WELCOME TO OUR EARLY APRIL eNEWS
Hello to all of our fellow Twainiacs! We had an incredibly busy February and March. With the promise of warmth and Spring, we're gearing up for even more great things in April including a very special APRIL FOOL'S twist on our already twisted CLUE TOURS, a volunteer open house, free book events, and more. We hope you will take a few moments to read about everything we have in store for you. As we say here at The Mark Twain House & Museum, MARK your calendars!
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EARLY APRIL EVENTS For more details on all our events, please visit our website.
CLUE Tours! - April Fool's Edition!
Wednesday, April 1. Tours step off every 15 minutes beginning at 7:00 p.m. Reservations required.
Play our live-action version of the classic game CLUE in the Mark Twain House. Our special, one night only April Fool's edition features some very unusual weapons and suspects--NOT what and who you'd expect! This hour long tour features SEA TEA IMPROV as the suspects--and all the murder, mayhem and merriment one would expect in a whodunit. Featured on the Travel Channel show Wackiest Tours! Generously sponsored by Webster Bank.
Reservations required. $22, $17 for MTH&M members, and $13 for children 16 and under. Please call (860) 280-3130 or click here.
BOOK/MARK: A Kim Jong-Il Production: The Extraordinary True Story of a Kidnapped Filmmaker, His Star Actress, and a Young Dictator's Rise to Power with author Paul Fischer
Wednesday, April 1, 7:00 p.m.
A nonfiction thriller packed with tension, passion, and politics, author Paul Fischer's A Kim Jong-Il Production offers a rare glimpse into a secretive world, illuminating a fascinating chapter of North Korea's history that helps explain how it became the hermetically sealed, intensely stage-managed country it remains today.
This is a free BOOK/MARK event. Reservations are recommended. Please call (860) 280-3130 or click here.
BOOK/MARK -- Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won't Go Away with author Rebecca Goldstein
Thursday, April 2, 7:00 p.m.
Is philosophy obsolete? Are the ancient questions still relevant in the age of cosmology and neuroscience, not to mention crowd-sourcing and cable news? The acclaimed philosopher and novelist Rebecca Goldstein provides a dazzlingly original plunge into the drama of philosophy, revealing its hidden role in today's debates on religion, morality, politics, and science.
This is a free BOOK/MARK event. Reservations are recommended. Please call (860) 280-3130 or click here.
"A Year Without God" with Ryan Bell
Tuesday, April 7, 7:00 p.m. Co-presented with the Yale Humanists
Ryan Bell is a former Seventh-day Adventist pastor who chose to spend 2014 living as an atheist. He chronicled those 12 months on his blog Year Without God, and at the end of the year, announced in an interview with NPR that he no longer believes in God. He will discuss with Jacques Lamarre, Director of Communications and Programs at the Mark Twain House, this year of change. A program sure to be both challenging and fascinating for believers and nonbelievers alike.
Suggested donation: $10. Please call (860) 280-3130 or click here.
The Trouble Begins at 5:30: A New Mark Twain Sweetheart
Wednesday, April 8, 5:00 p.m. wine and hors d'oeuvres reception; 5:30 p.m. talk
Kevin Mac Donnell, the renowned independent scholar and collector of Mark Twain memorabilia, who tends to produce a Twain blockbuster about once a year, unveils 2015's -- a new girlfriend for Mark Twain. Mac Donnell has uncovered documentation that makes it clear that Twain once had an infatuation -- well after the girl he later turned into "Becky Thatcher" and well before his beloved wife Livy -- that can be shown to have had a tremendous impact on his life and creativity.
The series is supported by Connecticut Explored magazine, Hot Tomato's restaurant. Big Dollar Liquors of Bristol, and The Friends of The Mark Twain House & Museum. ASL signing for the lectures is provided courtesy of students of the Interpreting 1 Class in Northwestern Connecticut Community College's Interpreter Preparation Program.
Suggested donation $5. Reservations are recommended. Please call (860) 280-3130 or click here.
The MOuTH: Thrown for a Loop--Stories with Twists and Turns
Friday, April 10, 7:30 p.m.
This month's theme is inspired by the Wadsworth Atheneum's current exhibition about Coney Island. Come hear and tell stories on the theme "Thrown for a Loop--Stories with Twists and Turns" at The Mark Twain House & Museum's wildly popular storytelling series, The MOuTH, with WNPR radio personality Chion Wolf! The event is in no way a competition, just storytelling in front of friends in a museum dedicated to Mark Twain, one of our country's best storytellers.
$5. For tickets, please call (860) 280-3130 or click here. (Storytellers chosen for the lineup get in free.)
Volunteer Recruitment Open House
Monday, April 13, 10:00 a.m.
Join our sterling group of volunteers! The Mark Twain House & Musuem is currently looking for volunteers to help in various capacities within the museum. If you are looking for a challenging and engaging volunteer opportunity, The Mark Twain House & Museum might be the perfect match for you.
We are always looking for volunteers and interns with the following skills:
* Graphic design
* Videography and editing
* Record-keeping/filing
* Customer service
* Organizational skills
Join us for an open house for potential volunteers on Monday, April 13 at 10:00 a.m. Stop by, have some complimentary breakfast (courtesy of
Documentary Film Screening - 88 Days in the Motherlode: Mark Twain Finds His Voice
Thursday, April 16, 7:00 p.m.
The Mark Twain House & Museum is proud to present the East Coast Premier of the exciting new documentary 88 Days in The Mother Lode: Mark Twain Finds His Voice. This film focuses on a previously under-studied and publicized aspect of the Twain Story; that the nearly three months he spent in Tuolumne and Calaveras Counties in the winter of 1864-1865 were crucial for his transformation from Sam Clemens to Mark Twain. Well known Twain experts are interviewed in the documentary and reenactments were filmed on location in Calaveras and Tuolumne Counties. This beautiful and compelling film makes a valuable contribution to the Twain story. The producer will be present at this screening.
Suggested donation $5. Reservations are recommended. Please call (860) 280-3130 or click here.
PLUS: there are more events coming up in late April! Check our website for details!
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THANK YOU TO OUR NEW & RENEWING
(February 25 through March 25)
Gayle Anton
Gloria Bein
Daniel S. Blinn
Valerie Bryan
Dorothea Cardamone
Margery Chase
Angie M. Chatman
Candice Chirgotis
Elizabeth Colley
John Collins
Steve Courtney
Darren Dempsey
Keith A. & Sally S. Dobbins
Susan S. Gagliardi
Toni A. Gold
Marie Spratlin Hasskarl
Jim Hawkins
Robert S. Hopkins, Jr.
Cecily Isbell
Roger & Lynn Jacobs
David Jorgensen
Betty-Joan LaChapelle
Beverly LeConche
Elizabeth B. Leete
Joseph W. & Cheryl A. Maddaluno
Rodd Mantell
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Casey B. McDougal
Ester S. McLane
John P. Murphy
Patrick & Annemarie Nadeau
MaryLou Narowski
Wendy Nelson
Edward J. & Virginia C. Owens
Leo J. Panetta
Elizabeth A. Perrin
Jack & Sandra Peterson
Diane Portman
Jennifer Radaskie
Richard J. Reinhart
Jane Reynolds
John B. Ricci, Jr.
Lisa Sandow
James Scroggins
Steven Silvester
Leslie Smith & Philip Wellman
Barbara Staples
E. Clinton & Bonnie Swift
Rick Wagner
Roy S. Walzer
Elaine Widmer & Tom Gruber
David A. Williamson
Sharon Wright
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THANK YOU TO OUR DONORS (February 25 through March 25)
INDIVIDUAL
Judith E. Askey
Mr. & Mrs. David Baldacci
Craig & Annette Bolt
Chris Busch
The Cheryl Chase and Stuart Bear Family Foundation, Inc.
John Dube
Anne L. Elvgren
J. David Haddox & Marsha McAllister
Anne M. Healey
Christopher Jennings
Herbert Klepper
Alan & Becky Kreczko
Dr. Cindy Lovell
Jeffrey & Donna Oller
Debra A. Palermino
Gregory & Camille Servodidio
E. Clinton & Bonnie Swift
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INSTITUTIONAL
The Colonial Lords of Manors in America
The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company
United Technologies Corporation
In Honor of Hal Holbrook's 90th Birthday
Center For Mark Twain Studies at Elmira College
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Make the most of your donation, be sure to ask your employer about matching gifts.
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Writers' Weekend 2015!
April 17-19
Our Annual Mark Twain House Writers' Weekend is back for our 4th year!
This year, our keynote speakers are Dani Shapiro, best-selling author of Devotion and Still Writing, and
Random House employees Ann Kingman & Michael Kindness, hosts of the Books On The Nightstand podcast.
Peek into the inner lives of the region's best writers; hone your craft with workshops on fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and storytelling; learn the publishing industry's secrets on pitching, agents, and publicity; meet other writers; and read your work aloud at our closing event. Of particular interest may be the Playwriting panel with acclaimed playwrights Neil LaBute, Christopher Shinn, and Mark St. Germain.
Tickets are available for the whole weekend or just one day. Become a better writer at the home of one of the best writers in American history--it's a weekend of inspiration and hard work, bound to get you on the right path to the next stage of your writing life.
For reservations and more information, please call (860) 280-3130 or click here.
The schedule can be found here.
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The Mark Twain House & Museum: Spring Writing Classes & Workshops
Be the writer you've always wanted to be-- study at the home of America's greatest writer!
6-Week Classes ($265):
Self Publishing
Humor
Fiction
Writing for the Web
4-week Class ($199):
Writing from found texts
Memoir
One-Day Workshops ($40):
Memoir
Don't miss out -- for the start dates and schedule of classes and workshops, or to register, please visit www.marktwainhouse.org or call (860) 280-3130.
Questions? Email [email protected].
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MARK TWAIN STORE FEATURED ITEM OF THE MONTH
A LIFETIME WITH MARK TWAIN: The Memories of Katie Leary, for 30 Years His Faithful and Devoted Servant
This book recalls how 24-year-old Katy Leary was hired by Samuel Clemens and his family in 1880, and for the next 30 years she worked as their seamstress, nursemaid, nanny, and lady's maid. According to Clemens family friend and author Mary Lawton, Leary "seemed so a part of the household - so vital and yet so unobtrusively a factor in the life of the family."
Pick one up in the store or order online here. $24.95
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