The Lakewood branch of the Ocean county Library hosted a community Thanksgiving dinner Thursday Nov. 19.  More than 175 people attended, twice what we had last year.  The Teen Advisory Board and Kiwanis Club of Jackson helped the staff prepare and serve the food.  What a great way to connect people and build community!

On Saturday, November 14, Rider University’s Westminster Jubilee Singers performed at the Ocean County Library Toms River branch. Here is a slide show of photos from their performance.

The children of the Tuckerton Library’s story time worked very hard and thoughtfully to create a special thank you to all veterans who have served our country. They created a beautiful, colorful mural full of thoughts, pictures, handprints, poppies, and thanks for all that the veterans have given so that we can continue to celebrate our freedom. The dedication took place at VFW 316, the William J. Stanton Post on Gifford Road in Tuckerton at 2 pm on Saturday November 14. During the dedication the kids and veterans had a chance to meet, shake hands, and share their thoughts on what Veterans Day is and what it means. The mural was hung in the main meeting room for all to see and enjoy. All are welcome to stop by and take a look.

The Post is currently accepting coat and blanket donations, there is a drop box located at the entrance of the VFW building on Gifford Road behind the Tuckerton fire house, or you can send them in care of the Tuckerton Branch designating they are for the VFW. Meetings are currently held the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month at 7:30pm, please contact the post for more information at 609-812-9788

As part of OCL’s Coretta Scott King Book Awards 40th anniversary celebration, the Barnegat and Berkeley Branches were pleased to host a visit by award-winning illustrator, R. Gregory Christie. Among numerous other awards, Mr. Christie is the recipient of three Coretta Scott King Honors.  At both branches, he inspired and entertained the audience with PowerPoint demonstrations, conversation, and Q&A; teaching them about paint, painters, and publishing. His easy-going nature was a perfect fit for the 5th grade audiences, and they received him with spellbound attention.

 Photographs by teen members of the Winteringham Village Girls Forum are on display through the month of November in the Toms River Teen Zone. The girls were joined by parents, friends, and members of the Toms River area Soroptimists for an opening reception on the evening of November 10. The girls took the photographs after learning basic composition techniques. Taken with disposable cameras, the photos of nearby landscapes and family members show a high degree of sensitivity to light and color.

People sitting on tables, in the lobby, on bookcarts, on the floor…Standing room only was at its best for the Johnny Cash Tribute event atthe Upper Shores Branch on Nov. 10th. The band Basement Musicians (Tony Pileggi, Rick Hohowski and Tom Rutt) mesmerized our largest audience ever when more than 275 people crammed into the little library in Lavallette to celebrate the amazing repertoire of beloved American, the legendary “Man in Black”, Johnny Cash.

Nearly 200 people gathered at the Manchester branch Nov. 7 to celebrate all things Bronx.

Dave Greco, owner of Mike’s Deli on Arthur Avenue, was there sharing his memories, cooking tips and samples that he cooked up.

Antonio Sergio Bessa, director of programming at The Bronx Museum of the Arts and editor of “Intersections at 100 – The Grand Concourse,” spoke about the history of the borough.  H e was joined by Griffith Morris, the great grandson of Louis Aloys Risse, who designed The Grand Concourse.

We have a video of the photos from the event.

The Friends of the Manchester branch were busy Saturday with a book sale and an art reception and auction.

The reception started off with a live auction on 10 pieces. It then kicked off a silent auction that will continue until Nov. 20th.

Those artwork pieces in the silent auction (which include photographs, paintings, drawings and decoupage) will remain on display until the end of November. Minimum bid on those pieces is $10.

Bidding and viewing of the artwork is open to the public.

The Chess Club and introductory classes were in full motion on Saturday, November 7th at the Little Egg Harbor Branch. The classes and club are open to youth ages 7 and older. Stephen Nuttall is the adult volunteer that runs the monthly chess club at the branch from 11 am – 1pm. Youth play chess and observe games to learn various chess strategies. Everyone had a good time and shakes hands at the end of the games!

We set the TR Halloween photos to music and created a video.  Not quite MTV material but close!

Here is the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rp_CVxP8Po