2010 Mark Twain Events Connecticut :: Visit Connecticut, Learn about Twain

All April 2010 there is a Mark Twain Centennial Celebration on CPTV. 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, Mark Twain's Neighborhood: Nook Farm.

Thursday, April 1 Kickoff of the National Endowment for the Arts’
The Big Read Join the city of Hartford in picking up The Adventures of Tom Sawyer as part of the NEA’s 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 National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest.

Thursday, April 1, 7:30 p.m. (through May 9) Hartford Stage
World-premiere adaptation of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 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. Tickets be purchased online at www.hartfordstage.org or by phone at the Hartford Stage Box Office, 860-527-5151. For more information about Mark Twain-related programs, play readings and educational initiatives at Hartford Stage, visit www.hartfordstage.org.

Wednesday, April 7, 7:00 p.m. The Wallace Stevens Theater at The Hartford
A Clemens Lecture with Wally Lamb International best-selling author Wally Lamb speaks on the uses of the Mark Twain House in literature—most notably his own recent novel, The Hour I First Believed, which includes both past and present-day scenes in the home. In a novel that addresses the Columbine massacre, the bitter history of women’s prisons, and a couple’s tragedies, Lamb finds room for a brilliantly reconstructed dinner featuring Mark Twain, the Yale football great Walter Camp, and scientist Nikola Testa. Tickets are $25 ($20 for members) and can be purchased by calling 860-280-3130.

Thursday, April 8, 7:00 p.m. Easton, Connecticut Historical Society
Brent M. Colley slideshow presentation on Mark Twain & Helen Keller. Open to the Public. Location: Easton Library.

Saturday, April 10 Cheney Hall in Manchester, Connecticut
Brent M. Colley slideshow presentation on Connecticut Towns & Cities Connected to Mark Twain. The Association for the Study of Connecticut History (ASCH), Manchester Historical Society and Little Theatre of Manchester will co-sponsor the Spring 2010 ASCH meeting at Cheney Hall in Manchester, CT. Open to the Public. Registration & Fees required.

Friday and Saturday, April 16 and 17, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, April 18, 2:00 p.m. The Mark Twain House & Museum
Tom Sawyer: A Chamber Opera In 2009, Hartford Opera Theatre sponsored a competition for composers to create an opera based on Twain’s classic story of Tom-foolery. Connecticut resident Phillip Martin composed the winning hour-long opera, which will receive its world premiere at The Mark Twain Museum Center. Performed by Hartford Opera Theatre’s cast of professional singers and musicians. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased by calling (860) 280-3130.

Mark Twain Day in Connecticut!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010.

Wednesday, April 21, 7:30-10:00 p.m. The Mark Twain House & Museum
Centennial Event – The Mark Twain Séance 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. Ghost investigator Lorraine Warren will lead a special Mark Twain House tour and a celebratory cake will be presented by Charm City Cakes of Food Network’s popular program, Ace of Cakes. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., is Presenting Sponsor of this event. Tickets range from $60 to $150 and can be purchased by calling 860-280-3130.

Saturday, April 24, 5:00 p.m. The Mark Twain Library
Waking Twain. A private celebration of Twain's life and accomplishments.

Monday, May 10, 7:30 p.m. The Mark Twain House & Museum
Mark Twain Considered: The NEA Big Read keynote address with Jerome Loving, Laura Skandera-Trombley and Michael Shelden. The focus is on biography as we present a trio of keynoters for the NEA Big Read program. Dr. Jerome Loving is author of a new biography, Mark Twain: The Adventures of Samuel L. Clemens. Laura Skandera-Trombley is the author of the new Mark Twain’s Other Woman: The Hidden History of His Final Years (Random House); and Michael Shelden is the author of the new Mark Twain: Man in White. Admission is free.

Wednesday, May 19, 5:30 p.m. The Mark Twain House & Museum
Lecture Series: The Trouble Begins at 5:30 with Dr. Kerry Driscoll 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 Clemenses’ shopping habits and attitudes towards possessions while they lived in Hartford. Sponsored by Mac Donnell Rare Books of Austin, Texas. Admission is free.

Friday, May 21, 6:00 p.m. The Mark Twain House & Museum
Second Annual Wine Tasting Festival A group of distinguished local vintners offer a tasting of their distinctive wines in The House’s annual benefit event. Tickets are $35 ($30 in advance) and can be purchased by calling 860-280-3130.

Wednesday, May 26, 5:30 p.m. The Mark Twain House & Museum
Lecture series: The Trouble Begins at 5:30 with Susan Campbell 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.

Wednesday, June 2, 5:30 p.m. The Mark Twain House & Museum
Lecture series: The Trouble Begins at 5:30 with Patti Philippon. 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.

Saturday, June 12, {TIME} The Mark Twain House & Museum
Tom Sawyer Day 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. Events throughout the day. Celebration included with admission.

Saturday, July 24, 10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hartford
Twain’s Companions and Cohorts Tour 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 are $5.00. Further information is available at Cedar Hill Cemetery & Foundation, 860-956-3311

Monday, Aug. 9 The Mark Twain House & Museum Exhibit Opening: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn August 2010 through January 2011 Commonly recognized as one of the greatest American novels, this epic journey of Huck and his friend Jim along the Mississippi River is 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. Sponsored by The Edward C. and Ann T. Roberts Foundation. Open during regular museum hours. Exhibit included with admission.

Friday, October 1, 5:30 p.m. The Mark Twain House & Museum
Third Annual Tapping Into Twain Oktoberfest Our annual presentation of the local and regional brewers’ best. An ever-popular event in our Museum Center, featuring libations, food and music. Tickets are $45 ($35 in advance) and can be purchased by calling 860-280-3130.

Saturday, October 16 Immanuel Congregational Church, Hartford
Mark Twain concert featuring VOCE Fall into the melodic sounds of VOCE, a singing group that combines excellence in music with service to the community. The concert will feature a Mark Twain theme. Details to be announced. November

Saturday, November 6 The Mark Twain House & Museum
Annual Fall Gala Just in time for his 175th birthday, join us for an evening inspired by Twain’s 70th birthday dinner at the famous steak house Delmonico’s in New York City. Your attendance 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. Tickets will go on sale in August 2010.

Tuesday, November 30 The Mark Twain House & Museum
Mark Twain 175th Birthday Celebration: A Night on the Mississippi Spend a night rockin’ and rollin’ on the river for Mark Twain’s birthday party. Details to be announced.

Sunday, December 5 The Mark Twain House & Museum
30th Annual Friends of The Mark Twain House Holiday House Tour Our yearly event opens several elegant homes to public view, along with the chance to see The Mark Twain House decked out for the holidays! Details to be announced.