Beals Memorial Library one step closer to new children's room with Beals Con donations

Emilia Cardona, Gardner News
·2 min read

WINCHENDON-- A new and improved children's room in the basement of the Beals Memorial Library is one step closer to reality thanks to over $500 in donations raised during the library's own mini comic convention, called Beals Con, this weekend.

“We're going to need all the money we can get to transform the basement into the new children's room in the next five-plus years,” Alexis Chanthachack, the library's senior technician, said.

Chanthachack said before the event that if they met their goal of raising $500, the kids would get to throw water balloons at the library's director.

On Saturday, June 4, the Beals Memorial Library wrapped up the Beals con event with an announcement that the library was able to raise $515 and to celebrate the accomplishment kids could volunteer to throw water balloons at the library director and the two event organizers.
On Saturday, June 4, the Beals Memorial Library wrapped up the Beals con event with an announcement that the library was able to raise $515 and to celebrate the accomplishment kids could volunteer to throw water balloons at the library director and the two event organizers.

Kayla Charlonne, the assistant library technician, said the library has wanted to make the basement into the an improved children's room for a while now. While it may be a few years out, she has an idea of what she'd like it to look like.

"I know my dream is to have more space for the middle grade chapter books because the YA section gets tight so quickly, we're always having to discard books," Charlonne said. "I'd like to not have to discard books so often and I'd like to have them in our collection for longer."

The Beals Memorial Library basement is a space that is currently used for book storage and the Friends of Beals Library's ongoing fundraiser. The co-organizers of Beals con, Chanthachack and Charlonne, both have visions to make the basement space into an improved children's room.
The Beals Memorial Library basement is a space that is currently used for book storage and the Friends of Beals Library's ongoing fundraiser. The co-organizers of Beals con, Chanthachack and Charlonne, both have visions to make the basement space into an improved children's room.

Right now, the Friends of the Beals Library book sale takes up the basement space of the library, where donated and discarded books are sold and the proceeds go to the new children's room project.

The idea for Beals Con started with Chanthachack and Charlonne, but was put off for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their visions was for a small comic con for the fantasy, mythology, and comic book-loving community in Winchendon.

“Technically, this is this first year of us doing [Beals Con]. But two years ago, our summer reading program theme was fantasy and mythology,” Charlonne said. “Then we thought of doing a comic convention to expand the idea because we wanted to create a safe and fun event where people in town who also are into fantasy, mythology, video games, comics, sci-fi, and all that stuff come together.”

Several events and activities that ranged from wizard wand crafting, and a marionette show, to a cosplay costume contest, were spread all through the backyard of the library, the auditorium, and the board of trustees room.

On Saturday, June 4, the first "Beals con" was held in the Winchendon Beals Memorial library, there were several activities, performances, and raffles for people of all ages including a wizard wand crafting station in the board of trustees room.
On Saturday, June 4, the first "Beals con" was held in the Winchendon Beals Memorial library, there were several activities, performances, and raffles for people of all ages including a wizard wand crafting station in the board of trustees room.

There were donation collection bins all throughout the library during the event for attendees to donate whatever they wanted.

According to Chanthachack the event was a success, with 128 people attending the event and the library was able to reach their goal with $515 in dotations.

Neither Chanthachack nor Charlonne is sure when the next Beals Con will be held but both would like to organize another one at some point in the next year.

“We were thinking that if we were going to do it, we would do it like every other year and possibly move it to the fall," Chanthachack said.

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Beals Memorial Library in Winchendon raises $500 with comic con event