Hamden Public Library pumpkin decorating event resumes in person

Instead of packaging materials for a quick grab-and-go, the doors were open for Hamden Public Library’s annual pumpkin decorating event on Oct. 17, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“It makes me feel really great having kids and families coming back into the library,” said Marcy Goldman, head of children’s services. “It’s been a little bit of a slow start-up for us and this just makes my day.” 

The Halloween-themed event was open to children in grades K-6 free of charge and was held in the Friend’s Room on the second floor of the library. Parents and guardians were required to register their children participating prior to attending, which was filled to a maximum capacity of 15 children. 

“It’s a great opportunity to offer free children’s programming to families,” Goldman said. “So it doesn’t matter if you can’t pay the $10 admission fee to go to a craft fair where your children can do something like this.” 

Children participating were given a pumpkin purchased from DeMatteo Farms and various art supplies to decorate, such as paint, rhinestones, pom-pom balls and googly eyes. 

During the midst of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, residents and their children had to pick up all materials from the library and complete the crafts at their homes. With a sense of normalcy and fall spirit in the air, the event’s hosts said they were in great spirits to see the children enjoying the crafts face-to-face once again. 

“The kids absolutely love it,” said Paula Ginter, librarian technical assistant. “It’s really great to be doing in-person events again.” 

The event was funded through money raised from the library’s Friend’s of the Hamden Library Group. Ginter said the library submits a plan every quarter to the group in advance, requesting a certain amount of funds to cover the supplies and the costs of activities. 

Hamden resident Kimberly Maturo has been bringing her two children, Nicholas and Alyssa, to the library’s events for years. She said the pumpkin decorating event is just another example of a great opportunity for the town and community to come together.

“(The kids) needed some normalcy in their lives,” said Kimberly Maturo, Hamden resident and mother of two children who attended. “They absolutely looked forward to this. They got out of school, they ran home, they got a snack and they were ready to go.” 

In addition to watching her children enjoy the activities and make new friends, she said the timing of the library’s events makes it easy for her to bring her children while accommodating her schedule. 

“It’s a convenient time, they think of the parents,” Maturo said. “It’s right out of school for a lot of us.” 

With an in-person activity now in the books, Goldman said she is optimistic that more face-to-face activities are on the horizon despite previous concerns regarding social distancing requirements. 

“I am hoping that this winter will be the year that we can start up our regular sessions of story times again for those little kids, the preschoolers and the babies,” Goldman said. “…That was basically the core of what we did too and it’s something that hasn’t started back up exactly how it was prior to COVID.”