Events for: 2016-2017

Dan Rea, a veteran Boston television journalist is the Host of NightSide on WBZ News Radio 1030 every weeknight from 8:00pm to midnight. NightSide focuses on a wide variety of issues, political, economic and social. Rea believes that talk radio is the best way for people to communicate their opinions and ideas on what he calls “North America’s Virtual Back Porch”. Rea encourages challenging conversations and diverse ideas combined with respect and tolerance for the opinion of others. But don’t think for a moment that NightSide is anything but provocative, always interesting and at times, passionate and emotional.

Join wildlife rehabilitator Tom Ricardi for his ever popular presentation on birds of prey. This program is designed for all ages. Tom will share the natural history of these magnificent birds, demonstrate some of their unique behaviors and inspire children of all ages to appreciate, respect and conserve these important members of our wild kingdom. Tom Ricardi is a licensed rehabilitator and wildlife biologist. He runs Massachusetts Birds of Prey Rehabilitation Center in Conway, MA, and is now retired after 40 years of service as a Massachusetts Environmental Conservation police officer.

A The summer of 2017 will mark the completion of USS Constitution’s dry docking and second 21^st century restoration.  Join Margherita M. Desy, maritime museum curator and USS Constitution historian, and learn about the U.S. Navy’s 20^th and 21^st century preservation efforts to restore and maintain “Old Ironsides”, America’s official Ship of State for future generations. Margherita M. Desy has been a museum curator and maritime historian for over 30 years.  She has worked at Mystic Seaport Museum, the USS Constitution Museum, and currently for the U.S. Navy as historian for USS Constitution, "Old Ironsides."

John H Sununu was the 75th Governor of New Hampshire and served at White House Chief of Staff to President George H. W. Bush from 1989-1992. After leaving the White House he started JHS Associates, Ltd, an international strategic business consulting firm, where he has served as President and CEO. From 1992 until 1998, he co-hosted CNN’s nightly “Crossfire” program, a news/public affairs discussion program. In 2010 he served as Chairman of the NHGOP and in 2012 was a prominent Romney campaign surrogate and steering committee member. In this major reassessment of George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41st president of the United States, his former Chief of Staff offers a long overdue appreciation of the man and his universally underrated and misunderstood presidency. “I’m a quiet man, but I hear the quiet people others don’t.”—George H. W. Bush. In this unique insider account, John H. Sununu pays tribute to his former boss—an intelligent, thoughtful, modest leader—and his overlooked accomplishments. The program begins at 11:45 with a light buffet lunch. Reservations are required. To reserve a seat, contact: Mehmed Ali,   mehmed_ali@uml.edu.   978-934-5467 (office)

The Romantic aesthetic of the 1810 -1860 period embraced the imagination - combining history, nature, religion, and terror into a fascinating mélange expressed in the clothing of the era and influencing fashion design to the present day. The Romantic Movement rejected Enlightenment reason, and embraced instead the imagination and the unknown. Costume of the early 19th century integrates the elements of history, imagination, religion, and even landscape central to the Romantic sensibility. Lynne Z. Bassett examines these influences on women’s clothing from 1810 – 1860, alongside fine and decorative arts of the period and how Romanticism forms the roots of today’s Goth and Steampunk fashion movements.

In this first-person presentation, professional storyteller Judith Black presents Lucy Stone, the woman many called “the shining star” of the anti-slavery and Woman’s Rights movements. Experience the mid-19th century through the eyes of a Massachusetts woman who dared to speak in public to sway public sentiment about the two most controversial issues of her time: slavery and the legal subordination of women. This fight would outlive Lucy Stone, but forever carry her words, organization, commitment, and vision. RSVP by e-mail to: TIHC@uml.edu This presentation is part of a series of events celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Tsongas Industrial History Center, a partnership of Lowell National Historical Park and the UMass Lowell Graduate School of Education.  Also part of Lowell Women’s Week 2017.

For over three hundred years America’s lighthouses have kept countless ships from wrecking, save untold lives, and contributed to the growth and prosperity of our nation. Eric Jay Dolin will give us a guided tour of America’s lighthouses. He will cover all aspects of the evolution of our lighthouse system and the people who kept them running and the families that lived at them. It is a riveting tale of nasty political battles, technological innovations, natural disasters and war. The story of America thru the prism of its beloved coastal sentinels.

FALL CONCERT Inspiring the greater Lowell community with quality musical performances since 1987, the Lowell Philharmonic Orchestra continues to provide audiences with lively classical and pops music each season. We offer casual, lighthearted concerts, making audiences of all ages comfortable and engaged. Comprised of passionate semi-professional and amateur musicians, the LPO not only offers an outlet for local talent, but fosters future generations of musicians and music lovers by actively encouraging area youth to become involved with local music. The LPO enriches youth through the appreciation of concerts, skill development, and showcasing local young musicians’ excellence. Featuring Patrick Lu, piano soloist, under the direction of Valerie Taylor

The greatest sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation, Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907) secured his place in the pantheon of American artists with his dynamic portrayals of Civil War heroes. This survey of the life and work of the influential sculptor, from his first commission, Admiral David Farragut Monument to his final work, General Sherman Monument, presents a special focus on his heroic yet compassionate Abe Lincoln: The Man (or “Standing Lincoln”) and the magisterial Shaw Memorial/54^th Massachusetts Regiment on the Boston Common. Jack Curtis, a writer and editor, focuses on history, art history, socio-political, and literary themes. His essays and features have run in publications such as Boston Globe, Art New England, Harvard magazine, and Technology Review. He has a Masters in European History from UCLA and lives in Brookline, MA.

The Duquesne University Tamburitzans are the longest-running multicultural song and dance company in the United States. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the company's members are full-time Duquesne University students who receive scholarships for their activities. The Tamburitzans mission is twofold: first, to provide deserving students an education; second, to perpetuate the varying folk cultures and traditions of Eastern Europe.

From sports to politics, food to finance, to bitter disputes over simple boundaries themselves, New England’s feuds have peppered the region’s life for centuries. Ted Reinstein has been a reporter for “Chronicle,” WCVB-TV/Boston’s award winning nightly news magazine since 1997. In this talk he will share some fascinating stories that have shaped the area itself.

Gallagher, will read and discuss his new book, Loom.  Loom traces how the men who built the backbone of American capitalism—the power loom that enabled cotton manufacturing—fueled slavery and the removal of Native Americans from the eastern United States. After decades of defending their “unholy alliance” against abolitionists, the Boston elite saw the Fugitive Slave Act as a step too far and became “stark mad abolitionists.” LOOM is inspired, derived, and adapted from the memoirs and correspondences of antebellum Boston, Lowell, and Lawrence elites and abolitionists, as well as southern plantation owners, governors, and the slaves themselves. Dr. Kevin P. Gallagher is a Professor of Global Development Policy at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, where he co-directs the Global Economic Governance Initiative and the Global Development Policy Program.

In 2013, Wendy Johnston decided to take a hike, more accurately a 2,700 mile journey of a life time. Wendy hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, the same trail Cheryl Strayed wrote about in her book “Wild”. After her 5 month long hike, Wendy decided to share what she learned. Living and walking on a long trail for months where so much of the external stimuli is eliminated, allows for time and space to receive lessons. The story she tells is personal, spiritual, and ultimately about reclaiming one’s life.

Mike Rezendes is an award-winning investigative reporter with the Boston Globe Spotlight Team. In 2003, he shared a Pulitzer Prize for revealing the cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and is played by Mark Ruffalo in the Academy Award-winning film, “Spotlight.” Mike will discuss the Spotlight Team’s investigation of the Church, the role of investigative reporting in a democracy, and his experiences during the making of “Spotlight.” The program begins at 11:45 with a light buffet lunch. Reservations are required. To reserve a seat, contact: Mehmed Ali,   mehmed_ali@uml.edu.   978-934-5467 (office)

Part of Lowell Celebrates Kerouac Festival. Jack Kerouac was remarkable athlete, by any standard. He was a champion sprinter and hurdler, a speedy baseball outfielder, and a gridiron phenom. In this talk, writer Jay Atkinson sheds light on Kerouac’s athletic prowess and its influence on its work. A former two sport college athlete, Atkinson is the author of two novels, a story collection, and five narrative nonfiction books. Atkinson teaches writing at Boston University.

Author, award-winning television reporter, teacher, consultant and public speaker, David Ropeik will explain why most of us worry too much about some things, and not enough about others. This will serve as a guide to understanding why our fears don’t match the facts. The program begins at 11:45 with a light buffet lunch. Reservations are required. To reserve a seat, contact: Mehmed Ali, mehmed_ali@uml.edu.   978-934-5467

Frozen in Time is a true story of survival, bravery, and honor in the vast Arctic wilderness during World War II. A B-17 assigned to the search and rescue mission became lost in a blinding storm and also crashed. Miraculously, all nine men on the B-17 survived. With the weather worsening, the U.S. military launched a daring rescue mission, sending a Grumman Duck amphibious plane to find them. After picking up one member of the B-17 crew, the Duck flew into a severe storm, and the plane and the three men aboard vanished. In this thrilling, true-life adventure, Mitchell Zuckoff offers a spellbinding account of these harrowing crashes and the fate of the survivors and would-be saviors.

As a Fox Trial Finder Ambassador, Susan Mollohan of Derry NH helps to spread the word about the importance of participating in clinical trials, using a data base tool developed by the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson Research. A former educator, she now teaches about Parkinson's disease, how it affects patients and their caregivers. As a cyclist in the New England Parkinson's Ride, she will talk about her experiences in that ride which helps raise donations for research.

Steven Hancoff will take you on a journey to see how Johann Sebastian Bach, a poor, unappreciated and tormented orphan transformed himself into the greatest virtuoso of his time. Half of the presentation is devoted to the historic story of Bach, his family, Felix Mendelssohn’s contribution to rescuing and resurrecting the music of Bach, and Pablo Casals almost miraculous discovery of the Cello Suites. With video, music and pictures, Hancoff will describe how it became his mission to transform these treasures into guitar pieces.

An amazing eye popping brilliant physical performance from the internationally trained and toured duo known as The Red Trouser Show will leave you in awe! Do not miss this show!

Sophisticated melodies, precise instrumentation and witty lyrics that will delight the whole family!