Programs

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MAY 4 at 6:30 pm 

KICK OFF JAZZ NIGHT WITH BART WEISMAN A Century of Jazz (1920 - 2020) with the Bart Weisman Smooth Jazz Group 

Presented by Bart Weisman (drums) with Steve Hambleton (guitar) and 

Ron Ormsby (bass). Bart Weisman performs across Cape Cod with his Jazz Groups has worked with a number of musicians on Cape Cod including: J. Geils, Molly Ringwald, Rebecca Parris, Lou Colombo, Dick Johnson, and many more. Bart is the Executive Producer & Performer for the Provincetown Jazz Festival and performs year-round at the Grand Cru Restaurant & The West End in Hyannis, Bleu Restaurant in Mashpee, and Riverway Restaurant in South Yarmouth. Bart is Jazz Band Director at Sturgis Charter Public School East and at the Cape Conservatory, he teaches drums and is the Director for CJazz and Jazz in the Schools. Bart relocated to Cape Cod from Washington, D.C. where he was a musician with The United States Air Force Band. 

Cheese and wine reception. $20 members; $25 nonmembers.

MAY 11 at 7:00 pm

SHIPWRECKS AND THE US LIFESAVING SERVICE with Captain Greg Ketchen, US Coast Guard, Director of the Coast Guard Heritage Museum of Barnstable.A comprehensive look at some of the great shipwrecks and rescues by the US Lifesaving Service along Cape Cod’s treacherous shoreline. 

Dessert reception follows talk. $10 members; $15 nonmembers.

MAY 18 at 7:00 pm 

GEMS OF VINEYARD SOUND; THE ELIZABETH ISLANDS 1641 & BEYOND with Ian Ives, Director of Long Pasture Sanctuary, Massachusetts Audubon. The hidden island chain known as the Elizabeth Islands hold many secrets both historical and natural and Ives will reveal them in this fascinating virtual exploration. 

Dessert reception follows talk. $10 members; $15 nonmembers.

JUNE 1 at 7:00 pm

THE BOSTON MASSACRE AT 250: SNOWBALLS, MUSKETBALLS, & A TRIAL with the Hon. Greg Williams commemorating an event which had history changing ramifications. 

Dessert reception follows talk. $10 members; $15 nonmembers.

JUNE 3 at 7:00 pm

MERCY OTIS WARREN CAPE COD WOMAN OF THE YEAR PRESENTATION- No admission fee.

JUNE 8 at 7:00 pm

JOHN LOTHROPP, A RETROSPECTIVE with Gordon Lothrop. Rev. John Lothropp (1584–1653) — sometimes spelled Lothrop or Lathrop — was an English Anglican clergyman, who became a Congregationalist minister and emigrant to New England. He was among the first settlers of Barnstable, Massachusetts. Perhaps Lothropp's principal claim to fame was that he was a strong proponent of the idea of the Separation of Church and State (also called "Freedom of Religion"). This idea was considered heretical in England during his time, but eventually became the mainstream view of people in the United States, because of the efforts of John Lothropp and others. 

Dessert reception follows. $10 members; $15 nonmembers.

JUNE 15 AT 7:00 PM (NO ADMITTANCE PAST 7 PM)

ROSE with acclaimed actress Linda Monchik. Named Best One Woman Show by the Cape Cod Times, this is the Kennedy story as told by the matriarch Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. We meet Rose in July 1969 at the Kennedy’s Hyannis Port Compound, the week after Teddy’s fateful accident at Chappaquiddick. 

Dessert reception follows. $15 members; $20 nonmembers.

JUNE 22 at 6:30 pm

THE SELLING OF BABE with sports historian Glenn Stout. The sale of Babe Ruth by the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees in 1919 is one of the pivotal moments in baseball history, changing the fortunes of two of baseball’s most storied franchises, changing the game forever and helping to create the legend of the greatest player the game has ever known.

More than a simple transaction, the sale resulted in a deal that created the Yankee dynasty, turned Boston into an also-ran, sold the American people on the modern home run era after the Black Sox scandal and led the public to fall in love with Ruth. Award-winning baseball historian Glenn Stout reveals brand-new information about Babe and the unique political situation surrounding his sale. 

Baseball themed reception. Booksigning. $20 members; $25 nonmembers.

JUNE 29 at 7:00 pm

CAPE COD, THE CRADLE OF INVASION with military historian Joe Yukna, principal of Cape Cod Military Museum. In the summers of 1942 and 1943, Cape Cod was home to the Amphibious Training Center and the Engineer Amphibious Command. Yukna will relate some of the amazing happenings that occurred on Cape Cod. Dessert reception to follow. 

JULY 1 at 7:00 pm: CAPE HARMONY: Cape Harmony is Cape Cod’s all female a cappella group, comprised of 10 talented young women from all over the nation who come to Cape Cod during the summer to make music for its residents and visitors. 

Dessert reception to follow. $10 members; $15 nonmembers.

JULY 6 at 7:00 pm

RUM RUNNING ON CAPE COD with columnist and author Don Wilding. During the era of Prohibition (1920-1933) rum running was big business on Cape Cod. Busy harbors and remote estuaries, were all game as sites for bringing the booze onshore under cover of darkness from Rum Row. This is a comprehensive look at how the “Noble Experiment” turned into a profitable and potentially dangerous undertaking for many Cape Codders. Book signing. 

Dessert reception to follow. $10 members; $15 nonmembers.

JULY 13 at 6:30 pm

 I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU LUCY STONE, an immersive living history with History At Play founder and historian/actress Judith Kaloara Challenging discrimination is not easy; Lucy Stone was never one to take the easy road. The first woman from Massachusetts to earn a college degree, Lucy was an ardent supporter of human rights. Always fierce, her belief that women and men be equal was evident in both her political and personal endeavors. Her message inspired thousands to join the suffrage movement; even Susan B. Anthony credits Lucy’s impassioned speeches for her involvement. As a scholar, Lucy studied Greek and Hebrew, insisting that ancient scriptures had been mistranslated to objectify women. As a wife, Lucy refused to take her husband’s name, becoming the first to do so in the nation, and leading to the moniker of “Lucy Stoner” to describe a woman who does just that! Lucy and her comrades were evolving from successful abolitionists to struggling suffragists. Their fight was ferocious, so come along for the ride! 

Wine and cheese reception. $20 members; $25 nonmembers. 

JULY 20 at 7:00 pm 

THE ILLUSTRIOUS HISTORY OF JOE’S TWIN VILLASwith artist, entrepreneur Joe Diggs. Joe’s Twin Villa was an Osterville hotspot was owned and operated by generations of Joe Diggs’ family. It is now closed, but will long be remembered by its many Cape regulars. In powerful mixed media works that combine action painting, photography, graffiti and collage, Diggs’ art captures the spirit of Twin Villas and explores what it means to be a black man in America. 

Dessert reception to follow. $10 members; $15 nonmembers.

JULY 27 at 7:00 pm

THE FURIOUS SKY, A 500 YEAR HISTORY OF AMERICA’S HURRICANES with Eric Jay Dolin. From the moment European colonists laid violent claim to this land, hurricanes have had a profound and visceral impact on American history—yet, no one has attempted to write the definitive account of America’s entanglement with these meteorological behemoths. Now, bestselling historian Eric Jay Dolin presents the five-hundred-year story of American hurricanes, from the nameless 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. Populating his narrative with unlikely heroes such as Benito Viñes, the nineteenth- century Jesuit priest whose revelatory methods for predicting hurricanes saved countless lives, and journalist Dan Rather, whose coverage of a 1961 hurricane would change broadcasting history, Dolin uncovers the often surprising ways we respond to natural crises. A necessary work of environmental and cultural history, A Furious Sky will change the way we understand the storms on the horizon of America’s future. Book signing. 

Dessert reception to follow. $10 members; $15 members.

AUGUST 3 at 7:00 pm 

HANGINGS-MELVILLE, LEMUEL SHAW & 4 KILLERS with the Hon. Greg Williams. A story about homegrown historical figures in a story of intrigue only the ever popular Greg Williams can weave. 

Dessert reception to follow. $10 members; $15 nonmembers.

AUGUST 10 at 7:00 pm 

VIKINGS ON THE CAPE-ARE THERE RUNES IN THE DUNES? with Timothy Lindberg. The fact that the Vikings were the first Europeans to set foot on American soil is generally accepted. Leif Eriksson journeyed to a land he called Vinland according to the Icelandic Sagas.  But where is Vinland, could it be Cape Cod? Lindberg will take you on a journey as well; a journey of colorful history, clever hoaxes, and human hubris in the search for answers to this ongoing mystery. 

Dessert reception to follow. $10 members; $15 nonmembers.

AUGUST 17 at 6:30 pm 

GERTRUDE LAWRENCE-THE GHOST OF THE CAPE PLAYHOUSE with musician/ historian/recitalist/lecturer/ scholar Robert Wyatt. Gertrude Lawrence was one of Great Britain’s brightest theatrical stars during the first half of the 20th century. A lifelong friend and colleague of Noel Coward, Lawrence ‘s forte was sophisticated musical comedy, where she exuded a lively, charismatic stage presence that easily overcame her shortcomings as a singer. She was sometimes criticized for a small vocal range and a tendency to sing flat, but her emotional commitment and flat-out star power earned her the approval of most of the musical legends she worked with: the Gershwins, Cole Porter, Kurt Weill and Rodgers & Hammerstein. Her connection to Cape Cod came later in her career when she married producer and aficionado Richard Aldrich in 1940. Their life together was dear and rewarding and Aldrich published Mrs. A: An Intimate Biography of a Great Star, the definitive book on Lawrence’s life and career in 1955. 

Wine and cheese reception. $20 members; $25 nonmembers.

AUGUST 24 at 7:00 pm

AHAB’S ROLLING SEA-WHAT MOBY DICK TEACHES US ABOUT OUR PAST & CURRENT RELATIONSHIP WITH THE OCEAN with Richard King, a professor at the Sea Education Association in Woods Hole. Dr. King sails into our Tales of Cape Cod Lecture Series to tell the story of Ahab’s Rolling Sea: A Natural History of Moby-Dick, which has been lauded by both the journals Science and Nature as well as by humanities reviewers such as the American Scholar and the Times Literary Supplement. For this talk, you don’t have to have read the novel! King, an entertaining speaker, will speak clearly about how we use Melville’s masterpiece as a benchmark to shed light on our own current knowledge of marine biology and oceanography—as well as how we perceive and steward the ocean today. King, also an illustrator, creates an individual drawing in each of the books that he signs, so this is not an opportunity to miss! 

Book signing. Dessert reception to follow. $10 members; $15 nonmembers.

AUGUST 31 at 7:00 pm 

IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK-HISTORIC HOUSE MUSEUMS OF CAPE COD, MARTHA’S VINEYARD & NANTUCKET with author Marcia Belmonte Young. This program tells the stories (ghosts included) behind some of the historic house museums, some which are period houses (built in the 1600s) and others are mansions, originally buildt for high society. Some are well known; others are off the beaten path. 

Dessert reception to follow. $10 members; $15 nonmembers.

SEPTEMBER 14 at 7:00 pm

NOW YOU SEE THEM, NOW YOU DON’T; THE PILGRIM’S LANDING ON CAPE COD with Bill Burke, UNITED STATES NATIONAL PARK SERVICE. Four centuries ago, a small band of English religious dissenters and a small crew from the Mayflower set ashore at Provincetown, setting in motion a brief but intense 5 weeks of exploration, rummaging and soul searching on the Outer Cape prior to settling Plymouth. What were they looking for, what were their interactions with native peoples already here, and what is the legacy of their brief encounter? 

Dessert reception to follow. $10 members; $15 nonmembers.

SEPTEMBER 21 at 7:00 pm 

THE BLIND BARRISTER OF BARNSTABLE-JOHN D.W.BODFISH with Russ Allen. John Dunning Whitney Bodfish, the speaker’s grandfather-in-law, was a blind lawyer who practiced in Barnstable in the first half of the twentieth century, served as a County Commissioner, was active in Commonwealth politics, and gifted Benjamin Bodfish Park in Sandy Neck. This program will explore his life as recorded in his autobiography, share family anecdotes, and detail the contributions he made to the betterment of the Town of Barnstable.  

Dessert reception to follow. $10 members; $15 nonmembers.

SEPTEMBER 28 at 7:00 pm 

REVERSE FREEDOM RIDERS with NPR Reporter Gabrielle Emanuel. The summer of 1961 was a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement. And that is when black and white activists known as the Freedom Riders set out to integrate bus travel and challenged Jim Crow laws. But what happened a year later has largely been forgotten. That is when Southern segregationists fought back. Their victims were poor African Americans and acclaimed NPR reporter Gabrielle Emanuel of WGBH in Boston has the story of the Reverse Freedom Rides. Gabrielle started her journalism career as a Kroc Fellow at NPR. She then went on to cover education for NPR before coming to WGBH. Since coming to WGBH, Gabrielle has reported on everything from controversial real estate developments to sea turtles stranded by changing water temperatures. She went to Dartmouth College and attended Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship. 

Dessert reception to follow. $10 members; $15 nonmembers.