Montclair Public Library is so excited about the 100th Anniversary of the Bellevue Avenue Library and upcoming The Big Read that they’re putting up banners all over town.
Here are just some of the exciting events will be taking place throughout the fall in honor of both occasions:
The Montclair Public Library received a grant to participate in this year’s The Big Read. The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts, designed to revitalize the role of reading in American culture. Montclair’s Big Read theme is based off of Julia Alvarez’s novel “In the Time of Butterflies.” Activities around The Big Read will take place between September 15 and October 26.
The Little Read, which is celebrating its sixth year, will take part in the Centennial celebration during the weekend of October 17 and 18. Fun events are planned including a “100 Candles Birthday Party” at Bellevue with readings, puppet shows and sing-alongs.
On Saturday, October 25, a Bellevue Avenue Library Centennial salon evening will take place at the Montclair Art Museum entitled “Why Montclair is Montclair: The Role of Art and Architecture in the Early 20th Century.” Panelists are: Gail Stavitsky, Chief Curator of the Montclair Art Museum, Ulysses Grant Dietz, Chief Curator of the Newark Museum, Mark Porter, Editor of The Montclair Times and Diane Lewis, Assistant Dean, Cooper Union School of Architecture. The moderator for the discussion is Frank Gerard Godlewski, architect and historian. The Bellevue Avenue Library officially opened on December 7, 1914. To mark the occasion, on Sunday, December 7, there will be an Opening Day Open House with children’s programs and a slide show presentation on Upper Montclair. In honor of the Centennial, the library will be selling tote bags featuring the image of the Bellevue Avenue Library. The tote bags can be purchased at the circulation desk at both library locations for $5.