The HeART of the Community

It seems hard to believe that the Annual Armonk Art Show, will celebrate its 50th Anniversary this year on September 24 and 25. Begun in 1961, the Art Show started as a local show set up in front of the library with paintings hung on snow fencing. The Art Show has since expanded to a 200-booth show held on 10 acres at North Castle Community Park with participating artists coming from coast-to-coast, Canada and England. The show was again ranked in 2010 among the top Fine Art and Design Shows in the New York Metropolitan area by Sunshine Artist magazine. The fine art and fine crafts juried show is sponsored by the Friends of North Castle Public Library, Inc. Proceeds benefit North Castle Public Library, its programs and Whippoorwill Hall theater.

More than 200 resident volunteers join the Friends to run the Art Show, which for many is a yearlong project from organization through implementation. Some volunteers focus on the Art Show week events and staff booths, some run children’s craft projects or help in any number of ways to make the weekend a success for the artists and the Library. Art Show week presents many rewarding ways for the community to come together as we reconnect with friends and neighbors to enjoy nationally recognized artists, enjoy a film on Friday night and a memorable Lagond and Friends concert on Saturday night. Both free events are held in Whippoorwill Hall.

The Friends of North Castle Public Library, Inc.

For more than 69 years, the Friends organization has remained a very vibrant part of the public-private partnership of the North Castle Public Library -- an intellectual and cultural center for the community and its Westchester County neighbors.

The Friends organization has two major responsibilities. First, to raise money for improvements to the library that are beyond the responsibilities of the Town of North Castle and already paid for by the community’s taxes. The Friends accomplish this through proceeds from the Art Show and through the generous contributions made by our community. Second, the Friends partner with the Library staff and Trustees in establishing strategies that support the library as an important educational and cultural center within North Castle. The Friends are an integral part of the Library team, helping to focus resources to meet our strategic objectives and developing programs that will serve all ages. It is important to note that all programming costs are underwritten by The Friends!

Specific contributions made by the Friends in recent years include:

• Funding of the wildly successful programming series for children, teens and adults run year-round at the library with over 16,000 attendees last year alone.
• Sponsoring our community’s theater group, The Armonk Players.
• Funding new technology, now installed at the library.
• Upgrading the facility to support new programming and technology initiatives.
• Funding new additions to the library’s collection, including the recent introduction of free museum passes for Library cardholders. 

The Friends will continue to work with the Library staff and our Trustees with the mindset that we are one team with a common objective. We also work with other organizations within our town, like the school district, to help support our Library. We believe this collective approach makes us all stronger and allows us to share our expertise and better serve our community. While we have seen libraries in other communities dramatically cut back on services, we have been fortunate, through the combined efforts of these groups, and the generous support of our community, to continue to grow and enhance our library in Armonk and North White Plains.