Staff Report

CHESAPEAKE — Already the Christmas tree and other decorations are up at the Briggs Libraries as each branch makes plans for holiday entertainment and parties.

On Tuesday, Dec. 9, South Point’s Dan Mahoney will pay his mountain lap dulcimer. Associated with the Appalachian hills and Elizabethean ballads, the dulcimer is basically a fretted zither with a narrow fingerboard on a larger soundbox underneath.

Once an instrument almost exclusively of the mountains, when the 1950s folk music surge began, the dulcimer gained in popularity.

Mahoney plays with the local group Stoneybrooke and will perform an eclectic concert of ballads, classical music and traditional Christmas songs. The concert will be at 6:30 at the Chesapeake branch on County Road 1.

The next week also at the Chesapeake branch will be a “Gift Wrapping Party” where all participants have to do is show up with their gifts.

The library will be providing ribbons, bows, tags and wrapping paper. Wrappers can learn how to make a package worthy of Bloomies, or at least get the bows to curl the right way.

This is a free program and is open to the public. The Chesapeake gift wrapping party will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13.

A similar event will be at the Proctorville branch at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 16.

Also on Tuesday, Dec. 16, at noon will be a holiday Brown Bag Concert with Fay Marie Reinhardt at the Southern Branch, Solida Road, South Point.

Those interested can bring their lunch and listen to classical music and Christmas songs.

Beverages and dessert will be provided.

Also procrastinators will get a holiday break until Dec. 12 if they participate in the mitten tree. All branches are accepting donations of new mittens, gloves, scarves or hats for people of all ages. The items will decorate the Mitten Trees in the various branches for two week. Then they will be donated to charities in the area for Christmas baskets.

Also donations of nonperishable food will be accepted. For each item donated, up to $5 in fines will be waived on outstanding library fines from returned overdue items.

Even if you don’t owe fines, your donations will be graciously accepted. This year, anyone who makes a donation who doesn’t owe fines will receive a one-time use coupon entitling them to have up to $5.00 in outstanding fines waived.