The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

Grafton

Grafton Library Summer Programs

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The Grafton Community Library is kicking off its six week 2014 summer reading program with a slate of exciting weekly programs for kids and their families. These programs are free and open to all children. Come to the Library, call 279-0580 or visit online at graftoncommunitylibrary.org to see all the great programs this summer for young and old alike.

• Mystery Artifacts with the  Bennington Museum – Tuesday, July 1, at 4 pm. Experts from the Bennington Museum will show us how to uncover the past with a hands-on investigation of real artifacts from the Museum’s collection which they will bring to the Library. Children will be challenged to become historical detectives, using their own background knowledge, observations and, most importantly, context clues to determine the possible uses of these unknown, mysterious objects.

• Preschool Storytime and Craft Session – Wednesday, July 2, at 10:30 am. All through the summer the Grafton Library will offer special weekly storytimes with science based themes and crafts. Children will have a chance to hear stories and do craft projects about dinosaurs, the five senses, construction and building, the human body, wind power and more.

• Community-Wide Geocache Treasure Hunt – Wednesday, July 9, at 10:30 am. Geocaching is a real world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS enabled devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache container with a special prize hidden at that location.  Local organizations have created geocache locations all over Grafton. In this program, children and their families will learn the ins and outs of geocaching and have the option to borrow free GPS units from the Library to go out in the field and start hunting!

Additional Evening Hours At The Grafton Library

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Starting July 1 the Grafton Community Library will be open until 8 pm on Thursdays and Fridays.

You spoke and we listened! Last fall, the Library conducted a survey to find out how to better serve the community. Patrons needed more time to get to the Library in the evening, and this is the first step towards better meeting those needs. In addition to the increased weekly hours, Library patrons can access all of the Library’s databases and collections of ebooks, downloadable audiobooks and streaming video anytime online at graftoncommunitylibrary.org.

Local State Parks To Take Part In Free Fishing Weekend

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Grafton Lakes State Park and Cherry Plain State Park will offer free fishing without a license on June 28 and 29 as part of the NYS DEC’s Free Fishing Weekend. Grafton Lakes State Park is also offering a free fishing program for park patrons.

On June 28, DEC Fisheries Educators will offer “Go Fish! An Intro to Fishing for Families” from 9 am to 1 pm. Meet by the boathouse on Long Pond in Grafton Lakes State Park. Children and parents will learn the basics of fishing and identification, with fishing poles provided by DEC for this free class. First time fishermen are likely to encounter bluegill, pumpkinseeds and rock bass, as well as large and small mouth bass.

Grafton Lakes State Park is open for swimming daily from 10 am to 6 pm. Cherry Plain State Park is currently open on weekends only but will expand to offer swimming and camping daily starting July 4 through Labor Day. To make reservations, visit www.reserveamerica.com. Both parks open at 8 am for picnicking and all other day use activities and close at 8:30 pm. Parking fees are $8 per car at Grafton Lakes State Park and $7 per car at Cherry Plain State Park.

For more information about these and our other summer program offerings, please contact the Park Naturalist at 279-1155 or visit our website at www.nysparks.com/parks.

Upcoming Events At GLSP, Cherry Plain State Park And The Bennington Battlefield Historic Site

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Saturday, June 28 – Go Fish! an introduction to fishing clinic from 9 am to 1 pm just past the docks by Long Pond Beach at GLSP. Instruction and fishing poles will be provided.

July 

The Beach Nature Center will be open six days a week starting July 1. Meet local critters, discover some wild wonders and talk with our environmental education volunteers.

• July 4, Friday – 4th of July Sculpture Contest – registration at 12 pm, judging at 3 pm. This contest is free with prizes for all participants, but extra points will be awarded for originality. Join us on Long Pond beach at the Grafton Lakes State Park.

• July 5, Saturday – Treasure Hunt at GLSP – an introduction to geocaching at 3 pm. Learn about the fun and hugely popular outdoor activity of geocaching. Saratoga-Capital Region Parks have a region-wide Geocache Passport adventure awaiting you! Free to sign up, and you can explore parks and historic sites throughout the region and find hidden “geocaches” using a hand held GPS or an App on your Smart phone. Call for information and to pre-register at 279-1155.

• July 5, Saturday – Cherry Plain State Park Summer Program Series kicks off with “Time Travel Hike.” Ancient rocks, old homesteads and waterfalls will be explored along this two mile hike.

• July 7, Monday – Yoga in the Park Series Begins on Mondays through August 18 at GLSP. Deep stretch and relaxing yoga from 12 to 1 pm at the Deerfield pavilion or 6:30 to 7:30 pm at Long Pond Beach. The cost is $12 per class. All levels are welcome. For more information, please contact Kat Abrams at katyoga@hotmail.com.

• July 8, Tuesday – Pull Invasive Garlic Mustard and Make Pesto at 10 am at GLSP. Learn about this invasive plant and help us eradicate its small population from the Park. Celebrate our efforts afterwards with some freshly made pesto. Bring some bread and work gloves. Meet at the far end of main parking lot. Please sign-in at gate as volunteer. For more information, call the Park Naturalist at 279-1155.

• July 9, Wednesday – Yoga in the Park Series begins on Wednesdays through August 20. A strengthening yoga class will be held from 6:30 to 7:30 pm on Long Pond Beach at GLSP. The cost is $12 per class at the Beach every Wednesday.

• July 10, Thursday – Summer Outdoor Fun for Toddlers at 10:30 am at GLSP. Explore the Park in this program series for toddlers and pre-k-aged children. This event is free. Please pre-register at 279-1155.

• July 12, Saturday – Old Fashioned Field Day at the Bennington Battlefield from 1 to 2:30 pm. Have you ever taken the Pig to Market or played other colonial games? This is a free afternoon of fun for the kids. The Bennington Battlefield is located off of Route 67 in Hoosick.

Nature Survival – Junior Naturalist Program

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The Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center kicks off its summer Junior Naturalist Series on July 2 from 1 to 3 pm. This program will teach Junior Naturalists basic outdoor survival skills. Students will learn how to build survival shelters and how to identify some common edible plants found here at the Dyken Pond Center. A $1 per child donation covers material costs. Junior Naturalist programs will run each Wednesday from 1 to 3 pm and are open to kids of all ages. A complete list of programs can be found at www.dykenpond.org. Pre-registration is encouraged to help with planning but not required and can be done by contacting the Center at dykenpond@fairpoint.net or 658-2055.

Dyken Pond is a Rensselaer County park open daily.

Summer Reading At The Grafton Community Library

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The Grafton Community Library’s 2014 “Fizz, Boom, Read!” Summer Reading Program will start officially on Monday, June 30, but kids can sign up to be part of the fun anytime after June 23. Participants will set their own reading goals and be eligible for a variety of weekly prizes as well as the chance to win even more at the end of the summer drawing.

The Library will also host a series of exciting free programs for kids that are open to everyone. These will include Mystery Artifacts from the Bennington Museum, a community-wide geocache treasure hunt, stick rocket build and launch, shape-it clay picture making, a visit from a Canadian lynx and much more.

Stop by the Library or call 279-0580 for details about all the great summer offerings. You can also find out more and sign up for the Summer Reading Program online at graftoncommunitylibrary.org.

Grafton Library Services For Homebound Patrons

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Starting this summer, the Grafton Community Library will be offering a delivery service for Grafton residents who are homebound and cannot access the Library’s collections in person. Homebound patrons or their caregivers can contact the Library to request materials from the collection, including books, audiobooks, music CDs, DVDs and magazines. Volunteers will be available to bring the items to the patron’s home and pick them up when they are finished with them.

Library staff will be happy to assist in the selection of materials. They will also help sign up new patrons for their free library card. For more information contact Grafton Community Library by phone at 518-279-0580 or email director@graftoncommunitylibrary.org.

 

 

Grafton VFD And Ladies Auxiliary Breakfast

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The Grafton Volunteer Fire Department along with the Grafton Ladies Auxiliary will be serving an All You Can Eat Buffet Breakfast on Saturday, June 28, from 8 to 11 am at the Grafton VFW – Fire Hall on South Road (County Route 85). Belgian waffles, pancakes, French toast, eggs (made to order), sausage gravy & biscuits, bacon, sausage, home fries, toast, orange juice, coffee and milk are on the menu.

The cost is $9 per adult, $4 for kids 12 and under and free for kids five and under.

Registration Opens For GLSP’s Free Learn To Swim Program

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Grafton Lakes State Park will hold its first annual Learn-to-Swim program starting July 7 at the beach. Learn-to-Swim is a statewide program that will teach more than 1,000 children across the state to swim for free this summer season. The program, for children age 5 years through 12 years, is made possible through a partnership between the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the American Red Cross, the National Swimming Pool Foundation and the Northeast Spa and Pool Association.

Grafton Lakes State Park will hold two Learn-to-Swim sessions this summer. The first session will run from July 7 through July 18 while the second session will begin on July 21 and end on August 1. The morning programs run from 10 to 10:40 am; the evening programs from 5 to 5:40 pm. A guardian must stay on site.

The free swim classes will help children become comfortable in an open water environment and will provide basic swimming and water safety techniques.

Register by July 4 for Session 1 and by July 18 for Session 2 by calling Melissa Miller or Laura Weir at 518-279-1155. Registration is required; space is limited.