NEW: A fresh coat of “paint” for start of Chappaqua Library “Twain’s Domain”

The Library’s Volunteens oversaw a Tom Sawyer fence “painting” on Friday at the Historical Society. See more in Photo Gallery.
Hear Library friends and staff—on NCMC video—read their favorite Twain quotations in “Read more…”
Monday, October 17, 2011

Readings, dinners, music, a Mark Twain impersonation contest, films, documentaries—you’ll find everything but a riverboat chugging through the library from October 15 through November 18 as the Chappaqua Library community celebrates, commemorates and revels in Twain’s works, his characters, his world. See our line up of events below.

SCHEDULE OF TWAIN PROGRAMS

Pre-kick-off events:

Mark Twain Family Film
Friday 10/14 @ 4pm   Grades 4 & up, Teens included.

Tom Sawyer-style Fence “Painting”
Saturday 10/15 @  2pm Paint the fence at the Horace Greeley House.  All ages.  Register.  Cosponsor: NC Historical Society

Opening Ceremonies:  “TWAIN’S DOMAIN @ CHAPPAQUA LIBRARY

Celebratory Kick-Off Event Saturday, October 15, 2011 @3 pm with:

• Barbara Snedecor, Director, Center for Mark Twain Studies
• Barbara Gerrard, Supervisor for the Town of New Castle
• Evelyn Bloom, President, Library Board of Trustees
• Shobha Vanchiswar, President, Friends of the Chappaqua Library
• William Gerrard reading from Twain

Concert with River City Slim & the Zydeco Hogs
Sunday 10/16 @ 3pm
This group brings the exuberant sounds of the steamy bayous of Southwester Louisiana and cooks up a spicy musical gumbo that combines the traditional sounds of the button accordion and washboard with a driving, syncopated beat.

Open Book Discussion
Tuesday 10/18 @ 7:30 pm
Discussing Pudd’nhead Wilson with Christine Bobkoff.  Books available at the Information Desk.

Sam Clemens, Mark Twain, and the Layers Behind
Thursday 10/20 @ 7pm
Using images as well as some actual artifacts from the Center for Mark Twain Studies’ collection, archivist Mark Woodhouse, Gannett-Tripp Library, will focus on how the Center serves as an important internationally know resource.

Mark Twain’s Pessimism
Friday 10/21 @ 7pm
By the latter part of Twain’s life, he had become a notorious misanthrope and extreme pessimist.  He would greet a friend with “How’s the damned human race today?”  Prof. Michael Bobkoff, Twain Scholar, WCC, will examine the nature of his pessimism as seen in his later works.

Reception for Gallery Exhibition “Fink Town”
Saturday 10/22 @ 2pm
These small-town narrative paintings by Robert Barthelmes were created from childhood memories of the 1940’s.

The Mark Twain Impersonation Contest
TBA, Saturday 10/22 or Sunday 10/23 @ 4pm  
This juried contest is open to adults and teens.

Tour the homes of Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe in Hartford, CT
Tuesday 10/25 @ 8am—6pm
Day includes luxury bus transportation, box lunch and guided tour of the two homes.  $40.  Register by Oct. 18, no refunds. 

Twain and Tiffany
Wednesday 10/16 @ 7pm    
The Twain Home in Hartford was designed as a showpiece, a visual representation of the author.  Chief Curator, Patti Philippon, will discuss the interior design work of Louis C. Tiffany & Co. and show the splendor that the Twain home is today.  Cosponsor: NC Historical Society

Book Lovers
Thursday 10/27 @ 1pm
Discussing The Adventures of Tom Sawyer with Barbara Bernstein.  Books available at the Information Desk

Teen Cool Candy Houses
Friday 10/28 @ 3pm
Create a home inspired by Twain’s literature to devour, take home or display in the Teen Zone.  Bring two bags of candy to share.  Cosponsor: NC Teen Alliance

Menus in the Movies with Carol Durst
Friday 10/28 @ 7pm Ken Burns’s documentary Mark Twain, part 1
Friday 11/4 @ 7pm Ken Burns’s documentary, Mark Twain, part 2

Teen Scavenger Hunt & Film
Saturday 10/29 @ 5pm
Dress in your Halloween best and “scavenge” the library to find clues that lead to a “surprising Twist with Twain” ending.  Register.  Pizza and snacks.  Cosponsor: NC Teen Alliance

Mark Twain and the Minister
Sunday 10/30 @ 4pm
It might cone as a surprise that Mark Twain’s closest friend was a New England Congregationalist minister, the Rev. Twichell, Civil War Chaplain.  Steve Courtney, Publication Editor at the Mark Twain House is the author of an award-winning biography of Rev. Twichell.  Cosponsor: Chappaqua Interfaith Council

Dining, Stories and Music
Tuesday 11/1 @ 6pm
Twain-inspired dinner at Crabtree’s Kittle House.  Join conductor Michael Shapiro as he plays music and tells stories and anecdotes from Twain’s life.  $54.  Make a reservation at Crabtree’s Kittle House.

Stowe and Twain: Effecting Social Change
Wednesday 11/2 @ 7pm
Craig Hotchkiss, Mark Twain House and Sonya Green, Harriet Beecher Stowe House, will place Uncle Tom’s Cabin & the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in proper historical context to enhance understanding the profound influence these books had on race relations in the US and why they continue to have relevance to our cross-cultural dialog even today.

Concert:  Music and The River
Saturday 11/5 @ 8pm
A multi-media tribute to Mark Twain.  A showing of the Depression-era film The River accompanied by the Orchestra’s performance of Virgin Thomson’s epic score.  They will also perform Charles Ives’s gorgeous tone poem, The Housatonic at Stockbridge, and beloved vocal excerpts from Jerome Kerns and Oscar Hammerstein’s Show Boat.  Cosponsor: The Chappaqua Orchestra

Mark Twain’s Women
Wednesday 11/8 @ 7pm
Patti Philippon, Curator at the Mark Twain House, discusses the most important ladies in Twain’s life:  his witty, powerful and sometimes disapproving wife Livy; and his daughters: the amazingly creative Suzy, Clara who kept an iron grip on his legacy for decades and Jean, the sheltered one who came into her own in her later years.

Baseball as Mark Twain Knew It
Wednesday 11/16 @ 7pm
As an owner of Hartford’s own minor-league baseball club, Twain was aware of how the “national game” mirrored the best and worst traits of our national character.  Craig Hotchkiss, Mark Twain House, will discuss how these themes were developed into A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.

Twain Readings
Friday 11/18 @ 2pm
North of Broadway Players, a theatre company of senior actors, will present a selection from The Apple Tree (a stage adaptation of The Diary of Adam and Eve) and other Twain stage adaptations.  Cosponsor:  NC Recreation and Parks

Film:  The Adventures of Huck Finn
Friday 11/18 @ 7pm
Join us for the classic 1939 version of this Twain masterpiece starring Mickey Rooney, with commentary by Cathy Paulsen and Chris Trzcinski.

We are grateful to the Friends of the Chappaqua Library for underwriting the month-long series of programs celebrating Mark Twain.