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November 2026 |
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It's November and our thoughts are turning to the holidays! We're looking forward to a fascinating program on the Tuskegee Airmen in honor of Veterans' Day, and working on transforming Saco Museum into a "Merry & Bright" winter wonderland for this year's Festival of Trees. And Youth Services is celebrating Dinovember, with fun dino-themed activites and programs all month long!
As always, we are thankful for our wonderful community of patrons, visitors, and volunteers that make Dyer Library/Saco Museum such a special place.
P.S. Our Executive Director Sophie Smith has a corner of the website where she shares updates and behind-the-scenes information! Click here to hear the latest DLSM news, straight from the top. |
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We are so excited to share the 2026 Festival of Trees with you,
opening on Friday, November 27th! |
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Online registration is now open for the popular Tea With Mrs. Claus event, taking place on Saturday, December 12th. There are two seatings available, at 12:00PM and 1:30PM. The event includes a story read by Mrs. Claus, a craft to complete, hot cocoa and cookies, and a special keepsake for each child to take home. There is no charge for this event, but registration is required as space is limited. Please visit our events calendar and click on one of the seatings to reserve your spot.
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Online registration is also open for our Sensory Friendly Sunday. If your family's visit to the Festival of Trees exhibit would best succeed with a smaller crowd and a slower pace, please join us on Sunday, December 6th from 10AM - noon. Reservations are required for our Sensory-Friendly hours to keep numbers low. This opportunity will allow families with special needs to book an appointment to visit the Festival of Trees. Only two families will be booked at each 15 minute increment so that everyone can explore and enjoy the exhibit. Please visit the Events Calendar on our website to register.
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Festival of Trees Preview Gala |
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We can’t wait to kick off the holiday season with you! Please join us at our Preview Gala and Silent Auction, a fundraising event supporting Dyer Library/Saco Museum.
Saturday, November 21, 2026
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Each $50 ticket includes heavy hors d'oeuvres and drinks. Music by Bess Jacques & Dwayne Edwards.
Tickets and more information available online at dyerlibrarysacomuseum.org/gala. All proceeds benefit Dyer Library and Saco Museum programs, services, and community.
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Reflections of a Tuskegee Airman |
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Former broadcast journalist Bob Sheppard will join us on Tuesday, November 17th at 5:30PM to give a presentation on his late father James Sheppard, including a portion of a documentary and personal photographs and images from the National Archives, as well as the stories of three other men with ties to Maine and NH who served as Tuskegee Airmen.
James Sheppard was one of a small group of men with ties to Maine and NH who served during World War ll with the fighter squadron known today as the Tuskegee Airmen. For more than a decade Bob Sheppard has talked to audiences about his dad's experiences as part of the effort by the US Army Air Force to train black pilots to fly military aircraft, at a time when they were normally relegated to menial roles. A meaningful way to honor Veterans Day!
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Discover the wild saga behind the Saco Museum’s newly restored Civil War-era “China Trade” portrait of Old Orchard Beach’s vaunted hotel family in this special Museum Artifact Session with Anatole Brown, "The Hotel Heiress and Her Calamitous Captain"! Commissioned in Hong Kong by heiress Josephine Staples, the painting carries a scandalous history
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intertwined with her husband, Capt. Charles Lee Moses, whose erratic escapades sparked a full-blown diplomatic disaster in Borneo. Come see this large painting in its fully restored glory (photo is pre-restoration) on Monday, November 9th at 1PM in the Deering Room.
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Join Saco Bay Garden Club on Thursday, November 5th from 6:00-7:30PM for a presentation on growing dahlias by Jess Cinq-Mars of Omniflora Farm! A Saco Bay Garden Club meeting will follow.
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Whether you love to cook, love to eat, or just want to spark your culinary curiosity, join our Cookbook Club! We’ll meet monthly to discuss and try recipes from different cookbooks and build community!
At our next meeting on Saturday, November 14th from 11:30AM-1:00PM, we'll be discussing and sharing dishes from "The Lost Kitchen" cookbooks by Maine phenom Erin French.
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We've heard you! The Year-Round Book Sale is moving back to the library building. By mid-November, you can find an array of gently used and like-new hardcovers, paperbacks, and children's books in the bookshelves of the Circulation area, just as you walk in our Main Entrance. The space is smaller, but that means we are offering the best of the best! Look for pop-up sales throughout the year of extra books, puzzles, and games as we need to clear our storage area.
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Dinovember: Month-Long Prehistoric Fun!
Hold onto your excavation tools - dinosaurs are taking over the library all month long! Inspired by the picture book series What the Dinosaurs Did written by Refe and Susan Tuma, Dinovember brings some prehistoric mischief, scavenger hunts, themed programs and book displays to the Library! |
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Dino Disco Dance Party |
Saturday, November 7th, 10:30-11:30AM |
STOMP and GROOVE on over to our Dino Disco Dance Party! Little dinosaurs are invited to come dressed in their dino or disco best for music, lights, bubbles, and maybe even a dancing dinosaur or two. Get ready to party like it's 197.0 Ma (AKA about 197 million years ago)!
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Cardboard Construct & Create Cafe!
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Tuesday, November 24th, 12:30PM |
Get ready to think outside the box! Join us for an epic hands-on STEAM program using recycled cardboard, child-safe tools, and Makedo reusable screws to build whatever fantastic creation you can engineer! All materials are provided, and your creations will be put on display in the library for everyone to admire.
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LEGO Lounge |
Saturday, November 28th, 10:00AM-Noon |
Join us for a special drop-in Saturday Lego Lounge! Bring your master-building skills and imagination while we provide massive bins of Lego bricks and Duplo blocks for all ages. Take on a special building challenge—Futuristic Cities—or enjoy free-building whatever you’d like. Finished masterpieces will be showcased in the library! |
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Please visit our Events Calendar for more youth programs like Lego Club, Early Release Day events, and Tween Book Club!
Accommodation requests can be communicated to our children's librarian Ms. Megan at msmith@dyersaco.org or 207-283-3861 x 107. We strive to create reasonable accommodations for all who are interested in attending library programs! |
| Events Calendar
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Saturday Morning Cereal & Cartoons - All Ages |
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Prepare for a blast from the past! Whether you are a kid experiencing the magic for the first time or an adult whose inner child is begging for a time warp back to the 80s and 90s, this event is for you. Join us at the Library on a Saturday morning as we turn back the clock to the golden age of Saturday morning cartoons. On November 21st from 9:30-11AM we are streaming the absolute best vintage animated classics, serving up a legendary cereal bar with all your childhood favorites. (Sugar warning!) Blankets, pillows, and your comfiest slippers are highly encouraged. No time machine required—just bring your appetite for nostalgia.
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Family Nature Weaving Craft |
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Take a pause this season to reflect on what matters most. In this hands-on autumn activity, children and families are invited to slow down, practice gratitude, and weave their thankfulness into art. Participants will write down what they are grateful for on paper leaves, then integrate them into a beautiful, handcrafted paper-plate loom to take home. Join us on Wednesday, November 18th (an Early Release Day) at 12:30PM for a peaceful hour dedicated to appreciation, connection, and mindful creative expression! All materials provided.
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As we’re getting ready for the Festival of Trees, we're making a few upgrades - specifically reconfiguring the entrance so the ramp in the rear of Saco Museum is now our primary access point. This required installing a new door mechanism and moving our visitor services desk. These changes are all about making the space more welcoming and accessible to everyone in our community. It’s still a work in progress, but we hope it’s a big step forward. Please let us know what you think when you stop by!
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While the museum gallery is being transformed for Festival of Trees, in-person visitation to the Saco Museum is limited to scheduled research appointments only. To book a research appointment, please contact: Anatole Brown, Archives & Special Collections Manager at abrown@dyerlibrarysacomuseum.org.
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November Releases for Chilly Days |
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Click on the book cover to be taken to its MINERVA listing, where you can request the book even before its release date, when possible!
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Birth of the Witch |
Nora Roberts | In this immersive, enchanting first novel in a new epic trilogy, Nora Roberts introduces the magical world of Neve McShane, a young witch tasked with stopping a growing darkness, and the coven she has been connected to across lifetimes.
Releasing November 17. |
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An Edge Sharp Enough |
Jesse Q. Sutanto | The first book in a debut dark fantasy duology, following an assassin, a scholar, a con man, and a guard in a race to rediscover powerful lost magic and save their world.
Releasing November 17. |
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Sweet Pea |
Kit de Waal |
Through friendships, motherhood, and connections that emerge in the most unexpected places, Paulette discovers strength in everyday acts of kindness. A luminous and lyrical novel of the trials of life and the compassion that can follow, Sweet Pea introduces readers to an indelible heroine who never turns away from her capacity to love.
Releasing November 3. |
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The Unfinished Work: A Novel of Abraham Lincoln |
Jeff Shaara |
Novelist Jeff Shaara, renowned for his body of work exploring the conflicts and personalities surrounding key moments in American history, turns his attention to one of the most consequential figures during one of the most critical points in history: Abraham Lincoln. Shaara brings to life the travails and conflicts, victories and tragic defeats, the legends and the history, both personal and private of Lincoln during the country's most pivotal years.
Releasing November 10. |
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Maine Libraries Passport Challenge |
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The Maine Library Association and Maine State Library invite you to explore Maine, one library at a time!
Travel across the state and visit a library in each of Maine's 16 counties. Collect a stamp or signature from each stop as you build your Maine Library Passport. Finish all 16 counties and submit your completed passport to be entered into a prize drawing and celebrated as a Maine Library Passport Challenge winner! Complete your journey by December 31, 2026. Click on the link for more information and to download your passport! |
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November Book Clubs |
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Find us in the Community |
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Coming Next Month: Holiday Events |
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The 2026 Festival of Trees will open on Friday, November 27th and run through Wednesday, December 30th. For more information on events and special museum hours, please visit our website.
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| Festival of Trees
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Mon: 9:30 am - 5 pm
Tue: 9:30 am - 8 pm
Wed: 9:30 am - 5 pm
Thu: 9:30 am - 8 pm
Fri: 9:30 am - 5 pm
Sat: 9:30 am - 2 pm
Sun: Closed |
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Mon: Closed
Tue: noon - 4 pm
Wed: noon - 4 pm
Thu: noon - 8 pm
Fri: noon - 4 pm
Sat: 9:30 am - 2 pm
Sun: Closed |
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Connect with us on Facebook and Instagram! |
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Blue Elephant Catering
Dirigo Federal Credit Union Paquin & Carroll Insurance Peace Behavioral Health
Reny's Charitable Foundation University Credit Union |
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