Join us for these Summer 2025 Adult Programs geared, connected, or focusing on Connecticut:
Monday, July 7, 2025 at 7:00 pm: We Are One: a community conversation about human trafficking. Join us for a powerful and educational seminar that brings the issue of human trafficking out of the shadows. Ashley Phan—a Connecticut native, survivor of child trafficking, and 2025 DOJ Survivor Voices Award nominee—will lead a community conversation on how trafficking affects our neighborhoods and what we can do to prevent it. This seminar is ideal for parents, educators, service providers, and especially teens and young adults who want to protect themselves and others. Awareness is the first step toward prevention. Register here
Tuesday, July 15 at 2:00 pm. If These Walls Could Talk: The Palace Theater Story (In-Person Event). New this season, the Palace Theater takes the show on the road. As stunning as the theater is today, it has a dazzling past. Join us as we travel through the historic stages of the Palace from its inception, its heyday, its “seen better” days and its 21st century renovation. Meg Luddy has worked at the Palace since its epic 2004 reopening, and will present a slide show depicting the many lives of the historic landmark in downtown Waterbury. Register here.
Wednesday, July 23, 2025, 6:30 pm. Last Call: Unionville Taverns, Bars, and the Golden Age of Cocktails (In-Person Event). Join us for a lively presentation as we take a deep dive into the latest exhibit from The Unionville Museum and learn more about past and present Unionville watering holes, Prohibition, and the rise of home entertaining. Topics will also include the origins, folklore, and influence of America’s favorite cocktails, shakers and stories of Connecticut barware manufactures like Chase Brass Company and Hueblein spirits. Presented by Tim LeBouthillier, Vice President of The Unionville Museum and lifelong vintage cocktail shaker and barware collector. Register here.
Thursday, July 31 at 2:00 pm. Food in Connecticut History: An Archaeological Perspective (In-Person Event). This lecture focuses solely on the food products that were found in Connecticut archaeological sites. Specifically, it includes discoveries that have been made regarding seasonally exploited natural resources from the pre-contact period to the historical period, allowing archaeologists to determine the time of year sites were occupied. The effects of health, domestication of animals, and interaction with the natural environment all can be analyzed based on the archaeology of food. Presenter: Dr. Nicholas F. Bellantoni. Register here.
Tuesday, August 12 at 2:00 pm. War at Home: The Battle of Ridgefield (In-Person Event). Educators from Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center will discuss the experiences of the residents of the museum’s site during the Battle of Ridgefield, Connecticut’s only inland Revolutionary War battle, on April 27, 1777. Discover how the members of the Keeler household navigated community division and the war’s impact on families, as well as how we remember the events today. The program will conclude with an examination of several primary source documents that tell conflicting stories about the “truth” of who won the Battle, demonstrating the power of interpretation. Register here.
Thursday, August 14 at 6:30 pm. Local Government 101 (in-person). How does local government actually work? Dr. Fierro will argue that participation in local government is as essential as ever in an era of declining civic engagement and increased incivility at the national level. He will also comment on the idea that “all politics is local.” He will provide a few examples of the importance of local government and how it functions. These examples will come from different communities in Connecticut, and include school referendums, annual budget votes, and zoning issues. Register here
Thursday, August 28, at 6:30 pm. Black Bears in Connecticut (in-person). The “Black Bears in Connecticut” presentation focuses on the history of black bears in Connecticut, an overview of black bear habitat, diet, behavior, reproduction and current research efforts. It also provides practical recommendations for optimum coexistence with our black bear population. Black bear artifacts are shared with the audience. Presenter: Paul Colburn. Register here.
Wednesday, September 3 at 7:00 pm, (NEW DATE!) Murder in the Dollhouse: The Jennifer Dulos Story/Author Event with Rich Cohen (in-person). Join us for a moderated conversation with Rich Cohen. We’ll explore the local connections of this story, and the investigative journalism techniques crucial to true crime accounting. A nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat investigation into the mysterious disappearance of Jennifer Dulos and the aftershocks that rattled a wealthy suburb. Rich Cohen’s Murder in the Dollhouse is the chilling, unputdownable story of Jennifer Dulos, a beautiful, rich suburban mother who dropped her kids off at the New Canaan Country School one morning and vanished. Her body has never been found. Register here.
Completed programs:
Thursday, June 12 at 2:00 pm, Phelps-Hatheway House Tour (virtual program). Examine the lives and experiences of the first two owners of the Phelps-Hatheway House, Shem Burbank and Oliver Phelps. Although the two lived during the same period, they experienced the late 18th century in different ways. How did their political views and the opportunities they pursued during the American Revolution change their fortunes – or lack thereof? Understand the role of Connecticut in the American Revolution, examine colonial era trade and commercial exchange, consider land and real estate speculation and Indigenous people’s land rights, and observe the ways we display wealth and status.
Thursday, June 12 at 6:30 pm, Connecticut Wineries with “The Nutmeg Nose” (In-Person Event). Take a virtual ride through Connecticut’s wine country and learn about our state’s 40+ wineries. Our wine guide is Michelle Griffis, an enthusiast of Connecticut’s wineries, nicknamed by friends as “The Nutmeg Nose.” Michelle will discuss the array of fantastic, award-winning wineries here in our state. She will also share dining options which include vineyards with on-site cafes, food trucks, and BYO picnic options. Whether you like a dry rose’, a crisp white, or a hearty red, our state offers a wine for your palette. With beautiful scenery, daily tastings, and live music, Connecticut wineries make great destinations.
Monday, June 16 at 6:30 pm, PURA 101. (in-person) This event will include: 45 minute presentation on all things PURA (Public Utilities Regulatory Authority), who we are, what we do, how to understand your electric bill, components of how rates are made, how to engage and enroll with a third-party electric supplier, how to become involved, Q&A.