Happenings

Harvard’s Warner Free Lecture Series had its beginnings in 1891, when the town accepted the generous bequest of Henry L. Warner, a town native. Warner left the town $10,000 to be used to provide educational lectures to the town’s citizens—and he left specific instructions about what form the lectures were to take.

According to the terms of the bequest, lectures were to “avoid partisan politics and religious sectarianism,” and were to be delivered by “eminent or able lecturers and scholars, upon scientific, literary, biographical, historic, patriotic, national, educational, and moral subjects.” The instructions go on to allow that lectures may also include “travels, questions of government and society, and whatever may interest the people ...”

 

2022-23
  • September 2
  • October 14
  • January 13
  • February 14, 2023
  • March 31

Piano Music by American and European Composers

Friday, February 14, 2023 – 7:00 p.m.
Volunteers Hall, Harvard Public Library

Pianist David Pihl is best known for championing the challenging music of the composer William Thomas McKinley, whose music Pihl performed in Carnegie Hall. An expert in contemporary American piano music, Pihl also plays the works of a variety of European composers, including Bach, Schubert, and Chopin. This concert presents a wide variety of musical styles, punctuated by Pihl’s enlightening introductions.

 

2021-22
  • September 24
  • October 22
  • January 14
  • February 18
  • March 25

A Furious Sky: The Five Hundred Year History of America’s Hurricanes

Friday, September 24, 2021 – 7:00 p.m.
(a Zoom virtual program)

Bestselling historian Eric Jay Dolin presents the five-hundred-year story of American hurricanes, from the storms that threatened Columbus’ New World voyages, to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and the escalation of hurricane season as a result of global warming.

 

2020-21
  • September 11
  • October 9
  • January 15
  • February 26
  • March 26

A Story of the Pullman Porters

Friday, February 26, 2021 – 7:00 p.m.
(a Zoom virtual program)

In celebration of Black History Month, author Larry Tye will take us aboard a fast-moving narrative via his best-selling “Rising from the Rails: Pullman Porters and the Making of a Black Middle Class.”

 

2019-20
  • September 20
  • October 18
  • January 10
  • February 21
  • March 27

Woodstock: A 50th Anniversary Celebration

Friday, September 20, 2019 – 7:00 p.m.
Volunteers Hall, Harvard Public Library

A multimedia and participatory, 90-minute-plus program presented by musician Craig Harris with rare recordings, archival video, storytelling, group singing, and guided music-making.

 

2018-19
  • September 21
  • October 26
  • January 11
  • February 8
  • March 29

The Untold Story of the Cuban Missile Crisis

Friday, September 21, 2018 – 7:00 p.m.
Volunteers Hall, Harvard Public Library

In a multimedia presentation, author Michael J. Tougias, best-known for his seven award-winning books on extraordinary survivors and rescuers, will chronicle the thirteen harrowing days of the Cuban missile crisis in 1962.  Tougias gives special emphasis to his interviews with the pilots of the U-2 spy program who secured photographic proof of Soviet nuclear missiles on the island, helping President Kennedy reach a course of action to negotiate with the Soviet Union.

 

2017-18
  • September 22
  • October 20
  • January 26
  • February 9
  • March 23

Tiny Houses

Friday, September 22, 2017 – 7:30 p.m.
Volunteers Hall, Harvard Public Library

Learn about the "tiny house" movement first-hand from someone who's lived "tiny" most of her life. Hear what they won't tell you on TV about codes, legality, parking, and more. Plus, tips for trying it tiny yourself.

2016-17
  • September 23
  • October 21
  • January 27
  • February 17
  • March 24

Three Harvard Children's Authors

Friday, September 23, 2016 – 7:00 p.m.
Volunteers Hall, Harvard Public Library
Co-sponsored by Fruitlands Museum

Three Harvard children’s writers/illustrators who have made it to the “big time” will speak. Sarah Dillard and Elizabeth Atkinson were classmates at Bromfield, and Chris Van Dusen was a year ahead of them. They will talk about their genre, the creative process, and the influence on their work of growing up in Harvard. The evening will be moderated by classmate Helen Batchelder of Old Mill Road.

Following the lecture there will be a reception and book sale and signing upstairs at the General Store. The authors’ books are being made available through the Concord Bookshop. Pre-order through the shop and pay the night of the event.

2015-16
  • September 25
  • October 23
  • January 22
  • March 11
  • April 8

125th Anniversary
Edward S. Morse, a Man of Many Worlds

Friday, September 25, 2015 – 7:30 p.m.
Volunteers Hall, Harvard Public Library

Among the contributions made by the scientist and collector Edward Sylvester Morse (1838–1925) in diverse fields, his role as a “public Japan expert” was particularly important, and one that brought him to Harvard in 1891 as the inaugural speaker of the Warner Free Lecture Series. In recognition of that very first lecture, local historian Hina Hirayama will explore Morse’s adventurous life, paying special attention to his activities in Boston in the 1880s and 1890s vis-à-vis Japan, a distant and mysterious nation only then emerging on the consciousness of most Americans.
2014-15
  • Sept 26
  • Nov 21
  • Dec 6-7
  • Jan 31
  • March 13
  • April 10

Mystery of Music

Friday, September 26, 2014 – 7:30 p.m.
Volunteers Hall, Harvard Public Library

Local musicians Steve Peisch and Helen Batchelder will offer a presentation exploring how music affects our moods and how different people and cultures respond to music.

2013-14
  • September 27
  • October 18
  • January 31
  • March 21
  • May 9

The Story Behind the Story: An Author's Tale

Friday, September 27, 2013 – 7:30 p.m.
Volunteers Hall, Harvard Public Library
Co-sponsored by the Harvard Historical Society

Local author and musician Cal Armistead will share her experience of getting her first novel, "Being Henry David," published. Armistead has also written for radio, magazines, and newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune and the Christian Science Monitor.

2012-13
  • October 26
  • January 18
  • April 26
  • June 14

Magic Lantern Show

Friday, October 26, 2012 – 7:30 p.m.
Volunteers Hall, Harvard Public Library

Travel to an earlier time with Halloween stories and songs dramatized on screen by a live showman and singer/pianist. The audience will participate in the fun by creating sound effects and joining in chants and sing-alongs.

2011-12
  • September 30
  • November 18
  • January 20
  • February 10
  • March 16

Marion Stoddart: The Work of 1000

Friday, September 30, 2011 – 7:30 p.m.
Volunteers Hall, Harvard Public Library

In the 1960s, the Nashua River in New Hampshire and central Massachusetts was one the ten most polluted rivers in the country. About that time, Marion Stoddart moved to the area with her family, so close to the river they could smell its noxious fumes. At a low point in her life, she took on the challenge of cleaning up the river. Follow her journey in this moving documentary. A discussion led by Stoddart will follow the screening.

2010 – 2011
  • October 15
  • November 12
  • January 7
  • February 11
  • May 14

Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America

Friday, October 15, 2010 – 7:30 p.m.
Volunteers Hall, Harvard Public Library
Co-sponsored by the Harvard Historical Society

Marblehead historian and best-selling author Eric Jay Dolin tells a dramatic story of the fur trade that shaped not only the history of New England, but helped chart the course of colonial expansionism. A fascinating mix of history, economics, and politics, the tale is also the story of the American experiment.

2009 – 2010
  • October 9
  • November 13
  • January 22
  • March 12
  • April 1

International News a New Way

Friday, October 9, 2009 – 8 p.m.
Volunteers Hall, Harvard Public Library

Following rave reviews in 2008, award-winning author and reporter Charles Sennott returns to our lecture series to discuss his news website, globalpost.com, and how he is working to change the way international news is reported in the U.S. Don’t miss this thought-provoking evening.

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