Where do people meet for fun on cold winter nights in Maine? How about the library?
Forget all that stuff about “Quiet.” These days in many Maine communities, libraries have become social-gathering places, offering up everything from sleepovers to movie nights. Some libraries even push back the chairs and reading tables and fire up the fiddles for a night of dancing.
Braving the elements, a small crowd has decided to kick up their heels and contra dance in the Thomaston Public Library’s gym once a month on Saturday nights. Over 50 people gathered on December 22nd for the Yuletide dance where John McIntire called and the band Playgroup performed.
While a library hosting a contra dance may seem unusual, libraries along the coast have stepped out of their traditional roles and turned themselves into sponsors of fun community events. “We’ve become more of a `cultural center,'” says Julie Forbus, head librarian of the Madison Public Library in Madison.
Already libraries offer a host of services, including Wi-Fi, meeting spaces, art exhibits and children’s events. So, why not dances for adults?
That’s what Kate Webber wondered. Webber, an Island Institute Fellow with the historical society on Swan’s Island, organized a contra dance at the Odd Fellows Hall. “I believe strongly in the value of local, all-inclusive entertainment as a way to maintain a vital community life,” says Webber. And what’s better than a good night of dancing?
A lot of people must feel the same way. In addition to the dances at Thomaston’s library and on Swan’s Island, the Jesup Memorial Library on Mount Desert Island has hosted an annual contra dance for the past three years.
Head librarian, Ruth Eveland admits that although they don’t make much money, the dances bring the community together. “We clean out all the tables and chairs and dance on our 101-year-old cork floor,” she says. “We take up a collection and pay the caller and then make a teeny bit beyond that ($20 – $50) for us. The band generously donates its energies.”
While the Chebeague Island, Long Island Community, Madison Public, McArthur Public, North Haven, and South Berwick Public libraries haven’t considered sponsoring contra dances, head librarians recognize the ever-changing role of the library and provide programming accordingly.
Last spring the Chebeague Island Library hosted a Harry Potter Extravaganza. Bringing young and old together, this event, similar to the contra dances in Thomaston, are for the whole community. Chebeague’s head librarian, Deb Bowman, is currently planning an Alice in Wonderland event for later this winter.
According to Bowman, the organizers will “transform the Island Hall into a garden fit for a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.” That will be followed by movies shown in the library in the evening. In the recent past, Bowman and the library have hosted poets, dancers, drummers, authors and Portland Symphony Kinder concerts.
These special events not only are social, but they can help raise funds — something libraries are always in need of.
Karen McCarthy Eger, the head librarian at the South Berwick Public Library, says that one of their most successful fundraisers is Diva Night. According to friendsofsouthberwicklibrary.org, this event includes, “Delicious food, door prizes, raffle tickets, wine raffle, MAHVELOUS silent auction baskets and experiences to bid on, Diva cocktails and a night you won’t want to miss!”
The Long Island head librarian, Nancy Jordan, says that their annual fundraiser, the Art and Soul Festival, is very successful. “It features artists and craftspeople, a book sale, food table, crabmeat rolls, flower sales, and a big raffle.”
Despite their small size, local libraries have become de facto community centers, says Kate Quinn, the head librarian from North Haven “The library is a haven for many folks especially in the summer. Patrons waiting for children to finish a program elsewhere or just to use the Wi-Fi connection.”
Julie Forbus, the head librarian from Madison, also highlights the communal significance of the library. “People visit the library for a variety of reasons including books, computers, for everything from Facebook to job applications and hunting licenses to income tax forms, warmth in the winter and air conditioning in the summer, meetings with case workers, meetings with job coaches, supervised visitation,” she says.
While hosting a contra dance might not something that immediately pops into mind when the word “library” is mentioned, it still fits into this description of a place for people to gather and share.
The Thomaston Public Library has seen the popularity of their contra dance grow. In December the dance raised $100, which will be used to help underwrite special programs such as Chewonki’s Birds of Prey Program. Coordinating with the group that started Simonton Corner’s West Rockport Dance in 1977, which is the longest running contra dance in the state of Maine, the library provides the dance space.
Bringing together the young and the old, Facebook users and avid readers, contra dances are a place for all people to meet and greet, forgetting their worries until it’s time to venture back out into the cold and dark, and head for home.
Kate Hynd is a participant in The Working Waterfront’s Student Journalism Program, and a resident of Thomaston.