Sawyer Free Library

Sawyer Free Library to Host LEGO Event for Community “LET’S BUILD TOGETHER: 2025 Sawyer Free Library”

~ Sawyer Free Library

The Sawyer Free Library is hosting an exciting LEGO community event in advance of the 2025 Sawyer Free Library’s upcoming groundbreaking celebration. LET’S BUILD TOGETHER: 2025 Sawyer Free Library will take place on Saturday, September 16, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at 20 Main Street in downtown Gloucester, directly across from the Sawyer Free Library temporary location.

Co-hosted with the LEGO Discovery Center Boston, the free event, LET’S BUILD TOGETHER: 2025 Sawyer Free Library Brick by Brick LEGO Celebration, will bring together families, enthusiasts, and Lego lovers of all ages for a morning filled with boundless creativity, fun, and community spirit as they share their excitement for the future of the Sawyer Free Library.

Whether you’re a seasoned Lego enthusiast or new to the world of building blocks, this free event is open to individuals of all ages and skill levels. Event highlights include:

  • The opportunity to build “library” inspired creations with an Official Lego Master Model Builder from the LEGO Discovery Center Boston.
  • The official unveiling of the specially commissioned 2025 Sawyer Free Library Lego model, created using over 1,000 Lego blocks and made possible through the generosity of Dore + Whittier | Oudens Ello Architecture.
  • Extraordinary Lego masterpieces courtesy of the Boston LEGO Discovery Center.
  • Participants of all ages can showcase their construction skills through imaginative Lego challenges designed to inspire creativity and teamwork and win fun prizes.
  • Explore, build, and play freely with Legos, enjoy a musical performance by Gloucester’s own youth rock band, “Kicked off the Bus,” photo-ops with LEGO Minifigure characters, face painting, prizes and more!

In addition to the Lego festivities, attendees will also get a peek into the exciting plans for the 2025 Sawyer Free Public Library which promises to be a welcoming and inclusive environment, offering cutting-edge technology, diverse collections, engaging programs, and dedicated spaces for collaboration, learning, and relaxation. There will be information on how people can get involved and support this once-in-50-year opportunity to secure the future of this vital public institution.

The 2025 Sawyer Free Library Groundbreaking Celebration is scheduled to take place on Friday, September 29, from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. at 2 Dale Avenue in Gloucester, taking place rain or shine in the tented parking lot. The ceremony will mark the exciting beginning of the Sawyer Free Library’s comprehensive renovation, modernization, and expansion, and Gloucester realizing its vision of the 21st-century Library it so deserves – a dynamic and modernized community space that will inspire generations of lifelong learners in Gloucester and beyond. This exciting local history making event will be open to all.

To learn more about the Sawyer Free Library’s Community Lego Event or the 2025 Sawyer Free Library Groundbreaking Celebration, visit sawyerfreelibrary.org or 978-325-5500.

The Sawyer Free 2025 campaign is grateful for the tremendous engagement and investment at every level from all parts of the community but we still need the community’s help. To learn how you can be a part of making the new Sawyer Free Library a reality, visit www.2025SawyerFree.org.

SFL presents Author Talk with Ellen Levy: The Saturday Evening Girls in Gloucester 

~ Sawyer Free Library

On Thursday, August 24, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., in a lively presentation at the Sawyer Free Library at 21 Main Street, Ellen Levy will relay the story of the Boston library group, Saturday Evening Girls, that created magnificent Arts and Crafts pottery at the turn of the last century. The story of the Saturday Evening Girls is beloved: a story of turn of the century determination and an early example of immigrant women developing useful trade skills to make a career in America. This group of women turned a reading club into the beginnings of Paul Revere Pottery.

In addition to becoming an important financier of the club, Helen Storrow would create a summer camp in Wingaersheek Beach in West Gloucester for the women, often exposing the young women to the outdoors and rural life.  

Ellen will share the data and stories she gathered for her series of historical fiction books taking place in the 1910s in Massachusetts.

Event will take place at SFL @ 21 Main Street in Gloucester. Registration not required. Questions? Contact: jtravers@sawyerfreelibrary.org

The Saturday Evening Girls

The Young Gloucester Scientist’s Club Presents: Community Scavenger Hunt – Friday 8/25

~ Sawyer Free Library

The Young Gloucester Scientist’s Club Presents:  Community Garden Scavenger Hunt on Friday, August 25 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Join the Sawyer Free Library for an afternoon of garden bed exploring, scavenger hunting and a little bit of dirt-based science! In this hour long field trip to the Burnham Field Community Garden the Library’s friends at Backyard Growers will share some of the science behind growing and harvesting your own food.

This program is suitable for 4th-8th graders. Registration is required. Click HERE or go to SawyerFreeLibrary.org

Mass Audubon Tree Walk and Talk – Young Gloucester Scientist Club Field Trip

~ Sawyer Free Library

Tweens & Teens – – join the Sawyer Free Library Young Gloucester Scientists Club on a 2-hour nature walk in Historic Dogtown with some experts from Mass Audubon. Learn all about Cape Ann’s native plant life and the importance of trees in our ecosystem while observing and collecting data in our own YGSC nature journals! This is a great opportunity to connect with the natural world and practice vital science skills. This program is suitable for 4th-8th graders.

Registration & Permission Slips are Required. To Register Click: HERE.

For more information, visit SawyerFreeLibrary.org or email:  jllaurie@sawyerfreelibrary.org

The Young Gloucester Scientist’s Club is supported by federal funds provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. The YGSC is a monthly club for 4th through 8th graders that introduces them to Gloucester Community members with careers across a variety of STEM fields.

Gloucester Reads: Community Conversation with Author Kiely Reid – Tuesday, August 15th

~ Sawyer Free Library

The community is invited to the final event for Gloucester Reads, a summer initiative, when best-selling author Kiely Reid will take part virtually on Tuesday, Aug. 15 at Gloucester Stage Company located at 267 East Main Street.


Doors open for the free event at 6 p.m., and starting at 6:30 p.m., Reid, author of the award-winning “Such a Fun Age, will talk about her work. There will be selected readings from her book, “Such a Fun Age,” and a panel discussion in connection with Gloucester Reads.   

The program moderator is Michea McCaffrey, co-chair of the Gloucester Racial Justice Team and member of the Gloucester Human Rights Commission. The panel includes James Cook, principal of Gloucester High School; and Doug Rich, co-owner of Susie’s Stories in Rockport, and who also is a jazz musician. Refreshments will follow. 

Reid is a New York Times bestselling author and an assistant professor at the University of Michigan. “Such A Fun Age” was her debut novel and was longlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize.

Gloucester Reads Event:

Doors open at 6 pm
Author Kiley Reid speaks (virtually) from 6:30 – 7:30 pm
Community discussion and refreshments from 7:30 – 8 pm

Register Here

For more information, visit: sawyerfreelibrary.org.

SFL’s Young Gloucester Scientists Club: Field Trip to Maritime Gloucester 

~ Sawyer Free Library

Register now for a day of sea-side learning at Maritime Gloucester on Thursday, August 11th! The Sawyer Free Library Young Gloucester Scientists will help raise the sails on the Schooner Ardelle as they learn what it takes to be a sailor. Then they’ll spend some time on land learning about invasive crab species and rotate through stations all about the unassuming oyster, emphasizing its unique internal anatomy with a hands on dissection.

This program is suitable for 4th-8th graders. Registration is required for this free day long program!

All participants are asked to arrive at 32 Harbor Loop by 9:20a.m. and pick up will be at 1:30p.m. Permission slips required. All attendees should bring a bag lunch and water, no glass containers please.

For questions, visit sawyerfreelibrary.org or 978-325-5500.

The Young Gloucester Scientist’s Club is supported by federal funds provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. The YGSC is a monthly club for 4th through 8th graders that introduces them to Gloucester Community members with careers across a variety of STEM fields.

Professor Bugman Entomology Adventures on Tuesday morning, 8/8

~ Sawyer Free Library

Sawyer Free Library is exited to present Professor Bugman Entomology Adventures on Tuesday, August 8 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Space is limited and registration is required for each child.

Meet & greet a variety of insects, bugs and more as Professor Bugman presents an engaging and memorable experience that inspires children and families.

This event will be held at Captain Lester S. Wass American Legion Post 3, (8 Washington Street.) Register HERE.

For more information on the this event and the complete schedule of summer happenings at the Library, please visit www.sawyerfreelibrary.org, call 978-325-5500, or 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester.

Author Talk at SFL: DAN FULLER, “Gloucester Gale” on Thursday Evening

~ Sawyer Free Library

This Thursday, August 3, 5:30 to 6:30 pm, the Sawyer Free Library will welcome Dan Fuller,  author of Gloucester Gale: The True Story of the Swordfishing Schooner Dorcas at its 21 Main Street location in downtown Gloucester.

In “Gloucester Gale,” Dan Fuller tells the true story of Captain Joseph Silveira and the swordfishing schooner “Dorcas” during the August Gale of 1924. In this vivid narrative about men battling against a raging force of nature during the bygone age of wooden ships and harpoons, he reconstructs the events of that hurricane and the schooner “Dorcas,” the impact on the rest of the fleet out at Georges Bank, and their loved ones back in Gloucester.

Dan is a direct descendant of Captain Silveira, and this story has been part of his family’s folklore for generations. Dan has always been captivated by the sea and is an avid sport fisherman. He currently splits his time seasonally between Cape Cod Bay and Tampa Bay.

The evening is open to the public for all to enjoy. No reservations needed. Books will be available for sale and signing following the presentation.

For more information on the Sawyer Free Library’s Author Talks and the complete schedule of summer happenings at the Library, please visit www.sawyerfreelibrary.org, call 978-325-5500, or 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester

Young Gloucester Scientist’s Club: Build a Wire Tree Workshop

~ Sawyer Free Library

The Young Gloucester Scientist’s Club presents: Build a Wire Tree Workshop this Friday, July 28 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at Sawyer Free Library at 21 Main Street.

Flex your creativity with this nature-based art activity with Local Sculptor & Wire Artist Ryan Kelley. Ryan has used over 35 miles of wire to create his detailed wire-art, and has many miles still to come.  In this 2-hour art class Ryan will share his wealth of knowledge and teach our young scientists to follow their own passions and create as well. This program is suitable for 4th-8th graders.

Registration is Required. Questions? Visit, SawyerFreeLibrary.org or 978-325-5562.

The Young Gloucester Scientist’s Club is supported by federal funds provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. The YGSC is a monthly club for 4th through 8th graders that introduces them to Gloucester Community members with careers across a variety of STEM fields.

SFL Author Talk: June Vail, Folly Cove Sketches: Remembering Virginia Lee

~ Sawyer Free Library

This Thursday, July 27 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. the Sawyer Free Library will be presenting an author-talk with June Vail, Professor Emerita in the Department of Theater and Dance at Bowdoin College, about her book Folly Cove Sketches: Remembering Virginia Lee Burton.

Vail’s new memoir paints a warm, honest portrait of her great-aunt, Virginia Lee Burton, Author and illustrator of beloved mid-century children’s books. Burton’s beloved books, including Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel and Caldecott-winner The Little House, continue to delight generations of parents, children, and librarians. Offering intimate glimpses into Burton’s wide-ranging artistic projects and everyday life, Vail vividly recounts how living with her great-aunt Jinnee in the Folly Cove, Massachusetts, community broadened her teenage perspectives and inspired some unexpected life choices.

An open Q and A will follow Vail’s informal, illustrated talk. Books will be available for sale and signing following the presentation.  The event will take place at the Sawyer Free Library’s downtown location at 21 Main Street in Gloucester.

For more details or questions visit SawyerFreeLibrary.org or 978-325-5525.

Be sure to Save the Date for these upcoming Author Events at SFL at 21 Main Street:

Thursday, August 3, 5:30 to 6:30 pm, Dan Fuller, Gloucester Gale: The True Story of the Swordfishing Schooner Dorcas

Thursday, August 24, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Ellen Levy: The Saturday Evening Girls in Gloucester