VERO BEACH — Acknowledging community interest in the continuation of its annual Florida Humanities Series, the Emerson Center will present a new group of speakers for 2013-2014, in partnership with the Florida Humanities Council.
Acclaimed speakers and performers in six programs and one special, unique presentation in November will be presented between October 2013 and April 2014, with lectures and performances relating to Florida history and issues.
Admission to each is complimentary, except for the special presentation, which is a nominal fee of $10 (students age 18 and younger are free.)
All performances will begin at 7 p.m. on the respective Thursday evenings. The series is sponsored in part by Marine Bank & Trust.
October is National Humanities Month. The premier speaker of the series will be Susan Fernandez, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg on Thursday, Oct. 24.
Sunshine in the Dark: Florida in the Movies will take us through video screening and slides and tell us how Florida has been portrayed in film and how those images have shaped people’s ideas of the state.
In the author’s analysis of the films, which examines location settings, plot lines, and characters, there is a bevy of Florida stereotypes among the leading characters; from the struggling crackers in The Yearling (1946) to the drug-addicted man in Adaptation (2002.)
Anyone whose interest is in cinema and Florida would enjoy this program.
A special presentation will be held on Thursday, Nov. 21. This single event has a nominal fee of $10 for admission. Students age 18 and under will be admitted free of charge for this Chautauqua-style troupe program entitled “The Balancing Act: Entrepreneurialism, Tourism, and Preservation.”
With its pristine beaches, fertile farm land, and vast Everglades, the lure of tourism and industry has always been at odds with preserving Florida’s natural beauty and unique ecosystems.
Professional actors will portray railroad tycoon and real estate developer Henry Morrison Flagler, sheriff/congressman/governor Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, and staunch Everglades environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas, each offering a very different vision of what the future Florida would look like and who would control its natural resources.
“Sing for Wild Things” will be presented on Thursday, Dec. 5. Florida’s environmental troubadour Dale Crider has written, recorded, and performed numerous songs about Florida, its unique wilderness, and wildlife, bringing attention to the plight of the endangered wildlife, and to the natural systems that support all life in Florida.
He recently retired after 30 years as a waterfowl biologist, environmental, and educational specialist. He has performed in most states and many countries.
Holiday refreshments will be served following the presentation.
Vero Beach author/journalist Rody Johnson joins us at the podium on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014, with his presentation, “World War II U-boat Attack Off Vero Beach.”
During the early days of World War II, German U-boats crept along the U.S. east coast off of Vero Beach. As a child, Johnson heard whispers about them and his father, Kit Johnson, a Coast Guard Auxiliary volunteer, patrolled the coastline in his small fishing craft to search for and rescue the survivors of ships torpedoed by the Germans. Rody Johnson has written a touching remembrance to his father, the hero.
On Feb. 13, Willie Johns, the Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation historian, will present “The Unconquered Seminole People and Their Traditions.” Johns, a cultural specialist, delivers lectures and workshops about Seminole tribal culture and history for the tribal and nontribal communities.
The Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Seminole Indian Museum (affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution) is nestled in the heart of the Everglades on the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation, and is home to more than 30,000 unique artifacts, archival items, and experiences.
Here, one can learn about the Seminole people and their rich cultural and historical ties to the Southeast and Florida, as they have made Big Cypress their home for many thousands of years.
Committed to nurturing and sharing tribal customs and traditions, Johns will bring artifacts and stories about the unconquered people of Florida. Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki means “a place to learn.”
Vero Beach resident Janie Gould presents “Sea Cows, Seaweed and Spanish Moss: How Floridians Coped when Times were Hard” on March 6. Sea cows now are more commonly known as manatees and are a protected species, just as the city we call home was once wetlands and would never have come into existence under today’s regulations.
Gould is a journalist and public radio personality who is known throughout the state for her award-winning Floridays, oral histories about early Florida. She has recorded interviews with more than 250 people about everything from manatee hunting to frog giggling in rural Florida.
In addition to Floridays, Gould has produced many radio programs and documentaries for WQCS Radio and retired from there recently. She has earned awards for her work from the state and from the Associated Press. She also writes book reviews and features for Indian River Magazine in her spare time.
Gould is a fifth generation Floridian and a University of Florida journalism graduate.
Concluding the series on April 3 is Carl Halbirt, St. Augustine’s city archaeologist since 1990. Halbirt will present “St. Augustine’s Unseen Heritage: The Archaeology of Early Colonial Life in America’s Oldest European Community.”
St. Augustine’s archaeological heritage is unparalleled in the quantity and diversity of remains buried beneath its buildings, streets, and backyards. As city archaeologist, Halbirt conducts archaeological investigations at properties slated for development, conserving artifacts collected that are both European and Native American.
Funding for these programs is provided through a grant from the Florida Humanities Council with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in these programs do not necessarily represent those of the Florida Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The capacity of the Emerson Center is more than 800. Free admission will be offered on a first-come-first-served basis for all speakers except for the special presentation in November.
The Emerson Center is handicap accessible and is conveniently located at 1590 27th Ave., on the SE corner of 16th St. and 27th Ave. in Vero Beach.
For more information, please call (772) 778-5249.