Wendell Free Library

08/31/2026

We still have space in this weekend's needle felting workshop. email [email protected] to register.

Needles Felting- Basics and Beyond with Rory Valentine.
Saturday September , 1 p.m.
Registration required,
for teens and adults

Explore the dynamic fiber art of needle felting. This four part series is geared to serve both new and more experienced participants. We will investigate both 2D and 3D needle felting techniques. Beginner skills like shaping, felting simple objects, and working with wool will be covered. In addition, we will build on these foundational methods with further exploration of multiple wool fibers, textures, color blending, surface detail, refined sculpting and more. Tips and tricks for mastering the craft at a deeper level will be shared in a supportive environment with the intention of creating singular works while making connections within the community.

08/31/2026

Needles Felting- Basics and Beyond with Rory Valentine.
Saturday September , 1 p.m.
Registration required,
for teens and adults

Explore the dynamic fiber art of needle felting. This four part series is geared to serve both new and more experienced participants. We will investigate both 2D and 3D needle felting techniques. Beginner skills like shaping, felting simple objects, and working with wool will be covered. In addition, we will build on these foundational methods with further exploration of multiple wool fibers, textures, color blending, surface detail, refined sculpting and more. Tips and tricks for mastering the craft at a deeper level will be shared in a supportive environment with the intention of creating singular works while making connections within the community.

08/31/2026

Thanks to the Wendell Cultural Council and Anya Klepacki of New Salem for this wonderful opportunity to learn about bittersweet management and basketry. Anya was thoughtful, knowledgeable and made the process fun.

08/31/2026

Experience using mindful focus for painting mandalas and mindful folding to learn a simple origami box form. As always, Jeanette Stockton offers step by step instructions guaranteed to offer happiness to the most insecure artist. Funded by the Wendell Cultural Council.

Workshop open for teens and adults. Please register by emailing [email protected].

08/19/2026

We are moving the date of this book discussion to Thursday September 17 due to a conflict with another event in town. We still have books to giveaway. Please join!

Wendell Free Library was a recipient of a set of 10 books from this year's Great Reads Massachusetts books from the Massachusetts Center from the Book.

As part of our participation in the great reads , we will be offering the following events in September:

Tuesday September 15 6:30pm: Great Reads Massachusetts Discussion Group: Discussion Section for “Nothing More of This Land: Community, Power, and the Search for Indigenous Identity.” by Joseph Lee. Please Register. First 10 registrants get a free copy of the book.

Sunday September 20 4 pm: Cookbook Club: Turtle Island: Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America. Book available soon to check out at the book group shelf. Please Register.

Tuesday September 29 6pm: Author Q+A with Joseph Lee, watch party at the Shutesbury Public Library, or from home, please request zoom link.

About the Book
Before Martha’s Vineyard became one of the most iconic vacation destinations in the country, it was home to the Wampanoag people. Today, as tourists flock to the idyllic beaches, the island has become increasingly unaffordable for tribal members, with nearly three-quarters now living off-island. Growing up Aquinnah Wampanoag, journalist Joseph Lee grappled with what this situation meant for his tribe, how the community can continue to grow, and more broadly, what it means to be Indigenous.

In Nothing More of This Land, Lee weaves his own story and that of his family into a panoramic narrative of Indigenous life around the world. He takes us from the beaches of Martha’s Vineyard to the icy Alaskan tundra, the smoky forests of Northern California to the halls of the United Nations, and beyond. Along the way he meets activists fighting to protect their land, families clashing with their own tribal leaders, and communities working to reclaim tradition.

Together, these stories reject stereotypes to show the diversity of Indigenous people today and chart a way past the stubborn legacy of colonialism.

08/18/2026

It is the last week of the Summer Reading Challenge, Plant a Seed, Read.

Remember, you get a raffle ticket just for visiting the library, and this Friday will be the last day to check in with your reading logs and play the claw machine.

Join us Saturday Aug. 22 for the full bloom finish celebration. Raffle prizes will be ready for pick-up, and there will be snacks, games and arts & crafts.

08/16/2026

Warming up!

08/11/2026

Wendell Free Library was a recipient of a set of 10 books from this year's Great Reads Massachusetts books from the Massachusetts Center from the Book.

As part of our participation in the great reads , we will be offering the following events in September:

Tuesday September 15 6:30pm: Great Reads Massachusetts Discussion Group: Discussion Section for “Nothing More of This Land: Community, Power, and the Search for Indigenous Identity.” by Joseph Lee. Please Register. First 10 registrants get a free copy of the book.

Sunday September 20 4 pm: Cookbook Club: Turtle Island: Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America. Book available soon to check out at the book group shelf. Please Register.

Tuesday September 29 6pm: Author Q+A with Joseph Lee, watch party at the Shutesbury Public Library, or from home, please request zoom link.

About the Book
Before Martha’s Vineyard became one of the most iconic vacation destinations in the country, it was home to the Wampanoag people. Today, as tourists flock to the idyllic beaches, the island has become increasingly unaffordable for tribal members, with nearly three-quarters now living off-island. Growing up Aquinnah Wampanoag, journalist Joseph Lee grappled with what this situation meant for his tribe, how the community can continue to grow, and more broadly, what it means to be Indigenous.

In Nothing More of This Land, Lee weaves his own story and that of his family into a panoramic narrative of Indigenous life around the world. He takes us from the beaches of Martha’s Vineyard to the icy Alaskan tundra, the smoky forests of Northern California to the halls of the United Nations, and beyond. Along the way he meets activists fighting to protect their land, families clashing with their own tribal leaders, and communities working to reclaim tradition.

Together, these stories reject stereotypes to show the diversity of Indigenous people today and chart a way past the stubborn legacy of colonialism.