Mid-June 2015 eNews


A Conversation with Best-Selling Author James Patterson

June 17, 7:30 p.m.


 
Continuing The Mark Twain House & Museum's tradition of presenting some of the best-selling authors of all time (Stephen King in 2013 and Dan Brown in 2014), it's a pleasure to announce that James Patterson will be appearing in Hartford.

 

James Patterson is the world's best-selling author since 2001 and has over 300 million copies of his books in print.  In January, 2010, The New York Times Magazine hailed him as having "transformed book publishing," and Time magazine has called him "The Man Who Can't Miss."

 

It's a rare on-stage appearance for Patterson, who will engage in conversation with WNPR's Ray Hardman, and a special opportunity for his many fans.This incredible event will take place right across the street from The Mark Twain House at Immanuel Congregational Church, 10 Woodland Street, Hartford. Free parking is available in the parking lots at The Mark Twain House & Museum and in the church's Woodland Street lot.

 

Ticket prices are $60 / $50 for members of The Mark Twain House & Musuem.  There will be a limited number of $175 VIP tickets available that include a pre-event reception at the Town and County Club (22 Woodland Street, Hartford--right next door to Immanuel Congregational Church) with an opportunity to meet James Patterson; premium VIP seating at the event; and a pre-signed copy of one of James Patterson's books.  Purchase tickets by calling (860) 280-3130 or click here.

 

This event is generously supported by The Hartford.

 


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

 

Nook Farm Author Talk - Hidden in Plain Sight: The Other People in Norman Rockwell's America with author Jane Allen Petrick

Wednesday, June 17 at 7:00 p.m. at the The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center

 

Norman Rockwell's America was not all white. As early as 1936, Rockwell was portraying people of color with empathy and a dignity often denied them at the time. And he created these portraits from live models. Hidden in Plain Sight: The Other People in Norman Rockwell's America unfolds, for the first time, the stories of the Asian, African, and Native Americans who modeled for Norman Rockwell. These people of color, though often hidden in plain sight, are present throughout Rockwell's more than 4000 illustrations. People like the John Lane family, Navajos poignantly depicted in the virtually unknown Norman Rockwell painting, "Glen Canyon Dam." People like Isaac Crawford, a ten year old African-American Boy Scout who helped Norman Rockwell finally integrate the Boy Scout calendar. This book will expand the way you think about Norman Rockwell. And it will deepen the way you think about Norman Rockwell's America.

 

The event is free, but registration is encouraged at (860) 522-9258, Ext. 317. Free, secure parking is available at the Stowe Center (77 Forest St.) and The Mark Twain House & Museum (351 Farmington Avenue) parking lots.

 

 

 

The MOuTH with Chion Wolf--"On Vacation - Stories about what went down when you put your feet up"

Friday, June 19, 7:30 p.m.

 

 

 

The Mark Twain House & Museum continues "The MOuTH," a storytelling series with WNPR personality Chion Wolf. Come hear & tell stories on the theme "On Vacation - Stories About What Went Down When You Put Your Feet Up."  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. There will be a special guest--Michael Kodas, the author of High Crimes: The Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed. He and Dan Harr of the Hartford Courant were rock climbing in Oregon when a teenager near them fell 150 feet down. Hear how this dramatic story unfolds at The MOuTH!

 

Chion Wolf, a noted photographer and voice performer, joined Colin McEnroe and producer Patrick Skahill to complete the trifecta that has become The Colin McEnroe Show on WNPR as the show's announcer and sometimes-sidekick. She can be heard during station breaks many days of the week.

 

$5.00 (Storytellers chosen for the lineup get in free.) Call (860) 280-3130 or click here.

 

 

BOOK/MARK: Mark Twain in China with author Selina Lai-Henderson

Wednesday, June 24, 7:00 p.m. 

 

Mark Twain has had an intriguing relationship with China that is not as widely known as it should be. Although he never visited the country, he played a significant role in speaking for the Chinese people both at home and abroad. Were Twain alive today, he would be elated to know that he is widely studied and admired there, and that Adventures of Huckleberry Finn alone has gone through no less than ninety different Chinese translations. Looking at Twain in various Chinese contexts--his response to events involving the American Chinese community and to the Chinese across the Pacific, his posthumous journey through translation, and China's reception of the author and his work, Mark Twain in China points to the repercussions of Twain in a global theater.


 
This talk complements the exhibit currently on display in the Webster Bank Museum Center at The Mark Twain House & Museum: The Han Dynasty Stone Rubbings Exhibit from the Shandong Museum, Shandong Province, China. You can see more about this exhibit here.

 

The Book/Mark Series is supported by a generous grant from the George A. & Grace L. Long Foundation, Bank of America, N.A. and Alan S. Parker, Trustees.

 

Followed by a book sale and signing. This is a free event but reservations are recommended. Please call (860) 280-3130 or click here.

 

 

 

Graveyard Shift Ghost Tours

November 14; at 6:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m., 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. 

 

We reprise our popular Graveyard Shift Ghost Tours for spooky summer chills. The Mark Twain House has been featured on Syfy Channel's Ghost Hunters and the Biography Channel's My Ghost StoryOn 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. Ghost tours sell out fast, so be sure to call soon to make your reservations! 


 
The tours are tsponsored by Tsunami Tsolutions.

 

$22 with discounts available for members and children. Please call (860) 280-3130 for more information & ticketing or click here.

 

Deven Green (aka Betty Bowers, America's Best Christian) is back with an opening act!

Saturday, June 27, 7:00 p.m.

 

Deven Green, the star of BETTY BOWERS: AMERICA'S BEST CHRISTIAN and the "Welcome to My..." Parody videos on YouTube, brings her electric ukulele lounge act to the Webster Bank Museum Center at the Mark Twain House & Museum! Join us for one of the funniest, most subversive comediennes working today. Opening for Deven is the Survivors Swing Band--the oldest member is 94! Plus they'll be joining Deven for a number or two.


 

Deven started out as a professional figure skater, and later perfected her comedic sensibilities and appeared in commercials, voice overs, TV and movie roles. This bon vivant then moved to Los Angeles where she currently resides and continues to create more comedy, music, and videos with her unmistakable brand of inscrutable lexicon. Enjoying a plethora of awards, millions of views and a legion of fervent followers, Deven is now considered 'legendary.' She is indeed the nefarious creator/voice of the "Welcome To My Home" parodies, is the satirical "America's Best Christian - Betty Bowers," and, is the spokesmodel for OCCmakeup! You have seen her on RuPaul's Drag Race and performing her convivial eclectic music act across the country!


 

The Survivors Swing Band generates energy and excitement everywhere they perform.  They are a 7-piece professional jazz band, based in Connecticut, that plays the classic melodies from an era gone by--hot tunes and soothing ballads of the Swing Era-- plus many of the wonderful melodies from the two decades that followed. The "Big Bands" played this music with a high degree of rigid orchestration. The Survivors render it with a greater tilt towards improvisation, thus giving each pass at a tune somewhat of a new flavor while still keeping true to the original melodies.  Your memories of the "good old good ones" that they play will be readily revived!  With trumpet, saxes, piano, guitar, bass, and drums, let them entertain you!


 

$20 / $15 for Mark Twain House & Museum members. Call (860) 280-3130 or click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Birdies For Charity!

 

This year, The Mark Twain House & Museum is participating in the Travelers Championship Birdies for Charity program!

 

Make a gift to The Mark Twain House & Museum through the Birdies for Charity program and we'll receive an additional 15%! 

 

You can pledge per birdie or make a flat donation: your choice. 

 

Even better--YOU can win prizes like a $1,500 cash gift card!

 

Pledge here!


 

The Mark Twain House & Museum: Summer Writing Classes 

 

Be the writer you've always wanted to be -- study at the home of America's greatest writer!

 

Summer Writing Intensives (4 consecutive DAYS) ($180)

Jump Start Your Novel (starts July 27)

Writing for the Real World (starts July 27)

Playwriting Monologues (starts August 3)

Beginning Middle End--Writing the Short Story (starts August 3)

 

Don't miss out -- for the complete schedule of classes and workshops, or to register, please visit www.marktwainhouse.org or call (860) 280-3130.

 

Questions? Email [email protected].



 


Membership has its rewards!

 

New for 2015!

 

Each month, all new and renewing members for the previous month will be entered into a drawing to win a $25 gift certificate to The Mark Twain House Store.

 

Congratulations to May's winners: David & Janice Klein

 

Be sure to support The Mark Twain House & Museum and purchase or renew your membership to be entered into this monthly drawing!

 

 

THE MARK TWAIN HOUSE PARTICIPATES IN THE BLUE STAR MUSEUM PROGRAM


Blue Star Museums is a collaboration between 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 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 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 7 days a week, 9:30 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, and the Greater Hartford Arts Council's United Arts Campaign.

 

David Cash, Publicist and Publications Editor

The Mark Twain House & Museum