INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Acknowledging community interest in the continuation of its annual Florida Humanities Series, the Emerson Center will present a new group of speakers for 2014-2015, in partnership with the Florida Humanities Council.
Acclaimed speakers and performers in six programs will be presented between October 2014 and April 2015, with lectures and performances relating to Florida history and issues. Admission to each is complimentary. 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 and the premier speaker of the series will be Storyteller Caren S. Neile, Ph.D., on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014, at 7 p.m. Based on her extensive work with veterans of the wars in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf, Dr. Neile will tell stories of Florida veterans, “Our Veterans: Our Selves.”
The Avenue D Choir will offer “A Joyful Holiday Concert” with songs of the season Thursday, Dec. 11, 2014, at 7 p.m. The excitement, discipline and joy of making music brought success and applause for a group of young St. Lucie County boys and girls who will travel to Vero Beach to bring us entertaining holiday music. Holiday refreshments will follow.
Archaeologist C. Andrew Hemmings, Ph.D., will take to the podium on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015, at 7 p.m. Dr. Hemmings, who has been supervising the dig near the airport for the Old Vero Ice Age Sites Committee, will discuss the “Old Vero Ice Age Site and the Pleistocene peoples who lived there 15,000 Years Ago.”
Vero Beach resident Sean Sexton will take to the podium on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2015 at 7 p.m. Sean Sexton, whose family has been raising cattle in this area for almost 100 years, will consider the past, present and future of Florida cattle ranching with his speech about “Florida Cattle Culture.”
Roger Smith, Ph.D., will introduce “Spies, Schemes, and the Sons of Liberty: The Shadier Side of East and West Florida During the American Revolution” on Thursday, March 19, 2015 at 7 p.m.
Concluding the series on Thursday, April 16, 2015 at 7 p.m. is Rosalyn Howard, Ph.D. Dr. Howard, cultural anthropologist, will examine the African influence on Florida’s iconic tribe, as well as the related Caribbean diaspora, with “The African Presence in Spanish Florida: Black Seminoles.”
Funding for these programs is provided through a grant from the Florida Humanities Council with funds from 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. The Emerson Center is handicap accessible and is conveniently located at 1590 27th Avenue, on the SE corner of 16th Street and 27th Avenue in Vero Beach. For more information, contact (772)-778-5249.
