Mid-July 2014 eNews

JULY EVENTS

For more details on all our events, please visit our website.

BOOK/MARK: Longbourn with author Jo Baker

Wednesday, July 16, 7:00 p.m.

 

In this irresistibly imagined belowstairs answer to Pride and Prejudice, the servants take center stage. Sarah, the orphaned housemaid, spends her days scrubbing the laundry, polishing the floors, and emptying the chamber pots for the Bennet household. But there is just as much romance, heartbreak, and intrigue downstairs at Longbourn as there is upstairs. When a mysterious new footman arrives, the orderly realm of the servants' hall threatens to be completely, perhaps irrevocably, upended. Followed by a book sale and signing.

 

This is a free event, but reservations are suggested. Call (860) 280-3130 or click here.

 

 

Twain's Companions & Cohorts: A Walking Tour of Cedar Hill Cemetery with Steve Courtney

Saturday, July 19, 10:00 a.m. at the flagpole, Cedar Hill Cemetery, 453 Fairfield Ave., Hartford

 

Our annual collaboration with the Cedar Hill Cemetery Foundation explores Hartford's extraordinary Victorian burial ground, an outdoor museum of the Gilded Age. Although Mark Twain is buried in Elmira, N.Y., many of his Hartford friends and associates found their final resting place in Cedar Hill's beautiful grounds. On this hour-and-a-half walking tour, hear the extraordinary stories of some brilliant individuals, some feisty characters and a crank or two. Steve Courtney, biographer of Mark Twain's Hartford friend Joe Twichell and author of two books on the Mark Twain House, leads the tour. "Your sponsored tour this past summer at the Cedar Hill Cemetery was one of the best tours we have taken," wrote a visitor. "We would love to return there. The historian who led the tour was fantastic!"

 

$5.00, payable at the site of the tour; no reservations, just show up!

 

 

Amy Goodman - The Silenced Majority: Stories of Uprisings, Occupations, Resistance and Hope

Monday, July 21, 7:00 p.m.

 

As host and producer of "Democracy Now!", a daily, international news program, Amy Goodman provides the public with free, diverse, and independent access to people and viewpoints rarely heard in mainstream media. Her work as an investigative reporter and journalist has been recognized by the Associated Press, United Press International, and PULSE who named her one of the Top 20 Global Media Figures in 2009.  Followed by a book sale and signing.  Presented in partnership with Heartbeat Ensemble.  Author series sponsored by The Hartford.

 
$20, $15 for MTH&M members. Call (860) 280-3130 or click here.

  


Book Launch! The Virtues of Oxygen by Susan Schoenberger

Tuesday, July 22, 7:00 p.m. (6:30 p.m. reception)

 

The Mark Twain House & Museum is proud to host the launch of award-winning author and Twain writing instructor Susan Schoenberger's brand new novel, The Virtues Of Oxygen.

From the acclaimed author of A Watershed Year comes a heartrending story of unlikely bonds made under dire straits as two women forge an alliance that may just offer each an unexpected salvation. Followed by a book sale and signing.

  

This is a free event, but reservations are suggested. Call (860) 280-3130 or click here.

 

 

  

6th Annual Ice Cream Social!

Thursday, July 24, 5:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.

 

I scream, you scream, line up for ice cream, as The Mark Twain House & Museum invites the neighbors in for its 6th Annual Free Ice Cream Social on the patio. Enjoy free ice cream from the UConn Dairy Bar and Royal Ice Cream of Manchester and sundaes whipped up by The Friends of The Mark Twain House & Museum. There will be music, a scavenger hunt, lawn games, discounted tours of the first floor of The Mark Twain House, and much more. Generous support provided by the Evelyn W. Preston Memorial Trust Fund, Bank of America, Trustee.  Thanks also to UConn Department of Dining Services and Royal Ice Cream of Manchester.

 
This is a free event.

 

 

Following the Ice Cream Social is our GET A CLUE Tours!

Thursday, July 24, Tours step off every 15 minutes beginning at 7:00 p.m. 

 

Who killed that varmint Pap Finn??? Play our live-action version of the classic game CLUE in The Mark Twain House. Was it Becky Thatcher with the revolver in the conservatory? The Prince (or was it the Pauper?) with the knife in the library? This hour long tour features SEA TEA IMPROV as Twain's beloved characters/suspects and all the murder, mayhem and merriment one would expect from Sam Clemens! Featured on the Travel Channel show "Wackiest Tours!"


$22, $17 for MTH&M members, and $15 for children 16 and under (recommended ages 10 and up).  Please call (860) 280-3130 for more information & ticketing, or click here.

 

  

Graveyard Shift Ghost Tours

Friday, July 25 and Saturday, July 26, 6:00, 7:00, 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. 

 

We reprise our popular Graveyard Shift Ghost Tours for some summer chills. The Mark Twain House has been featured on Syfy Channel's Ghost Hunters and the Biography Channel's My Ghost Story. On these tours participants will hear about these investigations -- and learn about Mark Twain's own interest in the supernatural. Filled with haunted history, dark tales and Victorian traditions surrounding seances and spiritualism, these nighttime tours are as educational as they are goosebump-inducing. They sell out fast, so be sure to call soon to make your reservations!  Tsponsored by Tsunami Tsolutions.

 

$22, $17 for MTH&M members, and $15 for children 16 and under (recommended ages 10 and up).  Please call (860) 280-3130 for more information & ticketing, or click here.

 

 

 

BOOK/MARK: Book launch of The Great Abraham Lincoln Pocket Watch Conspiracy: A Novel by Jacopo della Quercia

Thursday, July 31, 7:00 p.m.

 

This historical thriller is an equal-parts cocktail of action, adventure, science-fiction and comedy. The book follows a globe-trotting President Taft and Robert Todd Lincoln in a race to solve a mystery stretching back to the Civil War and the Lincoln assassination. Based on true events, readers will find themselves swept into a vast conspiracy spanning four continents and three oceans during the turn of the century. Fascinating technologies will be harnessed, dark secrets revealed, true villains exposed, and some of the most famous figures in history will take the stage. With surprises lurking around every corner, and a vast cast of characters to root for, Jacopo della Quercia's The Great Abraham Lincoln Pocket Watch Conspiracy is a heart-pounding adventure that only history could have made possible. Followed by a book sale and signing.

 

This is a free event, but reservations are suggested. Call (860) 280-3130 or click here.
 

 

AND COMING UP IN AUGUST!

 

An Evening with Ralph Nader

Thursday, August 14 at 7:00 p.m.

(VIP reception at 5:30 p.m. for an additional cost--see below)

 

Ralph Nader was recently named by The Atlantic as one of the 100 most influential figures in American history, one of only four living people to be so honored. The son of immigrants from Lebanon, he has launched two major presidential campaigns and founded or organized more than one hundred civic organizations. His groups have made an impact on tax reform, atomic power regulation, the tobacco industry, clean air and water, food safety, access to health care, civil rights, congressional ethics, and much more. He will be talking about his life and career, as well as his new book Unstoppable: The Emerging Left-Right Alliance to Dismantle the Corporate State. Author series supported by The Hartford. 

 
$30, $25 for MTH&M members. A $65 ticket includes a pre-event reception with Ralph Nader starting at 5:30 p.m.  Call (860) 280-3130 or click here

 

 

 


TOM SAWYER'S TREASURE HUNT!

 

We've made a fun addition--for children--to our House Tours.  It's Tom Sawyer's Treasure Hunt, which helps keep kids engaged and excited about the house as they tour it.  We have two versions: an "I Spy" edition for kids 6 and under, and a "quiz" edition for kids 7 - 12 (complete with secret message that has to be decoded). Tom Sawyer's Treasure Hunt is free with paid tour admission!

 

 

 


SAVE THE DATE!


 

Mark Twain House & Museum Members will receive early information on how to purchase tickets.  To become a Member and support  the legacy of Mark Twain , please click here.

 

 


JULY WRITING COURSES FOR TEENS

 

Fiction for Teens with Leslie Connor (for ages 14-17)

July 14-17, 5:00 to 7:00 PM

 

Inspired By: Using Actual Events to Spark Fiction with Steven Parlato (for ages 14-17)

July 14-17, 5:00 to 7:00 PM

 

Writing Your Identity with Erin McNamara (for ages 11-14)

July 21-24, 5:00 to 7:00 PM

 

Critiquing Your Writing with Lauren Baratz-Logsted (for ages 14-17)

July 21-24, 5:00 to 7:00 PM

 

Fee is $120.00 for each course and is non-refundable (service fees apply).  Each course meets for 4 consecutive days at the Mark Twain Museum Center.  For more information, please click here.

 

 


 

FREE ADMISSION FOR MILITARY FAMILIES THROUGH LABOR DAY

  


The Mark Twain House participates in the Blue Star Museum Program -- a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than 2,000 museums across America. The program runs from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

 

This free admission program is available to any bearer of a Geneva Convention common access card (CAC), a DD Form 1173 ID card (dependent ID), or a DD Form1173-1 ID card, which includes active duty U.S. military - Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, as well as members of the National Guard and Reserve, U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, NOAA Commissioned Corps - and up to five family members.

 

There's more information here.

  


JOIN The Mark Twain House & Museum!

 

Enjoy the special insider benefits of membership in The Mark Twain House & Museum. And there's the sheer joy of being part of the legacy of Mark Twain, whose wit and insight remain alive today in 2014 -- over 150 years after Sam Clemens took on his famous pen name and entered history.

 

Submit our easy-to-use, secure online membership form or simply call 860-280-3112.

 

Make a DONATION Today!

 

Your donation to The Mark Twain House & Museum has a major impact on our ability to preserve this beautiful home, provide crucial educational programs for thousands of schoolchildren, offer mind-stimulating and spine-tingling events for adults, and welcome thousands of visitors each year. 

 

 ...and make your donation count double: Find out if your employer has a Matching Gift program.

 

Donate online, call 860-280-3112, or send your donation to: The Mark Twain House & Museum, Development Department, 351 Farmington Avenue, Hartford, Connecticut 06105.

 

Join the FRIENDS!

 

The Friends of The Mark Twain House & Museum offer wonderful speaking events, social gatherings, and fun volunteer opportunities. Pony up $30 and you'll get it all, too!

 

It's the volunteer organization that has supported the museum for more than 50 years. To join, call Membership Co-Chairs Chuck Paydos, 860-242-4825, or Dee Peters, 860-233-4066.

 

 

 

The Mark Twain House & Museum has restored the author's Hartford, Connecticut, home, where the author and his family lived from 1874 to 1891. Twain wrote his most important works there, including Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. In addition to providing tours of Twain's restored home, a National Historic Landmark, the institution offers activities and educational programs that illuminate Twain's literary legacy and provide information about his life and times. The house and museum at 351 Farmington Ave. are open Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., and Sunday, 11:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. For more information, call 860-247-0998 or visit us online. Programs at The Mark Twain House & Museum are supported by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts, and the Greater Hartford Arts Council's United Arts Campaign.

 

David Cash, Publicist and Publications Editor 

Mark Twain House & Museum

 

 

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