Altamont Library Notes for Wednesday, August 10, 2022
With last week’s concert, we have come to the end of the 2022 Orsini Park Summer Concert Series. As I write this on Thursday, Aug. 4, I don’t know yet whether or not that last concert was a good one or whether we dodged the rain for a fifth week in a row, but what I do know is that, even if that last show was a total washout, this has already been one of the most successful concert series that we’ve ever had.
Every year, I don’t think the series can get any better, and somehow every year it does! The crowds have been larger than ever before. We have raised more money for next year’s series than we ever have before. The kids have been more numerous, and happier, and more beehive-active than ever before.
Most importantly, I have heard so, so many people talk about how grateful they are to live in the place that they do, alongside the neighbors that they do, with such a great park, and such a great library, and such great local musical talent. I’ve been humbled by the gratitude people have expressed for the series, and I am myself enormously grateful for everyone who came out to support the concerts and the library. Thank you all!
So much of the credit for the success of the concert series has to go to Lori McCutcheon, our concert coordinator for the fifth year in a row. Lori booked a fantastic group of bands for us this summer, and we all owe her a debt of gratitude for her work in making everything come together. Thank you, Lori!
There are a lot of great things about my job, but one of the absolute best things is that every year for a few weeks of Tuesdays, I get to welcome all of the hundreds of people who attend our concerts and to watch them talk to their friends and neighbors, and put away their phones, and squirm as happy kids nearly run into each other in their summer-induced frenzy (they almost never do), and listen to great music in a beautiful place.
For a few hours on those Tuesday nights, I feel like I’m the luckiest librarian in the country. Thank you, Altamont, for making those Tuesday nights so special.
Summer Reading
The children’s Summer Reading Program has been a whole lot of fun, but it’s nearly time to wrap it up. Make sure to finish up all of your activities and bring in your Summer Reading Bingo cards over the next week so that you can be entered into our raffles for a ton of fabulous prizes. We’ll be pulling the winners the week after next.
Don’t forget that, all summer long, Altamont has been playing host to a stuffed friend named Shelly the Sea Turtle, and he has been hiding in different businesses all summer long. If you can find Shelly, you can be entered into a raffle for a special prize at the end of the summer. Look for clues on our Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as on posters at the library.
StoryWalk
If you need to get out of the house with your young folks, and would like to get a bit of reading done at the same time, why not take a StoryWalk at Schilling Park? Read the fun and colorful children’s book “In the Tall, Tall Grass” by Denise Fleming while walking around this lovely little pocket park just off of Maple Avenue in the village of Altamont!
Many thanks to our friends at The Upper Hudson Library System and the village of Altamont for helping make this StoryWalk possible. “In the Tall, Tall Grass” will be up in Schilling Park for the next month or so, assuming the posts stay planted and the signs hold up.
The StoryWalk Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, Vermont and developed with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. StoryWalk is a registered service mark owned by Ms. Ferguson.