Clapp Memorial Library

Smartphone Photography
2026-04-11 09:00 - 11:00 (America/New_York) | Parks & Recreation, 66 State Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Saturday, April 11 – Smartphone Photography with Linda Repasky
Belchertown Recreation Department, 66 State Street (behind the police station).
The classroom session will be from 9:00 am to 10:00 am, followed by outdoor practical sessions at Lake Wallace (weather dependent), so come prepared to walk a short distance to Lake Wallace and spend some time outside!
ViewFinder workshops are open to anyone, you do not have to be a Belchertown resident. Seats are limited, and registration is required. Click here to sign up.
Instructor: Linda Repasky
Linda is a Belchertown resident who enjoys capturing the beauty of local natural resources with her iPhone. She particularly enjoys exploring around the Quabbin Reservoir, as well as pursuing macro photography to capture the tiny details in nature that are so easy to overlook. Her iPhone photos have received recognition in numerous international photography competitions. You can see her work on Instagram @lindarepaskyphotography

Mass Save Pop-Up Resource Table
2026-04-11 09:30 - 14:00 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Learn about no-cost Home Energy Assessments (HEAs) and other MassSave benefits for homeowners and renters. The goal of these assessments is to make residents’ homes safer, healthier, and more comfortable, while identifying ways to lower energy consumption, carbon emissions, and utility bill costs. There will be a table with resources and representatives of HomeWorks Energy will help explain all the benefits and answer any questions.
This program is funded by HomeWorks Energy, Inc.

Magic: the Gathering
2026-04-11 10:30 - 13:30, 2026-04-18 10:30 - 13:30 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Join us for Magic the Gathering in the Activity Room. Bring your own deck or use one of our learning decks. Everyone is welcome, however players must be fluent readers. Players under the age of 10 must have a caregiver who is at least 14 years old on the Library premises. Join us for every session or just one – it’s up to you!
We will have two instructors to help get games started and assist with the rules of the game. No registration is required. Check the Library website or Facebook page if there is inclement weather.
Saturdays, 10:30 am to 1:30 pm
February 28th, March 14th, 21st, 24th, April 4th*, 11th, & 18th.
Magic will start at 11am on April 4th

Fiber Arts with the Woolies
2026-04-16 17:00 - 18:30, 2026-04-23 17:00 - 18:30, 2026-04-30 17:00 - 18:30, 2026-05-07 17:00 - 18:30, 2026-05-14 17:00 - 18:30, 2026-05-21 17:00 - 18:30, 2026-05-28 17:00 - 18:30 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
The Woolies are a local fiber arts group who meet weekly at the library to socialize and work on their various projects. Whether you’re interested in knitting, crocheting, felting, weaving, embroidery, needle point, sewing, or another fiber art, you’re welcome to join the fun.

Friends of the Clapp Memorial Library Meeting
2026-04-16 18:30 - 19:30, 2026-05-21 18:30 - 19:30 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
All are invited to the The Friends of the Clapp Memorial Library Board Meeting in the Activity Room at 6:30pm. For information email friendsofclappmemoriallibrary@gmail.com
http://www.friendsofclapplibrary.org/
​The Friends of Clapp Memorial Library is a volunteer not-for-profit organization dedicated to raising monies to assist the Library beyond the ordinary scope of the Library’s budget to reach its potential in our community. The group’s additional purpose is to promote and maintain close relationships between the Library and the people it serves, to increase public awareness of Library resources, and to encourage community participation in Library activities.

Photography for Beginners
2026-04-18 09:00 - 11:00 | Parks & Recreation, 66 State Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Saturday, April 18 – Photography for Beginners with Ed Comeau
The classroom session will be from 9:00 am to 10:00 am, followed by outdoor practical sessions at Lake Wallace (weather dependent), so come prepared to walk a short distance to Lake Wallace and spend some time outside!
ViewFinder workshops are open to anyone, you do not have to be a Belchertown resident. Seats are limited, and registration is required. Click here to sign up.
Instructor: Ed Comeau
Ed’s interest in photography goes back many years, but upon moving to Belchertown over 25 years ago this interest reached a whole new level with his proximity to the Quabbin Reservoir and access to the beauty of Western Massachusetts. While he can often be found sitting in some remote part of the Quabbin, waiting for wildlife to come his way, has also explored Maine, Alaska, and Colorado, resulting in a number of beautiful landscape and wildlife photographs. A number of local businesses have exhibited his works and his photographs have appeared in several calendars. He is a member of the Friends of the Quabbin Board of Directors, the Program Director of the Quabbin Photo Group, and has been an instructor for the Belchertown ViewFinder project since its inception. You can find his work at www.ComeauPhotography.com and on Instagram @edcomeauphotography.

Kalos Trio
2026-04-18 16:00 - 17:00 | Belchertown United Church of Christ, ​18 Park Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Join us for an evening of classical music with Kalos Trio.
Kalos Trio is comprised of Rebecca Hartka on cello, Julia Liao on violin, and Barbara Lysakowski on piano. This concert will be held at BUCC with Ms. Lysakowsi’s playing the library’s 1877 Steinway piano.
This program is funded in part by a grant from the Belchertown Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

NEW DATE: Astral Evening: Star Party with the Library
2026-04-23 20:00 - 22:00 | Foley Field, 66 State Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Thursday, April 23: Astral Evening: Star Party with the Library, 8-10pm
Date has been shifted to 4/23 due to forcasted viewing conditions.
Members of Springfield STARS Astronomy Club will be setting up telescopes to lead us on a tour of the night sky. Witness some of the most impressive sights!
We’ll be outside, so please wear comfortable shoes and warm clothing. Foley Field is located behind the Police Station off Rt. 202 in Belchertown.

Advanced Nature Photography
2026-04-25 09:00 - 11:00 | Parks & Recreation, 66 State Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Saturday, April 25 – Advanced Nature Photography with Mark Lindhult
The classroom session will be from 9:00 am to 10:00 am, followed by outdoor practical sessions at Lake Wallace (weather dependent), so come prepared to walk a short distance to Lake Wallace and spend some time outside!
ViewFinder workshops are open to anyone, you do not have to be a Belchertown resident. Seats are limited, and registration is required. Click here to sign up.
Instructor: Mark Lindhult
Mark’s passion in photography is capturing the beauty of nature and the unique behaviors of birds and wildlife in their environment. As a Professor Emeritus of Landscape Architecture at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a Principle Emeritus at The Berkshire Design Group and a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, he brings his knowledge of landscape, ecology, design and composition to inform his photography and advocate for habitat preservation. His photographs have been exhibited at UMass Amherst in the Design Building Gallery, the US Fish and Wildlife Headquarters Gallery, Cooley Dickinson Hospital Gallery, Franklin Medical Center Gallery and the Baystate Medical Center Gallery. He has also granted permission to several non-profit groups to use his photographs in newsletters, reports, note cards and postcards, including the Friends of Quabbin, the Massachusetts Rivers Alliance and the Kestrel Land Trust.. You can see his work on his website at www.MarkLindhult.com.

Ukulele Play Along (Virtual Event)
2026-05-04 19:00 - 20:00, 2026-06-01 19:00 - 20:00 | Virtual, MA
Strum along with the Ukulele Play Along on the first Monday every month!
Grab your ukulele and play along – because playing your ukulele is more fun when you do it with others. We’ll be focusing on 3 and 4 chord songs, with lyrics and chords provided on screen. Participants will be muted, so don’t worry about how you sound!
To join, email Julie Stepanek (julie@musicjulie.com) for the Zoom link and to receive the songs for the program. Don’t have a Ukulele? Don’t worry – you can borrow one from us!

An Introduction to Nature Photography for Children
2026-05-05 15:15 - 17:00, 2026-05-16 13:00 - 15:00 | Chestnut Hill Community School, 59 State St, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
There will be two ViewFinder photography workshops for children. These will be open to children 4 years old and above. Children up to the sixth grade must be accompanied and assisted by an adult. Maximum group size is 6 children. Click here to register.
Location: The School Garden in front of the Swift River Elementary School
Instructor: Holly is interested in the colors, forms, and patterns displayed throughout the diversity of life. She believes that photography allows us to look more thoughtfully and carefully at all of nature’s beauty, big and small. She volunteers with students at Swift River Elementary and in the Belchertown School Garden.

BHS and Swift River Elementary Present A Collaborative Art Show
2026-05-05 18:00 - 19:00 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
The public is invited to the Clapp Memorial Library on Tuesday, May 5th from 6-7pm for a Collaborative Art Show featuring works by BHS and Swift River Elementary School students! The reception will celebrate Swift River students’ 2D monster drawings reimagined into 3D sculptures by BHS students. Light refreshments will be provided. Artwork will remain on display throughout the month of May. This program is funded by the Friends of the Clapp Memorial Library.

Janet Crosier Book Talk
2026-05-12 19:00 - 20:00 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Join us for a presentation and book signing with author Janet Crosier. Her novel, Shadows on the Heath, imagines the missing three years of Heathcliff’s life from Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. Copies of the book along with Janet’s latest novel, Weymouth House, will be available for purchase.
Janet Crosier is an adjunct English Professor in Western Massachusetts and member of the Brontë Society, Modern Language Association, and Straw Dog Writers’ Guild. She has published her research, poetry, and several short stories with the International Academic Forum, New Dimensions in the Humanities, Common Ground, and the University of Massachusetts.

Plant Swap
2026-05-19 18:00 - 19:00 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Bring a plant (or not!) to the library and swap it for a new one. The program takes place on the library lawn. Monthly on the third Tuesday of the month from May to September.
This program is funded by the Belchertown & Around Plant Swap

Transform Your Yard to Support Pollinators: A 12 Step Program
2026-05-19 19:00 - 20:00 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Many people now realize the importance of pollinators and other essential wildlife. They want to make their yard pollinator-friendly, but don’t know where to start. This talk will step you through the process of evaluation, planning, and implementation, with many options for large and small changes.

ViewFinder Submission Support
2026-05-23 10:00 - 12:00, 2026-05-26 17:30 - 18:30, 2026-05-27 17:30 - 18:30 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Taking part in ViewFinder, Belchertown’s all-ages photo contest? Come by the library for assistance submitting your photos online:

Saturday, May 23, 10am-12pm
Tuesday, May 26, 5:30-6:30pm
Wednesday, May 27, 5:30-6:30pm

What is ViewFinder?
A juried, all-ages, photo contest will run from March 21 through May 30. Photographs must be taken in Belchertown. Contestants will be juried alongside their peers in youth and adult age groups, and between wildlife, landscape, and macro/close up categories.
Winning photos will be printed and exhibited at the library in July, with a reception on July 1st at 6PM to celebrate the winners. Winners will receive a certificate and 5 postcards with their photo, and can pick up and keep their photo after the exhibit.

Love and Loss After Wounded Knee: A Book Talk with Julie Dobrow
2026-05-27 19:00 - 20:00 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
On Wednesday, May 27 at 7pm at the Clapp Memorial Library, Tufts University Professor Julie Dobrow shares the tumultuous and storied lives of Charles Eastman, and his wife, Elaine, former Belchertown residents. Like most star-crossed lovers, they came from vastly different worlds. Elaine Goodale, a white woman who grew up on a farm in the remotest part of the Berkshires, was a poet, writer and teacher who’d come to the Dakota Territory in 1884 to teach Native American children. Ohíye S’a, or Charles Alexander Eastman, was a Santee Sioux, born in Minnesota and one of the only Native Americans educated at Dartmouth College and Boston University Medical School. He’d come to Pine Ridge as a reservation physician. Elaine and Charles improbably met in December 1890, and more surprisingly, fell in love. And then the Wounded Knee Massacre happened, and changed everything. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing.

Kinti Ensemble
2026-06-02 19:00 - 20:00 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
On Tuesday, June 2 at 7pm, the Clapp Memorial Library will be hosting the musical duo, Kinti Ensemble. Kinti is named after the Quechua word for hummingbird, qʼinti, and, like their namesake, builds a bridge between North and South America. Inti Curi Cachimuel is a virtuosic Quichua indigenous musician and composer from Otavalo, Ecuador with fluidity in a wide range of styles from traditional Andean to jazz. Cellist Rebecca Hartka has always concurrently explored a variety of styles and improvisation. With a strong impulse to connect across cultures, Hartka was inspired to travel to Cuba and the Yucatán, Mexico in 2019 and 2020, where she collaborated with Mayan musicians in concert. The duo has been inspiring audiences since 2021 in a range of venues throughout New England with a unique sound rooted in the music of their Celtic and Andean indigenous ancestors, as well as original looped and partially improvised compositions inspired by the natural world. This program is funded by the Friends of the Clapp Memorial Library.
