenth.

We will reopen on Tuesday, June 20th for our regular hours.

Closed Monday, June 19

Children’s News and Events

Summer Reading Kick-Off!

Meet some animals from your favorite books! From The Salamander Room to Charlotte’s Web, we’ll see creatures almost jump right from the pages! Join us for some favorite animal stories, and get a chance to see and touch some of the animals that live at the Stamford Museum & Nature Center. This program is for ages four and up. No registration required.

Friday, June 23, 1-2 pm 🏛

Calling All Avid Readers: Battle of the Books

Will you be in the 4th-12th grade in September 2023? If so join us for Battle of the Books. Battle of the Books is a book-based trivia tournament for Westchester youth. The competition format is similar to Jeopardy! We will practice during August and September. If you are interested please reach out to our librarian Kathy ([email protected]) or call 914-738-1234. For more info click here.

Practices occur in August, September and October with the Battle being held on Saturday, October 21, 2023 at Ossining High School.

So, Let’s Sew with a New Format

Our super-popular sewing class just for kids ages six and up is back! This is a very high-demand program, and there are a lot of folks who haven’t been able to get into a class yet. We want to be fair and make sure that as many kids as possible have a chance to attend a sewing class, which is why we are separating the classes into “Newcomers” (those who have never attended our sewing classes in 2022-2023) and “Returning Students” (those who have attended a class in 2022-2023). Students must be ages six and up. No exceptions, please.

Attendance is capped at six people, but a waitlist will be kept. If you are interested, please email Tasha at [email protected]. You MUST include your/your child’s name and age, and your phone number. You will receive a confirmation. Register soon, as space and supplies are limited!

• Thursday, June 1, 5-6:30 pm (newcomers) 🏛
• Thursday, June 8, 5-6:30 pm (returning students) 🏛
• Thursday, June 15, 5-6:30 pm (returning students) 🏛

Intro to Babysitting

Learn interviewing tips, communication skills, ages and stages of young babies and toddlers, safety and basic first aid tips and feeding and caring for children. A simple test will be administered at the completion of the course and certificates will be distributed. Please bring a pencil or pen, a notebook and a snack. Ages 11 and up.  This event takes place in-person at the Library and registration is required. To register email Kathy ([email protected]).

Saturday, June 3, 1-4pm 🏛

Story Time with Pelham Middle School

Join us for this very special Story Time and arts and crafts offered by Pelham Middle School students as part of their community project. No registration required. This program is geared towards children ages four to eight and will be held outside.

Saturday, June 3, 2-3pm 🏛

JLP Story Time and Craft

This month the Junior League of Pelham will be here at the Library reading The Wonders of Summer by Kealy Connor Lonning. They will also be showing us how to make summer fruit magnets. Please note that this is a family program that requires adult supervision geared towards four to six year olds. This program takes place at the Library and we recommend registering in advance here.

Wednesday, June 7, 3:30-4:15 pm 🏛

Proud to be Me Buttons

Express yourself with pins! Color a rainbow. Write your name. Draw your favorite animal. Decorate with anything else you feel screams “you”! This program is for children ages six and up. No registration is required.

Friday, June 9, 3:30-4:30 pm 🏛

Father’s Day Craft

What better way to tell your dad or the father figure in your life that they rock than with a rock? Come and color a rock in their likeness here at the library that they can use as a paperweight or piece of art that they will appreciate forever. This craft is for children ages four and up. No registration required.

Wednesday, June 14, 3:30-4:30 pm 🏛

Outdoor Story Time

Join us for our popular Story Time for infants and toddlers outside on our front lawn. Story Time is designed to enhance early literacy skills and features diverse children’s books in which all children can see themselves represented… plus we have a lot of fun! Please bring a blanket or lawn chair to sit on. Story Time will be held outdoors throughout the year, but will be canceled on days when the temperature is extreme, or if it is raining. Cancellations will be posted on our website at the top of our homepage. You may also call the Library when we open at 10 am to inquire.

Every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10:30-11 am 🏛