Wallingford Public Library Association
143rd Annual Meeting
Featuring Guest Speaker Zoe Hunter
Monday, Oct 23rd | 7pm
Community Room
No registration required
Join us for the 143rd annual meeting of the Wallingford Public Library Association! There will be a brief business meeting followed by a presentation by Zoe Hunter, managing director at the Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale University.
During her presentation, Zoe will encourage participants to “journey well” and discuss the ways that embracing one’s journey contributes to personal development. Using memoirs as an analogy, she will highlight the role that storytelling plays in community building and networking, with the goal of inspiring people to be more confident in sharing their personal narratives.
Join the Wallingford Public Library and SCOW (Spanish Community of Wallingford) in a celebration of Día de los Muertos! Learn about the history and traditions of this holiday and view our community-made altar. Dancers and musicians will put on traditional performances, and there will be themed crafts and a Los Mariachis food truck! We’ll also be showing Pixar’s Coco (PG) all day in the Collins Room.
Friday, Nov 3rd | 5:30-8pm
Community Room & Collins Room
Drop-in |No registration required
Taking Care of
Your Mental Health
Monday, Oct 23rd
2-3pm
OR
Wednesday, Oct 25th
5:30-6:30pm
Collins Room
No registration required
In this presentation, you will learn how various life stressors can impact your mental health and what skills you can utilize to take care of your mental wellness. In addition, symptoms of anxiety and depression will be reviewed, along with coping skills for managing symptoms, and the importance of self-care. Presented by Michele Kieras, LCSW, CDP, Director of Social Work and Facility Education and Customer Service Regional Manager at Connecticut Mental Health Specialists. This program is presented in partnership with Masonicare and Wallingford Health Department.
Graven Images:
Colonial New England Gravestones as Art & History
Tuesday, Oct 24th
7-8:30pm
Community Room
Early New England gravestones are unique expressions of the culture and beliefs of their time and place in our history. Crafted by hand by itinerant stone carvers, the symbols and epitaphs provide a unique window into the fears, concerns, hopes and ambitions of generations long past. Their origins and purpose in a rapidly evolving society will be presented by cultural historian and Wesleyan University Visiting Scholar, Richard J. Friswell.
Materializing Tuesday, Oct 31st
at the Wallingford Public LibraryLegend tells us of a mysterious juice bar that materializes each year at sunset on All Hallow's Eve! Stop by the library during the evening of Tuesday, Oct 31st to see for yourself if the legend is true!
One-on-One Career Counseling
Sign up today to schedule your virtual appointment with our career specialist Sarah Eiseman!
Get personalized help with crafting a resume or cover letter or preparing for your big interview.
Visit to get started or contact Sarah Eiseman at seiseman@wallingfordlibrary.org. You will be contacted shortly to schedule your Zoom appointment.
Spanish Conversation Group
Thursdays| 4:30-5:30pm
Improve your Spanish in a friendly and non-judgmental space! Some knowledge of Spanish recommended. Just drop-in!
French Conversation Group
Mondays | 4:30-5:30pm
Improve your French in a friendly and non-judgmental space! Some knowledge of French recommended. Just drop-in!
Knit @ WPL
First and Third Monday of Each Month
Monday, Nov 6th & 20th
6-7:30pm
Board Room
No registration required
Knit @ WPL is a place where knitters and crocheters can practice their work in the company of others. Newcomers are welcome to join, but knitting experience is required.
WPL Play Readers
First Wednesday of Each Month
Wednesday, Nov 1st
6:30-8:30pm
Collins Room
No registration required
The Wallingford Public Library Play Readers bring and share poetry, prose, famous speeches and documents, monologues, as well as original material! Come check us out. All are welcome to read and/or listen.
Open Sew
First Tuesday of Each Month
Tuesday, Nov 7th
5:30-8:30pm
Adults & Teens in Grades 9+
Drop-in
Collaboratory
Do you like to sew? Join people who enjoy quilting and sewing at a casual “drop in” program. Bring your unfinished projects, either hand sewing or machine. There are 4 portable sewing machines (or bring your own) and lots of sewing supplies and tools provided by the library for your use. Due to the one-on-one nature of this program, masks will be required for all participants.
Saturday Mornings with Poetry
Second and Fourth Saturday of Each Month
Saturday, Oct 28th
9:45am-12noon
Collins Room
No registration required
A meeting of people who love reading and writing poetry. SMwP provides poetic opportunities for anyone to share their poetry, discuss the literary works of poets known and unknown, and expand skills in writing and editing poems in the shared camaraderie of comfortable, supportive members.
Asteroid City [PG-13]
Friday, Oct 20th | 6pm
In an American desert town in the mid-1950s, the Junior Stargazer Convention attracts stargazers of different ages. A group of students and their parents visits the town to attend the event. What follows is an unexpected exchange of ideas and experiences that lead to eye-opening revelations.
Mission Impossible:
Dead Reckoning, Part One [PG-13]
Friday, Nov 17th | 6pm
As enemies encroach from all sides and old alliances sour with betrayal, the skilled Impossible Missions Force agent Ethan Hunt faces the twilight hour of his storied career as he knows it. Cautioned against pursuing his course of action, Hunt continues to fight for what he believes to be right. Along the way, Hunt faces overwhelming odds, new threats, and former flames in his tireless quest for justice.
Thursday Night Book Club:
Lessons in Chemistry
by Bonnie Garmus
Thursday, Nov 16th
6:30-8pm
Collins Room & Zoom
Contact Cindy Haiken to participate:
chaiken@wallingfordlibrary.org
In the early 1960s, chemist Elizabeth Zott is a single mother and the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking is revolutionary, but as she becomes more famous, not everyone is happy. That’s because Elizabeth isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s also urging them to change the status quo. Adapted into a series on Apple TV+, Garmus’ debut novel has spent 75 weeks (and counting) on the New York Times bestseller list.
Mystery Book Club:
The Corpse on
the Court
by Simon Brett
Wednesday, Nov 1st
3-4:15pm
Community Room & Zoom
Contact Carole to participate at cshmurak@gmail.com and put “Wallingford Mystery Book Club” in the subject line.
In the 14th installment in the mystery series set in the calm and self-contained retirement town of Fethering, on England’s southern coast, amateur sleuth Jude looks into the death of a member of the “Real Tennis” club that her boyfriend belongs to, while Jude’s friend Carole pursues a missing person’s case involving an adopted teenage girl who disappeared from home several years earlier. As the two investigations become intertwined, Carole and Jude’s efforts to find the truth look set to lead to more murders.
Truth Be Told
Nonfiction Book Club
These Precious Days
by Ann Patchett
Thursday, Nov 30th
7-8:30pm
Collins Room & Zoom
Contact Cindy Haiken to participate:
chaiken@wallingfordlibrary.org
An essay collection that touches on family, friendships, beloved authors and aspects of the writing life. The title story, about an unexpected friendship with a woman undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer, went viral when it was first published in Harper’s Magazine. In 22 essays, Patchett meditates poignantly and with humor on “what I needed, whom I loved, what I could let go, and how much energy the letting go would take.”
