• The 42,000+ visitors who have toured the house so far this year. I overhear your comments and questions and watch your faces light up as you learn about the Clemens family. Thank you for your sincere interest and enthusiasm.
• Rebecca Floyd and our guides at the visitor center who spend time between tours reading and researching about the Clemens family so they are able to answer questions and share this great American story. They have also singlehandedly raised more than $6,000 for our endowment fund this year.
• Will Perez and the maintenance crew who work hard to keep the grounds beautiful, the structures in good repair, and the atmosphere welcoming and inviting.
• The 150 supporters who received our appeal for operating contributions and generously sent donations.
• Jeff Mainville, Laura Van Dine, and the entire store staff for taking on the project of opening the "Nook Farm Nook" - our new café that gives visitors a place to rest and refresh.
• Jacques Lamarre and his amazing crew for organizing such unforgettable events as an evening with Stephen King, a performance of the Jill and Julia Show, Tom Sawyer Day, and the ice cream social on the lawn. We know how to have fun at the Twain House!
• Lynn Gregor and all of the longtime staff members who are a wealth of knowledge when it comes to institutional memory. Everyone has been so generous in sharing the history of operations of the Twain House. 
• The Trustees who generously share their time, expertise, and financial support. They lead by example.
• Our friends and colleagues in Hannibal, Elmira, and Berkeley who collaborate with us to preserve the legacy of Mark Twain for the world.
• My new friends, neighbors and colleagues in Hartford. Everyone has made me feel welcomed, and I'm happy to call Hartford home.

The MOuTH

Friday, September 13 at 7:30 p.m. with Special Guest Actor/Writer/Whatever Mellini Kantayya

Our exciting new live storytelling program, hosted by Chion Wolf, allows about ten regular folks to fly without notes or a net as they tell us their own story from their own perspective. Friday the 13th has us thinking about tales of LUCK & SERENDIPITY.

TICKETS: $5 - CHEAP!  Available at the door or by reservation at (860) 280-3130.  

AS YOU LIKE IT by William Shakespeare, performed by the world-renowned tragi-comedians THE CASTLE THEATRE COMPANY of Durham University, UK!

Saturday, September 14, 2:00 p.m.

All the world's a stage in this sparkling comedy from The Bard of Avon!  Political usurpers and jealousies threaten the happiness of those living in the Duchy.  When Orlando, Rosalind, Celia and the court jester Touchstone flee into the Forest of Arden, they encounter the pastoral peasants therein.  What ensues is a cross-dressing comedic romp and a romantic rondelet.

In addition, there will be a 1:45 p.m. performance of A Love Chase--based on Susy Clemens' play--by the Connecticut Ballet Theater.

On the lawn of The Mark Twain House, 351 Farmington Avenue, Hartford!  Bringeth lawn furniture and blankets!

Rain or shine! FREE WILL (Shakespeare) OFFERING ACCEPTED!

STORYTELLING WITH TOM LEE

September 22 Event at 2:00 p.m. Is The First of Four Sunday Afternoon Tellings of Tales

  Spellbinding stories will be relayed with consummate skill by Master-Storyteller-in-Residence Tom Lee.  September 22 is the first of a series of "Grown-Up Storytime" appearances by the noted storyteller for adults, who has thrilled audiences at the museum in past years.  

The first story is Gilgamesh: Love, Death & Power in Ancient Iraq.  One of the world's oldest stories, Gilgamesh is a thrilling epic in which a reckless king seeks to overpower death and become immortal. In the process, he confronts all that it is to be human. Tom Lee presented this program in the reconstructed throne room of King Ashurnasirpal at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

This program is not suitable for children; Admission $15; 90 minutes, call 860-280-3130 for tickets.

TAPPING INTO TWAIN: OKTOBERFEST BEER TASTING

Friday, September 27, 5:30-9:30 p.m.

Our biggest party of the year!  It's our salute to a range of fine regional artisanal brews, along with great local cuisine, great music and great companionship.  The Hartford Advocate called this "absolutely, positively, without any doubt whatever, one of the best charitable events Hartford has beheld in quite some time."

Tickets (including a Mark Twain pint glass!) are $50 at door, $45 in advance, $40 for members, and $20 for designated drivers. Call 860-280-3130 soon--it sells out fast!

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE MANY EVENTS TAKING PLACE AT THE MARK TWAIN HOUSE & MUSEUM, PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE.