VERO BEACH — Thanks to the twin successes of The Emerson Center’s Celebrated Speakers Series and Florida Humanities Series, both of which are currently in full swing, organizers for the popular Vero Beach venue are introducing a new speaker’s series entitled the 2010 Special Engagement Series.
The inaugural speaker, to be held on Friday, January 29, will be Carlos Perez Vidal, an innovative artist and a founding member of the defiant Grupo Independiente La Campana (The Bell Art Project). This bilingual English/Spanish presentation, translated live on stage by Victoria Palacios, President of World Art Project, will be held at 7 p.m. with a reception immediately following. Branded as an artistic “infidel” by Cuba’s dictatorial regime, Perez Vidal was a pivotal part of the 1980s movement known as the Cuban Renaissance. He will bring his documented story, video, photographs and his art to the stage in a presentation entitled “Cuba’s Infidels: A Nation Struggles for Artistic Expression.” In addition, he will detail his own exile from Cuba seventeen years ago. Tickets prices are $20 ($10 for students). Proceeds will be shared between the World Art Project and the Emerson Center.
On Monday, February 8, Hedrick Smith, Pulitzer Prize-winning correspondent, author & executive producer, will appear at 5 p.m. Poison Waters, a probing two-hour PBS report that examined America’s track record on cleaning up its waterways, is Smith’s recent focus on the environment and the latest path he has explored in nearly a half-century of reporting. One of America’s most distinguished journalists, Smith has covered Washington and world capitals for The New York Times, has authored several best-selling books and created 20 award-winning PBS prime-time specials and mini-series on Washington’s power game, Soviet Perestroika, the global economy, education reform, health care, teen violence, terrorism and Wall Street. His visit, benefiting the Pelican Audubon Society, Environmental Learning Center and Indian River Land Trust, will offer a range of tickets from $20 to $50. For an additional $25 charge, a reception, including a question & answer period with Smith himself will follow.
Dr. Shirley Anne Warshaw, an authority on the American presidency, the president’s cabinet, and organizational decision structures for presidential policy making, will speak to audiences at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday, February 20. Dr. Shirley Anne Warshaw will offer bold assertions as well as the solid scholarship to back them up when she visits Vero Beach. Her presentations will demonstrate her knowledge of presidential decision-making, White House organization, and White House-Cabinet relations as she does in the eight books she has written on presidential power in its various manifestations. She has also written on the same subject matter in newspapers, on television across the country, and as a regular contributor to National Public Radio. Tickets are $50.
Concluding the Special Engagement Series on Tuesday, March 9 is Dr. Rory Stewart, Author, Humanitarian and Founder/Executive Chairman of the Turquoise Mountain Foundation. Dr. Stewart’s legendary six-thousand mile trek took him across Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, India and Nepal, from 2OOO to 2OO2 and he has since dedicated himself to improving the lot of the peoples of Iraq and Afghanistan. Dr. Stewart founded the British charity, the Turquoise Mountain Foundation, of which he is the Executive Chairman. The Turquoise Mountain Foundation invests in the regeneration of the historic commercial centre of Kabul, providing basic services, saving historic buildings and constructing a new bazaar and galleries for traditional craft businesses. Dr. Stewart’s books have been critically acclaimed New York Times bestsellers and his books and many articles have been translated into over ten languages. His advice on the people and politics of the Iraq-Afghanistan area is sought by more than one government. The 6:30 p.m. presentation benefits the Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation, Inc. Tickets are $50 and a reception, which immediately follows and benefits the Turquoise Mountain Foundation, is an additional $50.
The Emerson Center is conveniently located at 1590 27th Avenue, on the SE corner of 16th Street and 27th Avenue and has more than 300 parking spaces, an auditorium that seats over 800 people in comfortable padded seating, a raised stage that offers everyone unrestricted views, and professional state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems. Individual, reserved seats are currently being sold.
Information and tickets: Call (772) 778-5249 or visit www.TheEmersonCenter.org.