Events for: 2025-2026

For most of its 200-year history, Lowell has been the home of immigrants. While growing up in the city’s Franco-American community, Jack Kerouac knew people from many groups: Irish, Italian, Greek, Eastern European, Asian, among others. Immigrants and their families figure prominently in his novels that take place in Lowell. When he wrote about traveling in America and across international borders, he showcased a great variety of people and their cultures, especially the migrants. The speaker will show how Kerouac painted the entire world as a place where migrants are true citizens.

Born and raised in Lowell, Todd M. Casey is fascinated by the history and culture of colonial America. Through his travels through historic cities, he is inspired by the richness of vintage objects and incorporates the myriad of items and antiquated narratives he collects into his paintings. Todd’s artistic education includes a BFA in Communication Design from the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston.

Bernice Burkarth, MD, is the Tufts Medicine Care at Home Chief Medical Officer. She will share her perspective on end-of-life care and provide education on the difference between palliative care and hospice care. Burkarth received the prestigious Heart of Hospice award in September of 2024 at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s Annual Conference.

Julia Fox Garrison is a seasoned keynote speaker and the bestselling author of Don’t Leave Me This Way (or when I get back on my feet you’ll be sorry), HarperCollins Publishers. The book chronicles her struggle to regain control over her life and her body following a massive hemorrhage resulting in a paralyzing stroke. As Julia claims, she has been hospitalized so many times she has earned a PhD (Personal Healthcare Discoveries) - -a blueprint for how not to let the system dictate the direction, pace, and objectives of one’s recovery.

In the spring of 1861, President Abraham Lincoln put out a call for volunteers to suppress the secessionist rebellion brewing in the south. As a result, thousands of men from local communities like Concord, Acton, and Lowell answered the call as “Minute Men.” Grecco will focus on the Minutemen of 1861 and their connection to the Minutemen of 1775, 86 years earlier. The focus will be on Lowell’s contribution to the war effort in 1861, tying in the socio-economic make up of Lowell in that period and their reliance on the cotton industry and chattel slavery system in the American south.

Nicholas G. Evans, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. A 2020-2023 Greenwall Foundation Faculty Scholar, he currently conducts research on the ethics of emerging technologies, with a focus on national security issues. Evans is a recognized expert in public health ethics, writing on the ethics of social distancing, research ethics during health emergencies, and the use of force in pandemic response.

Edward F. Davis has been in law enforcement for 35 years. He served as the 40th Police Commissioner of the City of Boston from December 2006 until October 2013. Commissioner Davis was Boston’s lead police official during the tragic Marathon bombing and testified before Congress about the bombing and lessons learned. Prior to that, Davis was the Superintendent of the Lowell Police Department, a position he held for 12 years and one he rose to after starting out as a patrol officer in 1978.

Mariana Iranzi is a professional bassist, composer, educator, and performer based in New York City. Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, she took her first steps into the world of music by the influence of her Great Grandfather Julio De Caro, a worldly recognized Tango composer, who gave her one of his precious pianos as a gift.

Singer, emcee, puppeteer, and magician — Harry and his monster friends are always the life of the party. Harry and Good News Gus has received accolades from both party-goers and professional groups alike. With young and old, Harry's high-energy interactive entertainment is sure to bring laughter, energy, and warm, fuzzy feelings!

Robert Clarke (Boston Magician Juggler) trained under "The Suspenders," a juggling group from his hometown in Cape Cod. In 1997, he started street performing seven days a week and understanding how to work all types of crowds - young and old. He has performed in Canada, Singapore, and about 40 states in the U.S.