Learn about and see forest management practices at Deer Pond Farm with Sanctuary Manager/Naturalist and CT certified forester Lori Lichtenauer. The history of Connecticut’s forests will be discussed and how past land management has impacted the forests of today. We will hike about 4 miles to some of our management areas where we will discuss how sustainable forestry practices can increase wildlife biodiversity and overall health of forested landscapes. 

PLEASE NOTE: This program meets at 57 Wakeman Hill Rd., Sherman, CT 06784 

Please register here

$5 members; $10 non-members

Music and Rhyme for Children from Birth to 3s! A program for babies and their caretakers that incorporates music, rhythm, stories, and nursery rhymes to spur language development, body awareness, pre-reading skills, self-confidence, and cooperation. Gathering at 10:15, the program begins at 10:30.

Registration appreciated, drop-ins welcome!

Bring your dinner to the Library as we watch Luca (PG, 2021). We will be meeting in the Junior Room. Children of all ages are welcome to participate. Registration appreciated, please call or email (kmljuniorroom@biblio.org) the Junior Room to register, or register online.

Music and Rhyme for Children from Birth to 3s! A program for babies and their caretakers that incorporates music, rhythm, stories, and nursery rhymes to spur language development, body awareness, pre-reading skills, self-confidence, and cooperation. Gathering at 10:15 on the green behind the Visitor Center, the program begins at 10:30.

In case of inclement weather or other adverse conditions, this event will move inside to the Junior Room.

Registration appreciated, drop-ins welcome!

Location:

Behind the Visitor Center

Library Camp is our weekly 2 hour drop-of program in July for kids entering Grades K-4. Join us for 2 hours of summer fun at the Library. We’ll have stories, games, crafts, snacks, special guests, and more! We will be meeting in the Junior Room of the library. Registration opens at the Summer Reading Program kick-off party on June 18 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., or you can register by emailing (kmljuniorroom@biblio.org), or calling the the Junior Room after June 18th. Registration is required. 

Dates:  June 14 – July 27, 2025

Reception: Saturday June 14, 4 – 6 PM, public invited

Gallery hours: Thursday – Saturday 11:00 – 5:30, Sunday 12:00 – 4:00 and by appointment

Kenise Barnes Fine Art is honored to present a solo exhibition of new paintings by Janna Watson. Watson is a conceptual painter based in Toronto, Canada. Poems Without Words is Watson’s fourth solo exhibition with the gallery who has included Watson in eight other exhibitions and placed her work in numerous private collections. The gallery has represented the artist since 2017.

Through her practice, Watson works to reframe spirituality into objects that reflect fluidity, agility, and joy. She communicates this through a queering of the painterly process, into one that is diversely applied, gestural, and multi-oriented. Janna intentionally forgoes the use of borders on her paintings to create a sense of the infinite, and the inherent vulnerability of a spirituality that is not contained by a canon.

Janna Watson’s compositions and color choices are both careful and spontaneous, each gesture evoking an unstated emotional response. The paintings are generous passages of vivid color with swooping buttery paint strokes, and calligraphic marks floating on fields of saturated color. They are not spare, but they have an implied economy of language, each gesture gathered towards the others with an unseen gravitational force coalescing into a graceful equilibrium.

Part of the exhilaration I acquire from painting is being able to see shifts within myself manifested into a physical reality. The most truthful form of expression I have found in my life thus far has been the abstract language of painting.  – Janna Watson, 2025

Janna Watson’s work is widely exhibited internationally including in Canada, the United States and Taiwan. Watson’s paintings can be found in significant collections including Google, Air Canada, TD Bank Financial Group, Toronto, CIBC, Toronto, Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Toronto, HBC Global Art Collection, New York, to name a few. Watson earned a BFA in Drawing and Painting from Ontario College of Art and Design University, Toronto.

Please contact Lani Ming Holloway, Associate Director, Lani@kbfa.com, 860 560 3085 with inquires or to arrange a preview of the exhibition.

Bring your lunch, listen to stories, and enjoy a fun craft! All are welcome, this program is intended for preschool-aged children. This event will be offered in person in the Junior Room of the Library.

Registration is appreciated but not required.

Join us at the Library for French Film Night and watch Tanguy. Feel free to bring snacks and beverages of your choice!

Tanguy is 28 years old and still living with his parents. They think it’s time he moves out. He doesn’t, so they hatch a plan...

Put on your problem solving hats (and comfortable shoes!) as you walk the streets of Kent in search of clues and answers. Compete against other teams for a prize! Register with a team, or we can help you find one. For kids entering Grades 5 and up only, please. We will be meeting in the Junior Room of the Library before we venture out onto the streets of town. Attendance at this event counts for one point towards the summer’s eight point goal. Registration appreciated, please call or email (kmljuniorroom@biblio.org) the Junior Room to register, or register online.

We will be leaving the building at 6:35 p.m., please be prompt in your arrival. In case of rain, this program will be pushed back to Friday, July 11 at 6:30 p.m.

Dates:  June 14 – July 27, 2025

Reception: Saturday June 14, 4 – 6 PM, public invited

Gallery hours: Thursday – Saturday 11:00 – 5:30, Sunday 12:00 – 4:00 and by appointment

Kenise Barnes Fine Art is honored to present a solo exhibition of new paintings by Janna Watson. Watson is a conceptual painter based in Toronto, Canada. Poems Without Words is Watson’s fourth solo exhibition with the gallery who has included Watson in eight other exhibitions and placed her work in numerous private collections. The gallery has represented the artist since 2017.

Through her practice, Watson works to reframe spirituality into objects that reflect fluidity, agility, and joy. She communicates this through a queering of the painterly process, into one that is diversely applied, gestural, and multi-oriented. Janna intentionally forgoes the use of borders on her paintings to create a sense of the infinite, and the inherent vulnerability of a spirituality that is not contained by a canon.

Janna Watson’s compositions and color choices are both careful and spontaneous, each gesture evoking an unstated emotional response. The paintings are generous passages of vivid color with swooping buttery paint strokes, and calligraphic marks floating on fields of saturated color. They are not spare, but they have an implied economy of language, each gesture gathered towards the others with an unseen gravitational force coalescing into a graceful equilibrium.

Part of the exhilaration I acquire from painting is being able to see shifts within myself manifested into a physical reality. The most truthful form of expression I have found in my life thus far has been the abstract language of painting.  – Janna Watson, 2025

Janna Watson’s work is widely exhibited internationally including in Canada, the United States and Taiwan. Watson’s paintings can be found in significant collections including Google, Air Canada, TD Bank Financial Group, Toronto, CIBC, Toronto, Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Toronto, HBC Global Art Collection, New York, to name a few. Watson earned a BFA in Drawing and Painting from Ontario College of Art and Design University, Toronto.

Please contact Lani Ming Holloway, Associate Director, Lani@kbfa.com, 860 560 3085 with inquires or to arrange a preview of the exhibition.

Relief for Grief Group. Meets the second and fourth Friday of each month from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. This is a community group for anyone who has experienced a loss, is feeling grief, or grieving. Grief is a natural emotional and physical response to loss. Every person reacts differently and it may be expressed in many ways. This group is neither traditional therapy nor counseling, per se, but it is a safe supportive space where people can come together, speak about their loss, explore their emotions and thoughts, if it is the right time and place for them to do so. Reading Room. Free & Open to the Public.

Our Volunteer Guides will lead this easy to moderate 2-to-3-mile hike at Deer Pond Farm. Enjoy birdsong, summer blooms, and good company on this casual hike.  

PLEASE NOTE: This program meets at 57 Wakeman Hlll Rd, Sherman CT

Please register here

FREE

Join us for an exciting day of Trades Education program with TradesUp!

Experience S.T.E.A.M-based learning through this hands-on workshop. Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math!

This free program explores the world of plumbing! Students will gain experience in the use of skills such as basic math, measuring, hand and eye coordination, while developing a sense of confidence and self-sufficiency.

Although this program is free, donations are appreciated if you are able to do so.

Pre-registration is required, and all students must be accompanied by an adult. Space is limited, so register today!

TradesUp is an organization dedicated to supporting the development of the next generation of trades and craftspeople.

Dates:  June 14 – July 27, 2025

Reception: Saturday June 14, 4 – 6 PM, public invited

Gallery hours: Thursday – Saturday 11:00 – 5:30, Sunday 12:00 – 4:00 and by appointment

Kenise Barnes Fine Art is honored to present a solo exhibition of new paintings by Janna Watson. Watson is a conceptual painter based in Toronto, Canada. Poems Without Words is Watson’s fourth solo exhibition with the gallery who has included Watson in eight other exhibitions and placed her work in numerous private collections. The gallery has represented the artist since 2017.

Through her practice, Watson works to reframe spirituality into objects that reflect fluidity, agility, and joy. She communicates this through a queering of the painterly process, into one that is diversely applied, gestural, and multi-oriented. Janna intentionally forgoes the use of borders on her paintings to create a sense of the infinite, and the inherent vulnerability of a spirituality that is not contained by a canon.

Janna Watson’s compositions and color choices are both careful and spontaneous, each gesture evoking an unstated emotional response. The paintings are generous passages of vivid color with swooping buttery paint strokes, and calligraphic marks floating on fields of saturated color. They are not spare, but they have an implied economy of language, each gesture gathered towards the others with an unseen gravitational force coalescing into a graceful equilibrium.

Part of the exhilaration I acquire from painting is being able to see shifts within myself manifested into a physical reality. The most truthful form of expression I have found in my life thus far has been the abstract language of painting.  – Janna Watson, 2025

Janna Watson’s work is widely exhibited internationally including in Canada, the United States and Taiwan. Watson’s paintings can be found in significant collections including Google, Air Canada, TD Bank Financial Group, Toronto, CIBC, Toronto, Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Toronto, HBC Global Art Collection, New York, to name a few. Watson earned a BFA in Drawing and Painting from Ontario College of Art and Design University, Toronto.

Please contact Lani Ming Holloway, Associate Director, Lani@kbfa.com, 860 560 3085 with inquires or to arrange a preview of the exhibition.

Hard hats on! Join us in the Junior Room for stories about construction sites and the people and vehicles who work on them! We will also do a construction site craft. Children of all ages are welcome to participate. Registration appreciated, please call or email us (kmljuniorroom@biblio.org) to register, or register online.

Mela is a 4th Generation Clairvoyant Liaison with over 35 years experience in spirit communication.

Clairvoyance is the ability to perceive that which most others cannot. This is in direct communication with spirit. No one spirit can be guaranteed to come through in any session. Whoever is the one with the message, will present themselves.

Enjoy a shady stroll along the trails of Deer Pond Farm and discover the various ferns common to the Northeast. CT Audubon Society Volunteer Naturalist Diane Nizlek will lead this walk and share the basics of fern identification and reproduction. Join us as we learn a few fun facts about some of the oldest plants on Earth and how they support local wildlife. 

PLEASE NOTE: This program meets at 57 Wakeman Hill Rd., Sherman, CT 06784 

Please register here

$5 members; $10 non-members

Music and Rhyme for Children from Birth to 3s! A program for babies and their caretakers that incorporates music, rhythm, stories, and nursery rhymes to spur language development, body awareness, pre-reading skills, self-confidence, and cooperation. Gathering at 10:15, the program begins at 10:30.

Registration appreciated, drop-ins welcome!

Music and Rhyme for Children from Birth to 3s! A program for babies and their caretakers that incorporates music, rhythm, stories, and nursery rhymes to spur language development, body awareness, pre-reading skills, self-confidence, and cooperation. Gathering at 10:15 on the green behind the Visitor Center, the program begins at 10:30.

In case of inclement weather or other adverse conditions, this event will move inside to the Junior Room.

Registration appreciated, drop-ins welcome!

Location:

Behind the Visitor Center

Library Camp is our weekly 2 hour drop-of program in July for kids entering Grades K-4. Join us for 2 hours of summer fun at the Library. We’ll have stories, games, crafts, snacks, special guests, and more! We will be meeting in the Junior Room of the library. Registration opens at the Summer Reading Program kick-off party on June 18 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., or you can register by emailing (kmljuniorroom@biblio.org), or calling the the Junior Room after June 18th. Registration is required. 

Have you ever wondered how birds survive the “dog days” of summer? Join us at Deer Pond Farm for our Summer Bird Behaviors program. Starting in the classroom, avian expert Lori Lichtenauer will discuss how parent birds care for fledglings, bird molting patterns, when and how birds prepare for their long-distance migratory journeys! We will hit the trails for the last hour of the program. 

PLEASE NOTE: This program meets at 57 Wakeman Hill Rd., Sherman, CT 06784 

Please register here

$5 members, $10 non-members   

Bring your lunch, listen to stories, and enjoy a fun craft! All are welcome, this program is intended for preschool-aged children. This event will be offered in person in the Junior Room of the Library.

Registration is appreciated but not required.

Outside of the World

Peggy Mercury is pleased to announce the opening of its next show “Outside of the World” recent painting by Deen Modino.

With inspirations ranging from 60s sci-fi movies and Looney Tunes scene-scapes to Holiday Inn muted carpets and pop art flower bedspreads, Modino’s paintings are like stills in a moving diorama. At once familiar and unfamiliar, these works buzz with an underlying tension of drama and even revolt.

Email hithere@peggymercury.com or DM us on IG @itspeggymercury for more information.

For more information about Deen Modino:

deenmodinopaintings.com

@deenmodino

Peggy Mercury

9 Maple Street

Unit 2

Kent, CT 06757

Blacksmithing Workshop

July19th 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Join us as we explore blacksmithing techniques and methods through a hands-on workshop at the Eric Sloane Museum. Have you ever wondered how hand forged metal objects are created? This hands-on class will be taught by blacksmithing expert, Ian McCarthy. Students will learn the basics of hand forging and design layout all while using traditional tools and methods to create a one of a kind finished product. Pre-Registration is required. Register Today