Clapp Memorial Library

RPG Night - Lost Mountain Saga
2025-09-09 18:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Break out your dice and join us for a monthly game!
Our current RPG campaign, Vaesen: The Lost Mountain Saga & Other Tales, is a dark Gothic setting steeped in Nordic folklore and the old myths of Scandinavia! Dive into mysteries where old struggles against the new, and myths come alive.
Players can expect to encounter ancient mysteries, old Nordic folk tales, social intrigue, and unspeakable horrors lurking in every shadow as they travel across the North and slowly uncover the truth.
Our RPG campaigns meet monthly on the 2nd Tuesday from 6-8PM.
Space is limited! Email tmannino@cwmars.org to ask about seats at the table, future campaigns, or other any questions.
Previous campaigns have included Spelljammer (Dungeons & Dragons) and Ghostbusters: a Frightfully Cheerful Roleplaying Game!
Program is for adults 18+, our Teen RPG programs are listed separately.

Genealogy Basics
2025-09-09 19:00 - 20:30
Learn the basics of effective family research with Dave Robinson of Old Bones Genealogy of New England. Dave will introduce research strategies and best practices when exploring records and documents on ancestry.com, familysearch.org, and others. There will be a Q&A session at the end of the program.
This program is funded by the Friends of the Clapp Memorial Library.

Wednesday Whodunnits
2025-09-10 14:00 - 15:00
Our Mystery Book Group is held on the second Wednesday of each month at 2:00 p.m. Join us as we discuss a different mystery novel each month. Copies of the current month’s pick available at the library. Email mmarszalek@cwmars.org with any questions.

Fiber Arts with the Woolies
2025-09-11 17:00 - 18:30, 2025-09-18 17:00 - 18:30, 2025-09-25 17:00 - 18:30
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.

Teen Advisory Board (Sep 2025)
2025-09-12 16:30 - 17:30
The Clapp Memorial Library’s Teen Advisory Board will meet Friday, September 12th from 4:30-5:30PM in the library’s Activity Room for its first meeting of the 2025-2026 school year! TAB is a group of 7th-12th grade students who meet monthly during the school year to propose library programming for teens, provide input on teen services, volunteer, and have fun! At this meeting, teens will socialize, discuss the year ahead, and plan their community craft for the Belchertown Fair’s Exhibit Hall. Teens can email clapplibrarytab@gmail.com to register.

Cookbook Club (Sep 2025)
2025-09-12 18:30 - 19:30
Friday, September 12, 6:30pm
Do you like browsing cookbooks and trying new recipes? In the Cookbook Club, we each make a recipe from a cookbook and bring it for everyone to try. Taste, enjoy, and chat with your new cookbook friends!
This month’s book is The Ikaria way by Diane Kochilas. Please register and choose a recipe by September 5.
Sign up here: https://forms.gle/mPiAFca8fDv8Riov6
Registration & confirmation required. Program limited to 12 participants

Fiber Arts with the Woolies
2025-09-13 10:00 - 12:00, 2025-09-20 10:00 - 12:00, 2025-09-27 10:00 - 12:00
The Woolies are a local fiber arts group who meet twice a week 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.

Literary Monsters
2025-09-13 16:00 - 17:00
A unique perspective on the works of Edgar Allen Poe, Mary Shelley, Washington Irving, Emily Dickinson and others is coming to the Clapp Memorial Library through the marriage of original music, shadow puppetry and cinematography and special effects.
The group, known as Shadow, Sound, Spectacle, will be performing Literary Monsters on Saturday, September 13 at 4pm. The performance is a collaborative project of different pieces led by Northampton-based singer-songwriter Jess Martin, Boston puppeteer Amy West and musician/visual artist Abby Hanna, who is also Northampton-based. The production seeks to reimagine iconic gothic figures like Frankenstein’s creature, Poe’s raven and the Headless Horseman, as symbols of resistance, transformation and queer identity. The event is free and open to the public. This program is funded by the Friends of the Clapp Memorial Library.

Ladies of the ‘70s with Laura Hicks
2025-09-15 19:00 - 20:00
Do you enjoy the sweet voices of lady singers such as Linda Ronstadt, Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell or Barbara Streisand? Would you like to learn a little more about these singers and listen to some of their songs? If so, then Ladies of the ‘70s with Laura Hicks is the event for you. Join us at the Clapp Memorial Library on Monday, September 15 at 7pm.
Laura Hicks is a local professional singer who enjoys delving into the lives of these ‘70s icons (the voices of her youth). In her 1 hour presentation sponsored by the Belchertown Cultural Council, Laura will lead you through a musical journey punctuated by educational information pertaining to 13 women who left their musical mark. She will then perform one song from each of the artists. Singing along is encouraged!!
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.

Plant Swap
2025-09-16 18:00 - 19:00
Bring a plant (or not!) to the library and swap it for a new one. 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

Seed Saving: the Why & How
2025-09-16 19:00 - 20:00
No matter your level of gardening, saving seeds is easy. Some people save seeds to save money, while others selectively save seeds from favorite varieties to further a particular trait. Come learn some simple seed saving basics as well as resources to further your knowledge.
Paulina Borrego, Wrangler of the Mass Aggie Seed Library at UMass Amherst. Sponsored by the UMass Seed Library.

Friends of the Clapp Memorial Library Meeting
2025-09-18 18:30 - 19:30
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.

Early Closing: Belchertown Fair 2025
2025-09-19
The Library will close at 4pm.

Teen Wellness Table
2025-09-19 14:00 - 15:30
The Clapp Memorial Library will have a table on their front lawn from 2:00-3:30PM on September 19th for teens in grades 7-12 walking from school to the Belchertown Fair. Teens can stop by for free water, granola bars, and snacks as supplies last! This program is funded by the Friends of the Clapp Memorial Library.

Library Closing: Belchertown Fair 2025
2025-09-20
The Library will be closed during the Belchertown Fair

Babytime Story Time (3-12 months) Fall 2025
2025-09-22 09:00 - 09:45, 2025-09-29 09:00 - 09:45
Babytime Story time (3-12 mo) Fall 2025
9:00-9:45 AM, Mondays, Sep 22, 29, Oct 6, 20, 27 & Nov 3
Babytime is for ages 3 – 12 months and begins @ 9:00 AM. Registration is required. Our story times feature age-appropriate stories, songs, finger plays and art activities.
Registration and confirmation required, sign up here: https://forms.gle/qthJPwyhCQV9CQSW9. Registration open until all slots are filled.
If the program is full you will be placed on a wait list. Confirmations and program information will be sent out several days before the program starts.

First Steps Storytime (12-24 months) Fall 2025
2025-09-22 10:00 - 10:45, 2025-09-29 10:00 - 10:45
Monday Firststeps (12-24 months) Fall 2025
10:00-10:45 AM, Mondays, Sep 22, 29, Oct 6, 20, 27 & Nov 3
Firststeps is for ages 12 – 24 months and begins @ 10:00 AM. Registration is required. Our story times feature age-appropriate stories, songs, finger plays and art activities.
Registration and confirmation required.
This program is full, if you wish to be added to the waitlist please send an email to jwhitehead@cwmars.org with the child’s name, age and which program.

Handwriting the Constitution
2025-09-23 18:30 - 20:30
On Tuesday, September 23 from 6:30-8:30pm, the Clapp Memorial Library will be hosting Handwriting the Constitution as a culminating event for Constitution Week. The library will provide copies of the Constitution to participants and a variety of paper, pens, and other art supplies will be available for people to use. Handwriting the Constitution is a social art project begun in 2017 by artist Morgan O’Hara. It invites people from all walks of life to meet in public spaces to handwrite the US Constitution or other documents written to protect human rights and freedoms. This art practice was created so that people will know their rights, deepen their understanding of laws created to protect these rights, and to help resist negative thinking. To date approximately 2000 people have participated, both nationally and internationally.

Teen Book Club (Sep 2025)
2025-09-24 15:00 - 16:00
The Clapp Memorial Library has a book club for teens in grades 7-12! This Teen Book Club is in conjunction with the MA Teen Choice Book Awards (MTCBA), the only book award in the state selected by teens. Each month teens will read and meet to discuss one book from the nominee list. On Wednesday, September 24th from 3:00-4:00PM, teens will discuss Looking for Smoke by K. A. Cobell. Copies of the book are available for checkout at the library’s circulation desk and on the Libby and hoopla apps. Snacks will be provided at the meeting. Email clapplibrarytab@gmail.com with any questions.

Preschool Storytime (3-5 year olds) Fall 2025
2025-09-25 09:30 - 10:30, 2025-10-02 09:30 - 10:30
Preschool Story Time (3-6 years) Fall 2025
9:30-10:30 am, Thursdays, Sep 25, Oct 2, 9, 23, 30 & Nov 6
Preschool Story Time is for ages 3-6 and begins @ 9:30 AM. Registration is required. Our story times feature age-appropriate stories, songs, finger plays and art activities.
Registration and confirmation required, sign up here: https://forms.gle/XcoGi3Naao7iMtkP8. Registration open until all slots are filled. If the program is full you will be placed on a wait list. Confirmations and program information will be sent out several days before the program starts.

Mindfulness Meditation for Stress Reduction
2025-09-25 19:00 - 20:15
Clapp Memorial Library is offering a Stress Reduction Awareness course. The eight-week introductory course starts on Thursday, September 25 at 7 PM and runs every Thursday through November 20 (excluding October 16). The course is designed to teach and practice mindfulness-based skills. Mindfulness meditation skills teach us to be fully present in the moment and, when practiced regularly, help decrease stress levels and improve general well-being and health. Skills covered in the course are gentle and free of judgment. Because each session of this course builds on the previous week, we ask that you register only if you are able to attend all sessions.
Registration required, sign up here: https://forms.gle/EBkKApvgPQ899tpo9
If you have any questions please email clapp@cwmars.org
This course will be taught by Magda Bechar, a retired nursing professor who has taught mindfulness meditation skills to many groups, including at the Clapp Memorial Library, for many years.

Music & Movement with Julie (ages 0-7) Fall 2025
2025-09-27 10:30 - 11:15
10:30-11:15 am, Saturday, Sep 27, Oct 4, 25 & Nov 1
Music and Movement with Julie. Join us for a music series on Saturday mornings at the Clapp Memorial Library. Julie’s programs let babies and young children explore music in a fun and creative environment. Her program is geared toward ages 0 to 7, but all ages are welcome! Registration & confirmation required, sign up here: https://forms.gle/yB5QHdk8H5irSzyB8
This program is supported in part by a grant from the Belchertown Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

Toddler Time (2 year olds) Fall 2025
2025-09-30 09:30 - 10:30
Tuesday Toddler Time (2 years) Fall 2025
9:30-10:30 am, Tuesdays, Sep 30, Oct 7, 21, 28 & Nov 4
Toddler Storytime is for children aged 2 years, and begins @ 9:30 AM. Registration is required. Our story times feature age-appropriate stories, songs, finger plays and art activities.
Registration and confirmation required.
This program is full, if you wish to be added to the waitlist please send an email to jwhitehead@cwmars.org with the child’s name, age and which program.
