April

April

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Mark Twain Centennial Celebration on CPTV

Throughout April 2010

Tune in for a month of Mark Twain programming on Connecticut Public Broadcasting to mark the centennial of Samuel Clemens’ death. This will include Ken Burns’ two-part documentary biography, a filmed performance of Hal Holbrook’s Mark Twain Tonight! and CPTV’s own documentary, Nook Farm.

Kickoff of the National Endowment for the Arts’ The Big Read

Throughout April 2010

Join the city of Hartford in picking up The Adventures of Tom Sawyer as part of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) annual The Big Read campaign to get the nation to pick up a good book (hey, we know a few of those!). A collaboration with the Hartford Public Library and twenty other community libraries, The Big Read is an initiative of the NEA in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest.

Hartford Stage: World Premier adaptation of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Now through May 9 at 7:30pm

This new play by Laura Eason is directed by Jeremy B. Cohen. One of the best-loved books of all time adapted for the stage, Tom Sawyer chronicles the adventures of Twain’s mischievous young hero in a small town on the Mississippi River. Sponsored by The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. For more information about Mark Twain-related programs, play readings and educational initiatives at Hartford Stage, visit www.hartfordstage.org.

Tickets be purchased online at www.hartfordstage.org or by phone at the Hartford Stage Box Office, 860-527-5151.

Centennial Event – The Mark Twain Séance

Wednesday, April 21 at 7:30–10:00pm

Join the Mark Twain House & Museum for a Victorian séance recreated by illusionist Todd Robbins that educates visitors about the spiritualism popular in late 19th-century America. A celebratory cake will be presented by Charm City Bakery of Food Network’s popular program, Ace of Cakes. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., is Presenting Sponsor of this event.

Tickets range are $60 and can be purchased by calling 860-280-3130.

May

May

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The Big Read Keynote Address with Jerome Loving, Laura Skandera-Trombley and Michael Shelden

Monday, May 10 at 7:30pm

The focus is on biographies as we present a pair of keynoters for the NEA Big Read program. Jerome Loving is author of a new biography, Mark Twain: The Adventures of Samuel L. Clemens (University of California Press); Laura Trombley is the author of the new biography Mark Twain’s Other Woman: The Hidden History of His Final Years (Random House); and Michael Shelden recently released Mark Twain: Man in White (Random House).

Admission is free.

Lecture Series: The Trouble Begins at 5:30 with Dr. Kerry Driscoll Mark Twain and Shopping

Wednesday, May 19 at 5:30pm

Join nationally-renowned scholar, Dr. Kerry Driscoll, for Mark Twain’s Music Box – a discussion of the mechanical device Twain bought in Switzerland in 1878 that sent him into agonies over his choice for the playlist. She will also explore the Clemens’ shopping habits and attitudes towards possessions while they lived in Hartford. Sponsored by Mac Donnell Rare Books of Austin, Texas.

Admission is free.

Second Annual Wine Tasting Festival

Friday, May 21 at 6:00 p.m.

A group of distinguished local vintners offer a tasting of their distinctive wines in The Mark Twain House’s second annual benefit event.

Tickets are $35 ($30 in advance) and can be purchased by calling 860-280-3130.

Lecture series: The Trouble Begins at 5:30 with Susan Campbell Mark Twain and God

Wednesday, May 26 at 5:30 p.m.

Susan Campbell, popular Hartford newspaper columnist, lectures on God, Missouri, Fundamentalism and Mark Twain. Campbell is a writer of rare wit and insight, who grew up in Missouri and knows the tough soil from which fellow-native Clemens was born. She is the author of the acclaimed memoir Dating Jesus. Sponsored by Mac Donnell Rare Books of Austin, Texas.

Admission is free.

June

June

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Lecture series: The Trouble Begins at 5:30 with Patti Philippon Mark Twain and Women

Wednesday, June 2 at 5:30 p.m.

Patti Philippon, The Mark Twain House & Museum’s Beatrice Fox Auerbach Chief Curator, lectures on Mark Twain’s Women: the witty, powerful, and sometimes disapproving wife, Livy; his daughters, the amazingly creative Susy, Clara, who kept an iron grip on his legacy for decades, and Jean, the sheltered one, who came into her own in her last years. Sponsored by Mac Donnell Rare Books of Austin, Texas.

Admission is free.

Tom Sawyer Day

Saturday, June 12

In the spirit of Tom’s footloose and fancy-free boyhood adventures, join us for a splendid summer day of events just for kids and families on our beautiful grounds. It’s all-day event in conjunction with the National Endowment for the Arts’ Big Read – and not only a day of family activities, but also a celebration of the arts on the grounds of the Mark Twain House. Slated to perform are The Hartford Symphony, The Hartford City Ballet, The Connecticut Children’s Museum, HartBeat Ensemble, Sea Tea Improv, and many other groups.

Events throughout the day. Celebration included with admission.

July

July

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Twain's Companions and Cohorts Tour at Cedar Hill Cemetery

Saturday, July 24 at 10:00-11:30 a.m., Cedar Hill Cemetery, 453 Fairfield Ave, Hartford (at Maple Avenue)

A tour of Cedar Hill Cemetery, a landmark example of Gilded Age funerary splendor, tells the tales of Samuel Clemens' contemporaries, friends and foes, many of whom are interred there. Led by Steve Courtney of the Mark Twain House & Museum, biographer of Clemens' close friend, the Rev. Joseph Twichell. Presented in association with the Cedar Hill Cemetery Foundation.

Tickets, $5; members free. Free for members of the Cedar Hill Cemetery & Foundation and holders of Let's Go!Arts cards. Information: 860-956-3311

Graveyard Shift Ghost Tours

Friday, July 30, 7:00 p.m., 7:45 p.m., 8:30 p.m., 9:15 p.m.

Pay a haunted visit to Mark Twain's rambling old home. Hear about (and maybe hear) spooky noises; listen to tales of reported sightings, paranormal probes - and Twain's own interest in the uncanny.

Tickets, $18/$15 members; 860-280-3130.

Reservations required!

Tsponsored by Tsunami Solutions

August

August

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Graveyard Shift Ghost Tours

Wednesday, August 11, Thursday, August 12, Friday, August 13, Friday, August 27; 7:00 p.m., 7:45 p.m., 8:30 p.m., 9:15 p.m.

Pay a haunted visit to Mark Twain's rambling old home. Hear about (and maybe hear) spooky noises; listen to tales of reported sightings, paranormal probes - and Twain's own interest in the uncanny.

Tickets, $18/$15 members; 860-280-3130
Reservations required!
Tsponsored by Tsunami Solutions

Exhibit Opening: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Thursday, Aug. 9, 9:30 a.m -5:30 p.m.

August 2010 through January 2011

Commonly recognized as one of the greatest American novels, the story of the epic journey of Huck and his friend Jim along the Mississippi River provides one of the most enduring images of escape. Explore this often controversial work and its impact on our culture through rare artifacts and children's programming.

Open during regular museum hours. Exhibit included with admission. Sponsored by The Edward C. and Ann T. Roberts Foundation.

Stories to Tell: Montblanc presents Andrew Beahrs, author of Twain's Feast Thursday, August 19, 5:00 p.m.

Montblanc, maker of exquisitely-crafted writing instruments, is joining forces with food writer Andrew Beahrs to introduce its Limited Writers Edition 2010 in honor of Mark Twain in the Centennial Year of his death. Jan-Patrick Schmitz, President and CEO of Montblanc North America, will make a ceremonial presentation of the elegant limited edition writing instrument to the museum, kicking off a national tour. Beahrs, author of the acclaimed new Twain's Feast: Searching for America's Lost Foods in the Footsteps of Samuel Clemens (Penguin), will read from his work and talk about his journey on the trail of Mark Twain's favorite foods. Free.

October

October

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Third Annual Tapping Into Twain Oktoberfest

Friday, October 1, 5:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.

"Absolutely, positively, without any doubt whatever, one of the best charitable events Hartford has beheld in quite some time" (Hartford Advocate) returns for its third year with live music, great food and over 20 microbreweries offering samples of the best local brewed beers.

Tickets, $45/$40 advance/$35 members/$15 designated drivers; 860-280-3130

The Trouble Begins at 5:30: "A Mark Twain Mystery: The Wandering Book" with Lynn Laskowski and Fran Coan

Wednesday, October 6, 5:30

Our popular "Trouble Begins" series of spring and fall after-work talks on Twainian topics has a "Mark Twain Mysteries" theme. In the first of the series, two Tunxis Community College professors, Lynn Laskowski and Fran Coan, untangle the mystery of the wanderings of a medical dictionary from the 1700s that Mark Twain once owned. The book came to light recently in the collection of the Hartford Medical Society, having followed a tortuous route from London to a Virginia plantation to Twain's library - and was finally given by Twain to his own doctor.

Free. An after-work reception before the talk with hors d'oeuvres, wine and coffee. For information call Steve Courtney at 860-247-0998, Ext. 243, or email steve.courtney@marktwainhouse.org.
Sponsored by Wally Lamb.

The Nook Farm Book Club: Pink and White Tyranny by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Thursday, October 7, 5:00 p.m., at the Stowe Center

Meets the first Thursday of every month, reading works by or about Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe, as well as books on subjects that captivated them. Receptions are at 5:00 p.m., discussions are at 5:30 p.m. Presented in collaboration with the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center. To register, call Kate Rounds at 860-522-9258, Ext. 317. All books are available at the museum gift shops.

Free.
Supported by the Connecticut Humanities Council.

Graveyard Shift Ghost Tours.

Fridays and Saturdays, October 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, 23, 29 and 30; 6:00 p.m., 7:00 pm., 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.

Pay a haunted visit to Mark Twain's rambling old home. Hear about (and maybe hear) spooky noises; listen to tales of reported sightings, paranormal probes - and Twain's own interest in the uncanny.

Tickets, $18/$15 members; 860-280-3130
Reservations required!
Tsponsored by Tsunami Tsolutions

Saturdays with Sam: Tanglewood Marionettes in "The Fairy Circus"

Saturday, October 9, at 11:00 a.m.

Featuring over twenty beautifully hand-crafted marionettes, "The Fairy Circus" is a showcase for turn-of-the-century-style trick puppetry created by the acclaimed Tanglewood Marionettes of Ware, Mass. The puppets dance, play instruments, juggle, contort, transform, and fly through the air with the greatest of ease.

Tickets, $5 kids/$10 adults. Buy tickets to three Saturdays with Sam and get the fourth free. 860-280-3130.
Sponsored by the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism and Hartford Steam Boiler

The Trouble Begins at 5:30: "A Mark Twain Mystery: Mark Twain and P.T. Barnum" with Kathy Maher

Wednesday, October 13, 5:30 p.m.

Kathy Maher, Museum Director of the P.T. Barnum Museum in Bridgeport (www.barnummuseum.org), presents the little-known relationship between America's great writer and humorist and the showman who said: "There's a sucker born every minute."

Free. An after-work reception before the talk with hors d'oeuvres, wine and coffee. For information call Steve Courtney at 860-247-0998, Ext. 243, or email steve.courtney@marktwainhouse.org.
Sponsored by Wally Lamb.

Woodland Concert Series presents: "Music & Truth: A Musical Tribute to Twain"

Saturday, October 16, 7:30 p.m.
Immanuel Congregational Church, Farmington Avenue and Woodland St. (across from the Mark Twain House), Hartford

A Nook Farm celebration of the music Twain loved (and loathed) along with readings from his books and a special musical performance of "The Diaries of Adam & Eve" from the musical The Apple Tree. The concert features concert pianist Paul Bisaccia, Hartford Children's Theatre and VOCE, a 24-voice professional chorus.

Tickets, $25; $20 seniors, members; $15 students; $40 VIP seating includes a dessert reception with the artists. Visit woodlandconcertseries.org or call 860-527-8121. Sponsored by Reid and Riege, P.C.

The Trouble Begins at 5:30: "A Mark Twain Mystery: What Happened to Charles Ethan Porter?" with Craig Hotchkiss

Wednesday, October 20, 5:30 p.m.

Craig Hotchkiss, the Mark Twain House & Museum's Education Director, plumbs a fascinating mystery: What happened between Mark Twain and Charles Ethan Porter, a promising African American painter from Hartford whose art education in Paris was sponsored by the author, but who inexplicably fell out of Twain's favor so badly that his career went into severe decline? The conflicting evidence is tantalizing yet fragmentary, but nonetheless offers us a keen insight into local issues concerning race, class, and artistic rivalry during Twain's "Gilded Age."

Free. An after-work reception before the talk with hors d'oeuvres, wine and coffee. For information call Steve Courtney at 860-247-0998, Ext. 243, or email steve.courtney@marktwainhouse.org.
Sponsored by Wally Lamb.

The Trouble Begins at 5:30: "A Mark Twain Mystery: The Story of Elmira" with Barbara Snedecor

Wednesday, October 27, 5:30 p.m.

This week,Barbara Snedecor, director of the Center for Mark Twain Studies at Elmira College in Elmira, N.Y., concludes our after-work series with the tale of the "other" Mark Twain House - Quarry Farm, the place where the Clemenses spent their summers while living in Hartford, and its particular creative effect on the author.

Free. An after-work reception before the talk with hors d'oeuvres, wine and coffee. For information call Steve Courtney at 860-247-0998, Ext. 243, or email steve.courtney@marktwainhouse.org.
Sponsored by Wally Lamb.

Saturdays with Sam: Beardsley Zoo's "Wild Assembly"

Saturday, October 30, at 11:00 a.m.

Animals, animals, animals! How can you go wrong? Bridgeport's famed Beardsley Zoo is bringing them, along with experts to tell you about their lives and lore.

Tickets, $5 kids/ $10 adults. Buy tickets to three Saturdays with Sam and get the fourth free. 860-280-3130 Sponsored by the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism and Hartford Steam Boiler

Spooky Family Activities with the Smoking Gun Research Agency

Saturday, October 30, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Bring your kids to meet real-life ghost hunters and do hands-on Halloween crafts! Costumes encouraged.

Nominal fee for craft activities.

November

November

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Creative Non-Fiction Writing Workshop with Susan Campbell

Wednesday nights, November 3 through December 15, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Hone your non-fiction writing - whether it be commentary, history, or even your own story - in this six-week course in the same location where Mark Twain created his masterpieces! Whether you are a beginner or a published writer, renowned author and Susan Campbell, acclaimed Hartford Courant columnist and author of Dating Jesus, will teach you how to put a creative spin on your work.

Class size limited to 16. $500 for six-week course (no class November 24). To register, call Steve Courtney at 860-247-0998, Ext. 243, or email steve.courtney@marktwainhouse.org.

The Nook Farm Book Club: Zeitoun by Dave Eggers

Thursday, November 4, 5:00 p.m., at the Stowe Center

Meets the first Thursday of every month, reading works by or about Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe, as well as books on subjects that captivated them. Receptions are at 5 p.m., discussions are at 5:30 p.m. Presented in collaboration with the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center. To register, call Kate Rounds at (860) 522-9258, Ext. 317. All books are available at the the museum gift shops.

Free.
Supported by the Connecticut Humanities Council.

The Mark Twain House & Museum Annual Fall Gala

Saturday, November 6, The Hartford Club, 46 Prospect St., Hartford

Just in time for Mark Twain's 175th birthday, join us for an evening inspired by his 70th. It was in 1905 that his friends threw a bash for the white-maned author at Delmonico's, the legendary New York City restaurant. Our venue is the city's most elegant venue, The Hartford Club. Your attendance at the Fall Gala, a Mark Twain House & Museum tradition, will help ensure that his Hartford home and the educational programs presented by the Museum, continue for years to come. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. is Presenting Sponsor of the event.

For more information, call 860-280-3112

Mark Twain at 175: An American Icon Reconsidered

Saturday, November 13, Mercy Hall, St. Joseph College, 1678 Asylum Avenue, West Hartford

What better occasion to reconsider the legacy of America's foremost author than his 175th Birthday? St. Joseph College hosts a day-long symposium of noteworthies, organized by the college's noted Twain scholar, Dr. Kerry Driscoll, and keynoted by Robert Hirst, Chief Editor of the Mark Twain Papers and Project in Berkeley, Calif. Hirst has headed up the editing of Mark Twain's autobiography - the one Twain didn't want to be published until he had been dead for a century. The first volume of this massive work is due out in November.

Free, but seating is limited. To reserve or for more information, contact Dr. Driscoll at 860-231-5521 or kdriscoll@sjc.edu.

Saturdays with Sam: ARTFARM's "Circus for a Fragile Planet"

Saturday, November 13, 11:00 a.m.

Imagine a circus in which actors juggle bottled water, polar bears dance on melting ice floes, the props and set are recycled, and the corps of clowns is called the Fossil Fools. They're all part of "Circus For a Fragile Planet," an exciting educational circus performance by the environmental theater group ARTFARM. It features juggling, clowning, physical comedy, acrobatics, unicycling, and other circus arts built around a strong environmental message.

Ticket, $5 kids/$10 adults. . Buy tickets to three Saturdays with Sam and get the fourth free; 860-280-3130
Sponsored by the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism and Hartford Steam Boiler

Holiday Tours of the Mark Twain House

Wednesday, November 17, through New Year's Eve

The Mark Twain House tours get a seasonal makeover as we deck the halls with gifts and garland, hang stockings by the chimney with care and a Victorian Christmas tree.

Open during regular tour hours; regular admissions apply. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day.

December

December

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Nook Farm Book Club: "The Diaries of Adam & Eve" by Mark Twain

December 2, 5:00 p.m., at the Twain Museum Center

Meets the first Thursday of every month, reading works by or about Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe, as well as books on subjects that captivated them. Receptions are at 5:00 p.m., discussions are at 5:30 p.m. Presented in collaboration with the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center. To register, call Kate Rounds at 860-522-9258, Ext. 317. All books are available at the the museum gift shops.

Free.
Supported by the Connecticut Humanities Council.

Party on the Mississippi: The 175th Birthday Celebration!

Friday, December 3, 7:00 p.m.

The Mark Twain Museum Center is transformed into a Mardi Gras-style party to celebrate Sam's milestone birthday with a musical gumbo provided by River City Slim & the Zydeco Hogs, creole cookin' by Hartford's award-winnin' Ragin' Cajun and comic jambalaya with Sea Tea Improv! Laissez les bon temps roulez!

Tickets, $30/$25 members; 860-280-3130

30th Annual Friends of The Mark Twain House & Museum Holiday House Tour

Sunday, December 5, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The Friends of The Mark Twain House & Museum have worked with local florists and musicians to transform five exquisite local homes into holiday showplaces. Admission to the Holiday House Tour includes visits to all five private homes and the Mark Twain House.

Tickets, $35/ $30 advance; 860-280-3130

A Victorian Holiday at Nook Farm (with The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center)

Sunday, December 12, 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe's neighborhood comes alive with the sounds of the holidays. Tour the festive first floors of the Stowe and Twain Houses, take a horse-drawn carriage ride, visit with Santa, enjoy cocoa and other seasonal sweets, shop for gifts in our museum stores, and sing along with musicians and carolers throughout both properties. A new holiday tradition!

Tickets, $20 adults/$10 kids; 860-280-3130; tickets also available at Twain and Stowe Visitor Centers