Celebrating
Over 100 Years!

Learn With Us in Lowell, MA


Next Event: Dec 3

Steven Collins & Poornima Kirby: “A Christmas Carol”

Learn More »

Parker Lecture Commitee

John Carson
Chairperson
William Samaras
Brian Martin
Paul F. Lappin
Executive Secretary

Ex-Officio

Michael Fiato
Head of Lowell High School
Julie Chen, Ph.D.
Chancelor, UMass Lowell
Sokhary Chau
Mayor, City of Lowell

In Cooperation with:

Boarding House Park
40 French St.
Pollard Memorial Library
401 Merrimack St.
Lowell National Park Visitor Center
246 Market St.
New England Quilt Museum
18 Shattuck St.
Donahue Family Academic Arts Center
240 Central St.
Luna Theater, Mill 5
250 Jackson St.

2023-2024 Events

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Wednesday
8/9
2023
11:00 am

Koliba Afropop

Koliba brings together musicians from places like Senegal, Mozambique, and Guinea. Dancing and singing along to their African songs and dances, Koliba will surely bring the audiences to their feet with their electrifying and rhythmic performance.
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Thursday
8/10
2023
11:00 am

Ben Rudnick & Friends

“Ben Rudnick & Friends” play the hippest family music around. With countless awards to their credit, including seven Parent’s Choice awards, their high-energy blend of happy, upbeat acoustic music is guaranteed to entertain the entire family. Bending musical styles from...
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Wednesday
8/16
2023
11:00 am

Stevie Kidding Magic Comedy

The Ridiculous Magician! Stevie delights audiences with hilarious, interactive, and quirky magic shows for children of all ages. Stevie engages and excites audiences with off-the-charts energy, laugh-out-loud comedy, and tons of audience participation.
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Thursday
9/14
2023
6:00 pm

Erika Nichols-Frazer: “Destigmatizing Mental Health”

In her memoir, Feed Me: A Story of Food, Love and Mental Illness, author Erika Nichols-Frazer writes about learning to cope with bipolar disorder, an eating disorder, and alcohol addiction in her family through the healing power of food and community. She...
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Saturday
9/23
2023
1:00 pm

Susan Gaylord “Art Meets Nature: The Spirit Books”

Artist Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord made her first Spirit Book in 1992 and coined the name for the series which now numbers 101. The Spirit Books merge her response to the mystery and miracle of nature with the long-standing tradition of...
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Thursday
9/28
2023
6:00 pm

Catherine Marenghi: “Our Good Name”

Our Good Name is the story of Stefano and his young bride Celestina, both Italian immigrants who leave behind the back-breaking field labor in their beloved Northern Italy to find their place in a strange new country. Inspired by true...
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Thursday
10/5
2023
6:00 pm

Tom Burke: “Evil must not have the Last Word: The Life of Mary Wygodski”

The life of Mary Wygodski is a first person account of a woman who lost her entire immediate family in the Holocaust. She survived three concentration camps, made her way to Israel where she took part in the War of...
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Saturday
10/7
2023
2:00 pm

Paul Marion: “Jack Kerouac’s Evolving Position in Lowell 1950-2023”

In the Keynote Address for the “Lowell Celebrates Kerouac!” Literary Festival, Paul Marion will discuss the evolving public perception of 20th-century author Jack Kerouac in his hometown, examining the dynamic relationship between an innovative, news-making writer and the city that...
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Sunday
10/22
2023
2:00 pm

Fran Coughlin: “On The Corner of Liberty and South Loring”

Discover the heartwarming tale of the Coughlin family as they navigate three decades of life in a former mill city on the brink of rebirth. Fran will take you on a journey through his family’s experiences, sharing personal and poignant...
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Thursday
11/2
2023
6:00 pm

Tom Toohey: “Saving the Stories”

Tom Toohey is a modern day Irish storyteller who has traveled to Ireland 20 times and collected hundreds of stories. Every week more facts become available on the internet about our ancestors. These facts are like the skeletons of our...
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Sunday
11/5
2023
1:00 pm

David Abel: “Entangled”

“ENTANGLED” is an award winning, feature-length film about how climate change has accelerated a collision between one of the world’s most endangered species, North America’s most valuable fishery, and a federal agency mandated to protect both.  The film, by the...
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Sunday
11/12
2023
2:00 pm

Meg Muckenhoupt: “The Truth about Baked Beans: how New England was created”

What is included in "New England's Top Ten Foods" lists, and who made the list? Join Meg Muckenhoupt, author of “The Truth about Baked Beans” for a talk about the history of New England's food, immigration, tourism, and how ideas about identity...
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Sunday
12/3
2023
2:00 pm

Steven Collins & Poornima Kirby: “A Christmas Carol”

Join actors Stephen Collins and Poornima Kirby for a funny, heartfelt journey through Charles’ Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol.  This 1-hour adaptation shows Ebenezer Scrooge’s transformation from a grumpy, selfish misanthrope to a generous, wise and kindly man, full of the...
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Thursday
4/4
2024
6:00 pm

John Kozik: “The History of the Ouija board”

John Kozik’s obsession with collecting and researching Ouija began when he inherited his grandmother’s board in the late 1990’s. He was surprised to discover that Ouija was simply one specific brand of Talking Board, and that they date much further...
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Sunday
4/7
2024
2:00 pm

Charlie Gargiulo: “Legends of Little Canada”

On the cusp of being a teenager, Charlie Gargiulo lived through the destruction of his Little Canada community of Lowell in the 1960”s.  His memoir tells that experience through his eyes as he lived it. A legendary community organizer, he...
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Thursday
5/16
2024
6:00 pm

Andrew Krivak: “Like the Appearance of Horses”

Andrew Krivak is the author of four novels: “The Bear” a coming of age fable about the last person on Earth, which begins: “The last two were a girl and her father who lived along the old eastern range on...