Derby Neck Library offers new clubs for music, arts

DERBY - This post is about two new clubs for school-aged kids and tweens meeting on alternating Mondays. You're welcome to join one, both, or neither. 

No registration is necessary and members may drop in on whichever days they are available.

First and Third Mondays of the month: Monday Melodies, a club for aspiring musicians. You are welcome to bring your own instrument or use the guitars, ukuleles, and percussion instruments provided by the library. 

Beginners are welcome as well as experienced players, or just come to sing, shake a maraca, or enjoy the general vibe. Each week, we'll review a few basic chords and then jam out on songs that use those chords.

Second and Fourth Mondays of the month: Monday Masterpieces, a club for aspiring creators. This club is for kids with a passion for drawing, writing, film, acting, building, or any other creative endeavor to meet with other like-minded individuals in a collaborative space. 

We'll have creative prompts and activities to help inspire and practice, but the long-term goal is to have regular attendees who dream up long-term project ideas and then bring them to life.

We hope to see you there!

The Library is at 307 Hawthorne Ave.

Oxford Public Library slates Creative Writing Club in January

 

Derby Public Library to host 4 poetry club meetings this fall

DERBY - Derby Public Library will host four free meetings this fall for anyone who has an interest in reading, writing, or exploring the world of poetry. The first will be held at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 16.

Resident Susan Lanzaro-Schroeder will lead this open discussion and devotion to positive feedback and appreciation of the creative endeavor. 

The poems can range from the inspirational to the deeply personal, sometimes painful, to the outrageously witty, from sonnets and rhyme, to open verse. 

Members share their authored poems, solicit input for their developing poems or to share a poem they find beautiful. 
Can’t make this night? Other Monday meetings are: Oct. 21, Nov.18, and Dec. 16. Ages 18 and older welcome! Drop in! 

For more information visit www.derbypubliclibrary.org or call 203-736-1482.

Lanzaro-Schroeder’s diverse writing experience includes:
Literary Editor of Sacred Heart Academy High School, Grant Writer with awards for Job Training via Bridgeport Regional Business Council, earning the Hewlett Packard channel partner status, company patents and licensing agreements and co-founding the Central Florida Poetry group. 

Her 35-year collection of poems celebrating nature and humor will be shortly published in “JUKED.”

*This is shared from the Derby Public Library website.

Recuperation journey: Sunday musings

Putting pen to paper
Writing is a beneficial exercise for many folks, including yours truly.

Ever since I was quite young I've had a need to put pen to paper to record any number of things about what was going on around me. 
I suppose regularly jotting things down made them seem more real.
Of course my world was much smaller then and I had no major responsibilities other than my schoolwork.
No dog, no cat, no rabbit, no guinea pig, no hamster. I did have a few green turtles for pets and later tropical fish to feed but that was about it.

Back then I had the time and inclination to write a diary, send written notes to my grandparents and friends, keep track of movies I'd seen, and rate novels I'd read.
I wrote the titles and authors on 3x5 cards and keep them in a recipe box. I may have given them stars or numbers for ratings, can't quite recall. 

I know writing can be therapeutic, and the process of writing therapy is a real thing, and that's what I've been trying to relate here. 

It's about putting one's feelings into words, and being able to look at them in black and white and hopefully better understand them, and oneself. When husband Ralph and I joined the "blogosphere" a decade ago it was a therapeutic writing activity for both of us, and still is.

Life tends to get complicated, and writing about what occurs can help one to deal with the inevitable stress. 

Thanks for getting this far and reading this entire post! I hope you were able to relate to what I was trying to impart.  
Enjoy the rest of the holiday weekend.

Writing workshop slated at Plumb Memorial Library in Shelton

SHELTON - Join one of Connecticut’s finest local authors, Celine Mariotti, for a writing workshop at 2 p.m. July 18 at Plumb Memorial Library. 

She has written books such as "I Have a Friend on Jupiter" and "Olivia MacAllister, Who Are You?". 

Mariotti will go through the creative process of writing books, and the steps needed to be published. 

Program is geared toward ages 12 and up. Registration is required, call 203-924-9461 or click here.

The Library is at 65 Wooster St.

*Information shared from the Shelton Library System Facebook page.

Recuperation journey: Shower time offers a chance to 'think'

Truth be told I often write a lot of my blog posts during my morning shower, without ever planning to do so. 

Warm water is relaxing, and for me it blocks out any distractions and allows my brain to "think."

I've heard others say they get their best ideas when they're in the shower. 
Can you relate?

Book discussion slated Monday at Written Words in Shelton

SHELTON - A R.I.S.E. (Read Inspire Share Empower) book discussion will be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Written Words Books & Gifts store, 415 Howe Ave.

R.I.S.E. discussion meets every other month on the second Monday.
This month’s discussion about Everybody Writes by Ann Handley will be facilitated by Shelton resident Kayleigh Apicerno.

The book is a go-to guide to attracting and retaining customers through stellar online communication. It can be purchased at Written Words.

Members rotate in selecting our reads and leading the discussion, and whoever is leading brings a bottle of wine to sip with the group. Members are committed to supporting and learning from each other so that we can “RISE” together, personally and professionally. New members are always welcome.

The event is free.

This is a press release from Written Words Bookstore. 

Surgery will keep me away from blogging for a few days

But I'll be back soon ... with tales to tell!

Ansonia mayor honors students who penned winning essays

Pictured from left: Mikayla Wiacek, Jenna Davis, Kristina Gecaj, and Ansonia Mayor David S. Cassetti /Contributed photo

ANSONIA - Mayor David S. Cassetti received a history lesson Thursday at City Hall as he congratulated three winners of the Ansonia Historical Commission’s annual essay contest. 

The winners were:

1st Place – Kristina Gecaj – Assumption School

2nd Place – Jenna Davis – Assumption School

3rd Place – Mikayla Wiacek – Assumption School

The contest, in its 15th year, was open to middle school students throughout Ansonia and Assumption School. 

A total of 34 entries was submitted for review by Historical Commission Judges Loisann Marazzi and Chairperson Mary Gibson.

This year’s 500-word essay theme was a fictional/factual interpretation of being an eyewitness to pedal bicycle inventor Pierre Lallement as he rode his bicycle through downtown Ansonia in 1865, his hometown. 

Cassetti told the winners, “I am extremely proud of you and your accomplishments in winning these awards tonight. It tells me that you love Ansonia as much as I do.” 

For their creative writing skills, each winner received a certificate and monetary award of $100/First Place, $75/Second Place, and $50/Third Place.

Below is the first place essay:

The Ride of the Wooden Horse

First Place Essay

Kristina Gecaj    Gr. 7    Assumption School

I got to the beautiful Main Street of Ansonia, Connecticut three hours before the big event began.  Today was the day that the crowd would finally get to see my brother ride the first Velocipede down this very street.  Before the big event started, I thought about how Pierre got to this day and how he had made this magnificent invention.  Pierre and I lived near Nancy, France.  All his life, making new and helpful inventions that would make people’s lives easier fascinated Pierre.

Pierre first was employed building baby carriages in 1862 when he was only 19; this had started his interest in creating new ways to move oneself or others.  When he saw someone riding a dandy horse, he immediately thought of how he could make that invention better and help people move around.  He modified what he saw by adding a transmission with rotary crank mechanism pedals to the front.  After spending countless hours to perfecting this, he created the Velocipede.  In 1863 Pierre moved to Paris and showed the Oliver brothers his likely invention.  The Oliver brothers saw the potential in Pierre’s invention and assisted him with getting the news about it out to the public.

In July 1865, Pierre left France for the United States and he settled in Ansonia, Connecticut.  While he was there, he perfected the build and design of the Velocipede.  In April 1866 James Carroll made a patent application for the Velocipede.  I remember Pierre being excited about receiving the patent.  It made this invention his own; nobody could steal or use his design or methods.

Now, Pierre is about to ride the Velocipede.  The streets of Ansonia are filled with people cheering and waiting for this unique event.  Nobody has ever seen anything like this in the past.  As I look to my left I see a little girl holding her mother’s hand jumping up and down.  When I look to my right, I see an elderly couple looking onto the street with amazement in their eyes.  This was the first time they have ever heard of an event like this.  It felt like a parade was about to begin.  I was right in the front row and had a great view of all the beautiful buildings.  Everyone decorated their little shops with flowers and other decorations to show support for Pierre.

Finally the crowd began to cheer louder when they saw Pierre settle into the beginning of his riding course.  He grabbed onto the wooden handles and started pushing the pedals with his feet.  The Velocipede had two large wheels, one in the front and one in the back.  Pierre began his ride at a slow speed so he could wave to the large amount of people that were there as he drove by, but he quickly picked up speed and demonstrated how fast his invention could go.  With amazement and excitement, the crowd clapped and cheered and transportation would never be the same again!

This is a press release from Cassetti's office.

My congratulations go out to the three winners! Keep writing!

Seymour Library schedules fun activities for kids

Mistakes can be funny; best thing to do is 'fess up

Woops.

Even former copy editors need a proofreader now and then. 

I know one should not take oneself too seriously, but I'm embarrassed.

I made a mistake last night writing a title for a post about an upcoming presentation at the Derby Public Library.

I wrote: 

Normal Rockwell's life topic of talk at Derby Library

I read it over, as I always do, but still didn't catch my error.

It took a former colleague from the former Evening Sentinel to point it out to me this afternoon. I immediately fixed the mistake, and thanked her profusely!

So in the spirit of "transparency," a word that is bandied about a bit too much these days, I thought I would 'fess up.

And while I'm at it I'll blame everything on the August heat and humidity. 

Author inspires Seymour students to read, write

Children's author Joe Shandrowski uses audience participation to create an illustration.

SEYMOUR - Children's author and illustrator Joe Shandrowski of Fairfield visited Chatfield-LoPresti School Tuesday with his Reading Rocks pep rally. 

The fourth and fifth graders in the audience enjoyed Shandrowski's lively presentation that focused on the importance of reading and using one's imagination to become successful writers.

Please check out my story today in the Valley Independent Sentinel.