Weston's library collection has been packed into boxes twice since construction began. Volunteers packed it the first time and carried it to temporary space offered by the town's church. Later they packed it again and brought it home to Lawrence Hill Road. That account comes from a trustee's interview with the Vermont Department of Libraries. In between, library services ran out of the Fellowship Room at Old Parish Church, 644 Main Street. When the doors on Lawrence Hill Road opened again on Saturday, August 8, the building was close to three times its old size.
This is the new building's first winter, and the timing matters for the whole village. The Weston Playhouse on the green, normally the biggest indoor room in town, was still closed as of this summer. So the season's indoor life now runs mostly through two buildings: Walker Farm on Main Street and the expanded Wilder Memorial Library at 24 Lawrence Hill Road.
A Library That Outgrew Its Table
Since 1909 the library had been housed in a 740-square-foot building, according to the Weston Library Expansion Project. The project restored that 200-year-old building and added a 1,300-square-foot addition. The new space has accessible entrances, an ADA-compliant restroom, a lift, updated technology, quiet reading and work areas, and meeting space both inside and outdoors. Outside, the library added landscaping and a riverside park along the West River.
Ryan Foster of Foster Architecture designed the project, and Bread Loaf Corporation of Middlebury built it. Ground broke on May 6, 2025, according to the Chester Telegraph. The schedule announced that day ran through February 2026. The building opened about fifteen months after the groundbreaking.
The library received a $650,000 grant from the U.S. Treasury Capital Projects Fund, administered by the Vermont Department of Libraries. The grant covered the expansion, new HVAC and plumbing, electrical updates, and the accessible restroom. Local support filled in around the grant. The Weston Selectboard helped buy an adjoining piece of land and made yearly contributions to the building fund. The fundraising committee asked more than 100 local residents and homeowners for donations, and about 40 volunteers organized through Friends of the Weston Community sat on fundraising, design-and-build, and oversight committees. The project grew out of a strategic plan that started in 2021, when the board held community meetings and mailed a questionnaire to every address in town.
In that same interview, trustee Linda Saarnijoki summed up the practical change in one line:
"More than anything, we now have the space to expand our vision of what programs we can offer because we no longer have to limit enrollment to the size of our library table!"
She also named the kinds of events the old room couldn't hold: groups meeting at the same time, movie nights, lectures and community discussions.
The opening showed how much demand there was. Library director Faye Mack wrote in a letter to the Chester Telegraph that more than 200 people came for music, ice cream and sweets. Those treats were donated by the Vermont Country Store, Gladys Restaurant at the Hub, the Green Cat Café and Grandma Miller's, and the Weston Volunteer Fire Department also helped with the day. The same letter invited people from surrounding towns to come in and get a library card.
The Room the Green Has Been Missing Since 2023
The extra space matters more this year because of the summer flood of 2023. The Weston Playhouse took on more than 10 feet of water. Under the Weston Community Association's November 2025 update, the building has to be made flood-resilient before it can be approved and fully insured as a public venue, not just repaired. That means moving its electrical, fire-prevention and plumbing systems up from the lower level. The association owns the building, and Weston Theater Company leases it.
WPTZ reported on July 10 that the Playhouse was still not open. The theater company has moved all of its shows to Walker Farm, its smaller second venue. The plan is to reopen the Playhouse eventually and keep its basement clear in case of future floods. General manager Rebecca Marzalek-Kelly told the station, "We're so happy that the theater company had built that space when it did, so, we have a home."
Walker Farm and the library are already sharing programs. Kinhaven's Semester Program brings high school string students to the area in partnership with Burr and Burton Academy. Its students, along with the faculty Trillium String Quartet, played Walker Farm on October 3. On Sunday, October 25, they played the library, in what the library called its first concert in the new space. The library noted that the two programs were different. Before the expansion, the library had no room to host a string quartet and an audience.
Stick Season on Lawrence Hill Road
All of these programs are free and open to everyone, at 24 Lawrence Hill Road.
- Thursday, October 29, 1 to 3 p.m. The fiber arts gathering is a new, informal afternoon for knitting, crochet, embroidery, spinning or mending. No instructor is there, so people help each other. It runs alongside the library's twice-monthly knitting circle, which does have instruction.
- Saturday, October 31, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The library's annual Halloween party includes music, a craft, and spooky story time at 11. Kids can trick-or-treat at the librarian's desk, and the party may move outside if the weather allows.
- Thursday, November 5, 1 to 2 p.m. Local poet Patricia Connelly reads from her new book, "Sacred Pauses." Guests can bring a poem of their own or a favorite to share. Her books are $10, cash or check.
- Saturday, November 7, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Kids make a Thanksgiving felt leaf wreath and hear a reading of Mary Lyn Ray's "Christmas Farm."
- Tuesday, November 10, 5:30 to 7 p.m. Community storytelling night, emceed by Weston's Rob Fish. A few people share prepared five-to-seven-minute stories, followed by an open mic. Anyone who wants to prepare a story can email director Faye Mack at [email protected]. Bringing a snack to share is optional.
Most of these are small, everyday programs: a craft hour, a reading, an evening of neighbors' stories. They were hard to hold in a 740-square-foot room, and that is the change Saarnijoki described.
December Moves Up Main Street
The holiday season follows the same pattern. Weston Theater Company is holding its holiday events December 3 to 5 at Walker Farm, 705 Main Street. The entrance is the driveway at 703 Main.
| Date | Event | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday, Dec. 3, 7 p.m. | A Community Reading of "A Christmas Carol" | Free, reservations required |
| Friday, Dec. 4, 7 p.m. | 9th Annual Weston Winter Cabaret | Ticketed, benefits the Weston Young Company |
| Saturday, Dec. 5, 3:30 p.m. | A Community Reading of "A Christmas Carol" | Free, reservations required |
| Saturday, Dec. 5, 7 p.m. | 9th Annual Weston Winter Cabaret | Ticketed, benefits the Weston Young Company |
Allie Seibold directs the cabaret. The "Christmas Carol" reading runs 60 minutes and was adapted for Weston by Sierra Hitchcock and Charlie Hitchcock. Rebecca Marzalek-Kelly directs it, with live music and a carol sing-along afterward. Donations made with a reservation go to the Weston Fire Department. The theater's holiday events page warns that seating is limited and the events will sell out. Subscribers with early access can reach the box office at 802-824-5288.
Saturday, December 5 is also Christmas in Weston on the Village Green. The theater says details are coming soon.
The Weston Christmas Bazaar, which normally fills the Playhouse the weekend after Thanksgiving, sat out 2025. It has been running for 45 years. In its November 2025 notice, the Weston Community Association said it planned to bring the bazaar back on November 27 and 28, 2026, and posts updates at westoncommunityassn.org.
Planning Around the Quiet Days
With events spread across a few buildings, the closures are as useful to know as the openings. Mildred's Table, the Vermont Country Store's lunch spot at 649 Main Street, is open Wednesday through Monday from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. It is closed Tuesdays, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. The November 10 storytelling night is on a Tuesday, so plan to eat somewhere else first.
Weston Priory, at 58 Priory Hill Road, has Brothers' Retreats on November 17 to 19 and December 15 to 17. During those dates there is no public prayer and the guesthouses are closed. On other weeks, Sunday Eucharist is at 11:30 a.m.
For readers who missed the October 25 concert, the next free event in the new building is Thursday's fiber arts afternoon, from 1 to 3 p.m. at 24 Lawrence Hill Road.
At Wohler Realty Group, we keep a close eye on the places that bring a town together in the off-season, and this winter in Weston that means the library and Walker Farm. For more on the village, visit our Weston neighborhood page. If you have questions about owning a home within walking distance of Main Street, please contact us.
