Stephentown

The Stephentown Food Pantry has added to the shelves about 800 lbs. of food collected in the recent Postal Service Letter Carriers’ Food Drive. Thanks go to the carriers and all the generous people of Stephentown and East Nassau who donated food. The collection from the East Nassau Post Office was split between the Stephentown Food Pantry and the pantry in Nassau. This broad community support allows the Stephentown pantry to provide food for 8 to 14 families per week.
The Stephentown Food Pantry offers short term assistance to residents of Stephentown and Hancock, MA. The pantry is open every Saturday morning, weather permitting, from 9 to 11 am at the Stephentown Federated Church, Garfield Road. Appointments are not needed, but new clients should bring identification showing their street address, such as a current utility bill. As always, requests for help are confidential. For more information, call 518-487-8606.
This volunteer group has been serving the community since 1983. If you missed the food drive and wish to donate money to help stock the pantry, you may send checks to the Stephentown Food Pantry Treasurer at P. O. Box 387, Stephentown, NY, 12168. The pantry is also a member of the Food Bank of NENY in Latham, NY. You may request any contribution you make to them be applied to the Stephentown Food Pantry account as part of their Adopt-A-Pantry program..

• Make a Jam Comic! – Tuesday, May 21, at 4 pm. Do you love comics, manga and graphic novels? This is an opportunity to work with others who share your interests. You will work on a collaborative comic where participants learn to “read” each other’s drawings. It encourages creative thinking, teamwork, critical thinking and developing a sense of storytelling. Ira Marcks is an artist from Troy. Check out his work at www.iramarcks.com. This program is part of Comics Connect, a collaborative project of the Mohawk Valley Library System and Upper Hudson Library System. Please call the Library to register.
• Thursday Night Coffeehouse Series – On Thursday, May 23, at 7 pm we will host our monthly musical coffeehouse series.  In response to your requests, we are offering a monthly Thursday evening of music, coffee and socializing at the Library. Each month we will feature a different performer or group, and musical styles will range from jazz to classical to bluegrass to hip hop. Check the Library website and upcoming emails for a schedule of dates and performers. This month we are pleased to welcome Elizabeth Huntley on harp. A premier harpist in the Capital Region, Elizabeth loves to showcase the harp’s versatility. Not only does she enjoy playing the classics, from Bach to Debussy, but she also loves to play pop music as well as show tunes from Les Mis, Wicked and “The Lion King” to the Beatles and even Sting and Green Day.  This is harp music for everyone. The Coffeehouse event is free and open to all. There will be refreshments for sale to benefit the Library.
• Creating Comics, from Script to Finished Graphic Novel – Friday, May 24, at 4 pm. Ron Marz brings his years of experience as a top comic book writer to a program that leads participants through each stage of comic creation. Using his own scripts, plus artwork created for his comics, Ron explains the process of translating the written word into comic images. Participants will see how the words and pictures combine to form a whole greater than either part. A question-and-answer session will follow the presentation.
Ron Marz has been writing comics for more than two decades, starting his career with a lengthy run on “Silver Surfer” for Marvel Comics. Since then he has worked for virtually every major publisher and compiled a long list of credits including stints on “Green Lantern” for DC, “Star Wars” and “Conan” for Dark Horse, “Witchblade” for Top Cow and as a staff writer for CrossGen Comics. For more information on Ron, check his website at www.ronmarz.com. This program is part of Comics Connect, a collaborative project of the Mohawk Valley Library System and Upper Hudson Library System and is supported by funds from the New York State Library’s Family Literacy Library Services grant program. Please call Library to register.
For more information on any of these programs or to register for programs, call the Stephentown Memorial Library at 733-5750 or stop by during our Library hours. Also check our website, www.stephentownlibrary.org for regular updates.

• Build Your Own Bluebird Nestbox – Tuesday, May 14, at 4 pm – presented by the Wyomanock Center for Sustainable Living. Kids and adults love to make their own Bluebird box. Other birds that use this box include tree swallows, chickadees, titmice and wrens. It is a hands-on learning experience. Using pre-cut lumber with all materials and tools provided, everyone makes and takes home a bluebird nest box. Workshop presenter Thom Pecoraro, of the Wyomanock Center, has been an amateur birder, community advocate and environmental educator committed to sharing his appreciation of nature and earth stewardship. Please call the Library to register.
• Make a Jam Comic! – Tuesday, May 21, at 4 pm. Do you love comics, manga and graphic novels? This is an opportunity to work with others who share your interests. You will work on a collaborative comic where participants learn to “read” each other’s drawings. It encourages creative thinking, teamwork, critical thinking and developing a sense of storytelling. Ira Marcks is an artist from Troy. Check out his work at www.iramarcks.com. This program is part of Comics Connect, a collaborative project of the Mohawk Valley Library System and Upper Hudson Library System. Please call the Library to register.
For more information on any of these programs or to register for programs, call the Stephentown Memorial Library at 733-5750 or stop by during our Library hours. Also check our website, www.stephentownlibrary.org for regular updates.