Vision of Wallkill's second annual Holidays in the Hamlet will be held on Saturday, December 2. The event kicks off with a 2 p.m. performance by illusionist Ryan Dutcher, which will feature mind-bending magic, cutting-edge comedy, and amazing audience participation! (See Children's Room article below to register.) Brought to you by the Wallkill Public Library, the event is co-sponsored by VOW.

Following the show, which will take place in the community room of Town Hall, VOW will continue the holiday celebration both on the library lawn and at Town Hall, with performances by several school district choral groups, a curated Artisan Marketplace, and music. Best of all, Santa will be coming to help light the Christmas tree and meet with the children. The town will have the menorah on display, as well, to celebrate the approach of Hanukkah, which begins Dec. 7! The evening will wrap up with an exciting fireworks show to ring in the holiday season!



If you are interested in becoming a vendor or volunteer at the event, contact Donna at 845-527-6230 or email visionofwallkill12589@yahoo.com. Be sure to register for the illusionist’s performance via the library’s online calendar!

Saturday, Dec. 2, 10 AM to 3 PM 

Come get into the Christmas spirit! Wallkill Reformed Church's holiday fair features delicious baked goods, Christmas necessities, jewelry, collectibles & gifts, Christmas bargains, an “All about Christmas” booth, a "Just for Kids" booth and a variety of hand-crafted items. New to the fair this year, there will be a display of handmade quilts by the Wallkill Public Library Quilters Circle. Lunch will be served from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM. The a la carte menu includes raspberry gelatin salad, hot turkey salad with green beans, apple crisp, and an assortment of hot and cold beverages. You may purchase items to go.

Wallkill Reformed Church is located at 45 Bridge Street, Wallkill, NY 12589. For information or directions, call the church office at (845) 895-2181.

Christine Morelli was appointed to the library’s Board of Trustees during the group’s Nov. 6 meeting. She’ll be filling the seat vacated by former trustee Kathy Vogel, who resigned from the board in August.

During her years on the board, Kathy contributed much time, knowledge, and insight toward the day-to-day operations of the library. Her familiarity with the community the library serves made her a vital member of the board, and her input and guidance will be missed.

Christine is an avid library user and a former New York City school teacher. Her love of reading and libraries will be an asset to the board and the community. The library appreciates her stepping up and volunteering for the seat!

On Saturday, November 4th, we held our first ever Jigsaw Puzzle Race Extravaganza in the community room at the Town of Shawangunk Town Hall. Four teams competed to finish their 300-piece jigsaw puzzle first. The winning team - Team Vandemark, shown with their completed puzzle - assembled their puzzle in just 50 minutes and brought home the grand prizes of a roll-up puzzle mat, puzzle sorting trays and a brand-new puzzle to complete at home. 

If you enjoy writing – or just reading – Writing Works Wonders is a website designed for you! Local author Cheryl McNeil Fisher and retired professor and writer Kathy King are the co-hosts of the podcasts included on the website, which are designed to cultivate the skills and inspiration listeners need to further their own writing goals.

The website also includes interviews with such big-name writers as C.J. Box, Rhys Bowen, Susan Mallery, and Sandra Brown!

Resources such as author clinics and writing prompts and responses can also be found on the site. Thanks to Cheryl for sending the library the website’s link!

The library’s Fiction Club will be reading The Twelve Topsy Turvy Very Messy Days of Christmas, by James Patterson and Tad Safran, for their December selection.

The club also has a new meeting time – 2:30 p.m.! They’ll be discussing the book on Thursday, Dec. 14, in the reading room of the library. Newcomers are always welcome!

After their mother's death on Christmas Day five years ago, Will and Ella Sullivan, and their father, Henry, come to a family agreement: Christmas is a holiday for other people. At their brownstone in Harlem, stockings go unstuffed, tinsel unstrewn, gifts unbought, mistletoe unhung, chestnuts unroasted, carols unplayed, cookies uncooked, a tree un-visible, and guests uninvited. Until this year. Until guests start arriving anyway. In pairs and sixes, in sevens and tens-- they keep coming. And they stay. For twelve long, hard, topsy-turvy, very messy days. That's when the Sullivans discover that those moments in life that defy hope, expectation, or even imagination, might be the best gifts of all. -- adapted from Goodreads

Game sheets due November 20

Time to complete your challenges! Remember, even one completed challenge gets you a chance be entered into a drawing for a $25 gift certificate to BookShop.org. 

Submit your completed game sheets no later than 6 p.m. on Monday, November 20. The drawing will be held, and the winner will be notified on Tuesday, November 21. Good luck to all!

Crafting with the seniors

We created greeting cards with colorful falling leaves using rubber stamps and leaf embellishments!

Wood Burning: Holiday Ornaments

Pyrography, or woodburning, gives ornaments a natural and nostalgic look. Woodburn a set of wood slice holiday ornaments in time for decorating and gifting! Ages 12-Adult. Registration required. Multiple sessions are available, register on our online calendar:

• Monday, November 27 at 1 p.m.
• Friday, December 1 at 2 p.m. & 4 p.m.
• Wednesday, December 6 at 6 p.m.
• Monday, December 11 at 1 p.m.

Mahjong meet-ups

Every Wednesday at 1 p.m. and Thursday at 6 p.m. the library hosts our Mahjong Clubs. If you’re a player or just interested in learning, join us! We supply the games and (a limited number of) 2023 mahjong cards. Just drop in, no registration required.

Forgot your card? Check one out at the circulation desk to use during the game!

Adult coloring club

Coloring pages are no longer just for children! Join us for this creative and relaxing hobby. Just drop in, registration not required. Bring your own materials or use ours.

Coloring Club meets on Tuesday evenings at 6:00-8:00 PM. No registration is required.

Adult crafting

Grab a project and come enjoy the craft of your choice, whether it's knitting, crocheting, diamond painting, coloring, embroidery, or cross stitch!

Adult Crafting meets on Thursday afternoons between 2:00-5:00 PM. No registration is required.

We can’t believe that next week is Thanksgiving and soon we will be jingling those bells…

Speaking of getting into the holiday spirit, we have two great Saturday pop-up programs coming up!

Friendship: Tea Jars and Storytime

Saturday, November 18, 11 AM in the Children's Room

In the spirit of the season, we will make our own take-home jars of friendship tea mix to share with our friends and families during the holidays and beyond! Miss Michelle will also read some heartwarming stories about friendship. Registration is required for this program. Please register each child individually here.

Holidays in the Hamlet Special Guest: Illusionist Ryan Dutcher

Saturday, December 2 at 2:00 PM

in the Town Hall Community Room.

As part of our Holidays in the Hamlet celebration, join us as we welcome special guest, Illusionist Ryan Dutcher, for a spectacular performance of mind-bending magic, cutting-edge comedy, and amazing audience participation! Registration is required for this program. Please register each child individually here.

This month, we had the pleasure of welcoming Kindergarten students and their teachers and chaperones from Ostrander Elementary School, as part of their Community Walk Day. We learned about the parts of a book, talked about all of the great benefits of having a library card, discussed how the library collaborates with other members of our community, and did an amazing jobs singing our ABCs! Thank you for a great visit!

Did you know that we have book sale carts throughout our library? The Children’s Room cart is by the computers downstairs and is currently featuring some great junior fiction books and series. We often replenish this section, so be sure to check it out regularly!

We had to reschedule our Zoe the Therapy Dog visit on Halloween to Tuesday November 28 at 10:30 AM in the Children's Room - if you'd like to join us, please register each child individually here. 

We were tickled over the adorable costume photos she sent us! 

While you’re in the Children’s Room, visit our new bulletin board to see what our turkey is thankful for…and to share what you are thankful for!

Also, take a sneak peek at some of our new holiday titles!

• Our doors are open for library services including browsing for library materials, making copies, sending faxes, and using the public access computers.
• Our bookdrop is open for contact-free and after-hours returns of library materials. Be sure to secure DVD and BCD cases with rubber bands.
• Curbside delivery of pre-ordered items is available by request. Call the circulation desk at 845-895-3707 to make a pick-up appointment.
• Fine-free returns on everything, except museum/park passes.
• Inter-library loans are available between all RCLS libraries.
• Grab & GO projects with materials necessary for crafts available for pickup at the library.
• In-person programming, with appropriate social distancing.
• Museum passes are available to Wallkill Public Library patrons for Boscobel House and Gardens, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum, Empire Pass, Hudson Highlands Nature Museum, Hudson River Maritime Museum, Mohonk Preserve, Museum Village, and Storm King Art Center. Plus, more print-at-home museum passes available through the Ulster County InfoPortal on the library’s website.
• We are not accepting any donations of books or DVDs at this time.