Erma Bombeck - Humor Columnist
Monday, April 29th
6:00 p.m.
Watkinsville-Oconee County Library
725 Electric Avenue, Watkinsville, GA 30677
Join us for an evening of laughter and nostalgia as Susan Marie Frontczak channels the wit and wisdom of Erma Bombeck, the legendary humor columnist. Bombeck, with her razor-sharp humor, captured the daily struggles of suburban housewives, making them feel seen and understood. Discover how Bombeck got started as a humorist and chuckle along as she pokes fun at life's quirks, kids, diets, and, of course, herself.
The one-hour program includes a ~40-minute monologue in-character, followed by a Q&A session with "Erma Bombeck" and then with the scholar/presenter. This promises to be an entertaining and insightful evening that will leave you with a smile on your face.
Mark your calendars for these enriching and entertaining events that celebrate the power of storytelling. Click the link below to visit our website for more information on both events. We look forward to sharing these moments of history and humor with you this spring!
The Living History of Marie Curie
Sunday, April 28th
3:00 p.m.
Athens-Clarke County Library
Main Auditorium
2025 Baxter St., Athens, GA 30606
Prepare to be transported through time as Susan Marie Frontczak embodies the brilliance and resilience of Madame Marie Curie. From her challenging childhood under political oppression to her scientific breakthroughs and the personal tragedies that shaped her, Frontczak's portrayal delves into the extraordinary life of this fervently Polish scientist, mother, and teacher. Challenge your assumptions about achievement and the responsibilities of science in this thought-provoking and inspiring performance.
Susan Marie Frontczak has mesmerized audiences across the United States and abroad with over 450 presentations as Marie Curie, engaging more than 60,000 people. Don't miss this unique opportunity to witness history come alive on stage.
THE FIRE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS
Over the course of his lecture, Dr. Bell will help us explore the many-sides of Frederick Douglass' life, family, and career, and consider his impact upon our modern struggle to advance the cause of black freedom in the United States. Virtual event, register on Zoom.
THE COLORED SOLDIER
THE COLORED SOLDIER
Starring Dr. Sonny Kelly
Join us at The Morton Theatre for The Colored Soldier, a one-man performance of a black Civil War soldier, whose words will guide us anew to consider the resistance and resilience of People of Color throughout time, from their initial enslavement on our shores to the present.
THE COLORED SOLDIER is Act III of the Festival of Freedom: Three Performances over Three Days.
FREE EVENT
No pre-registration or tickets are required.
FESTIVAL OF FREEDOM
As humans, the power of story is at the root of who we are, what we stand for, and how we move through the world. The reach and effect of storytelling is as ingrained in us as our genetic code is.
It’s the foundation of how we continually move forward, not only as individuals, but as a society at large.
For Chautauqua communities and our beloved Athens Chautauqua Society in particular, we consider ourselves fellow stewards of our storytellers, who bear and communicate so many vital and precious Truths in ways that penetrate our consciousness and stir us to action.
The craft of storytelling has never been more important than it is today in our increasingly polarized world.
In order to highlight our most important stories and conversations, and in concert with our nation’s Juneteenth Celebration ahead, we have joined forces with the Athens Mayor’s Office, the Clarke County School District’s Office of Family and Community Engagement, ACC’s Leisure Services, and the Athens Regional Library to bring to Athens, Georgia its first ever
Festival of Freedom: Three Performances Over Three Days, featuring award-winning teacher, performer, and scholar, Dr. Sonny Kelly.
Sonny Kelly is a world class performer, story teller, motivator, speaker, comedian, and veteran. He is a graduate of St. Mary’s University and Stanford University. Dr. Kelly holds a PhD in Communication & Performance Studies from UNC Chapel Hill and founded Legacy Heirs Productions, Inc as a vehicle to entertain, educate, and empower individuals and communities. For more information, please visit www.sonnykelly.com.
Dr. Kelly will share timeless and vital lessons from our shared American history. Through his masterful talents as storyteller, he will speak plainly to our hearts, remind us anew of the power of history to paint the picture of our common ground, and call on our “better angels” to action.
Special thanks to all of our Festival of Freedom partners:
The Athens Mayor’s Office
Clarke County School District’s Office of Family and Community Engagement
Athens Clarke’s Leisure Services Department
Athens Regional Library
INDIVISIBLE
INDIVISIBLE
Starring Dr. Sonny Kelly
Join us at the School District’s Headquarters on Prince Avenue for Indivisible, a too-often forgotten American story that has defiantly transcended oppression with hope, resilience, and unity – a story that can inspire us to take up the baton from past leaders and work to make America ever more indivisible.
INDIVISIBLE is Act II of the Festival of Freedom: Three Performances over Three Days.
FREE EVENT
No pre-registration or tickets are required.
FESTIVAL OF FREEDOM
As humans, the power of story is at the root of who we are, what we stand for, and how we move through the world. The reach and effect of storytelling is as ingrained in us as our genetic code is.
It’s the foundation of how we continually move forward, not only as individuals, but as a society at large.
For Chautauqua communities and our beloved Athens Chautauqua Society in particular, we consider ourselves fellow stewards of our storytellers, who bear and communicate so many vital and precious Truths in ways that penetrate our consciousness and stir us to action.
The craft of storytelling has never been more important than it is today in our increasingly polarized world.
In order to highlight our most important stories and conversations, and in concert with our nation’s Juneteenth Celebration ahead, we have joined forces with the Athens Mayor’s Office, the Clarke County School District’s Office of Family and Community Engagement, ACC’s Leisure Services, and the Athens Regional Library to bring to Athens, Georgia its first ever
Festival of Freedom: Three Performances Over Three Days, featuring award-winning teacher, performer, and scholar, Dr. Sonny Kelly.
Sonny Kelly is a world class performer, story teller, motivator, speaker, comedian, and veteran. He is a graduate of St. Mary’s University and Stanford University. Dr. Kelly holds a PhD in Communication & Performance Studies from UNC Chapel Hill and founded Legacy Heirs Productions, Inc as a vehicle to entertain, educate, and empower individuals and communities. For more information, please visit www.sonnykelly.com.
Dr. Kelly will share timeless and vital lessons from our shared American history. Through his masterful talents as storyteller, he will speak plainly to our hearts, remind us anew of the power of history to paint the picture of our common ground, and call on our “better angels” to action.
Special thanks to all of our Festival of Freedom partners:
The Athens Mayor’s Office
Clarke County School District’s Office of Family and Community Engagement
Athens Clarke’s Leisure Services Department
Athens Regional Library
THE TALK
THE TALK
Starring Dr. Sonny Kelly
Join us at the Athens Regional Library for The Talk, a one-man performance that draws on the voices of ancestors, elders, youths, and intellectuals to engage in the tough conversations we must have with our children to prepare them to survive and thrive in today’s world.
THE TALK is Act I of the Festival of Freedom: Three Performances over Three Days.
FREE EVENT
No pre-registration or tickets are required.
FESTIVAL OF FREEDOM
As humans, the power of story is at the root of who we are, what we stand for, and how we move through the world. The reach and effect of storytelling is as ingrained in us as our genetic code is.
It’s the foundation of how we continually move forward, not only as individuals, but as a society at large.
For Chautauqua communities and our beloved Athens Chautauqua Society in particular, we consider ourselves fellow stewards of our storytellers, who bear and communicate so many vital and precious Truths in ways that penetrate our consciousness and stir us to action.
The craft of storytelling has never been more important than it is today in our increasingly polarized world.
In order to highlight our most important stories and conversations, and in concert with our nation’s Juneteenth Celebration ahead, we have joined forces with the Athens Mayor’s Office, the Clarke County School District’s Office of Family and Community Engagement, ACC’s Leisure Services, and the Athens Regional Library to bring to Athens, Georgia its first ever
Festival of Freedom: Three Performances Over Three Days, featuring award-winning teacher, performer, and scholar, Dr. Sonny Kelly.
Sonny Kelly is a world class performer, story teller, motivator, speaker, comedian, and veteran. He is a graduate of St. Mary’s University and Stanford University. Dr. Kelly holds a PhD in Communication & Performance Studies from UNC Chapel Hill and founded Legacy Heirs Productions, Inc as a vehicle to entertain, educate, and empower individuals and communities. For more information, please visit www.sonnykelly.com.
Dr. Kelly will share timeless and vital lessons from our shared American history. Through his masterful talents as storyteller, he will speak plainly to our hearts, remind us anew of the power of history to paint the picture of our common ground, and call on our “better angels” to action.
Special thanks to all of our Festival of Freedom partners:
The Athens Mayor’s Office
Clarke County School District’s Office of Family and Community Engagement
Athens Clarke’s Leisure Services Department
Athens Regional Library
The Athens Chautauqua Society Proudly Presents An Evening with The Unsinkable Molly Brown
It would take more than the sinking of one of the world’s most luxurious ocean liners on its transatlantic maiden voyage to doom our Unsinkable Molly Brown. Most of the world remembers her as that courageous and fiery survivor of the RMS Titanic. Actress, scholar, and historic reenactor, Mary Jane Bradbury, will introduce us to far more of Mrs. Margaret Brown’s backstory.
An Afternoon with Jeannette Rankin: America’s First Congresswoman
Born and raised a Montanan, Jeannette Rankin, who spent her last years in the greater Athens area, was the first woman to be elected to the United States’ Congress. Not only did she campaign tirelessly for herself and her fellow suffragists, but she would play a pivotal role in the framing and passing of our Constitution’s 19th Amendment that secured finally the Women's Vote. And without her in the Capitol’s well that day, there would not have been a single woman who cast the vote in favor of it.
The Jeanette Rankin Foundation in concert with the Athens Chautauqua Society are proud to introduce scholar and historic interpreter, Mary Jane Bradbury, to ably take on that very task.
Houdini - A Journey Into HisWorld of Secrets
FREE | IN-PERSON | FAMILY-FRIENDLY
This “historical interpretation” brings Houdini back to center stage for a new generation of audience to be surprised by his magic, amazed by his escapes, and educated and amused by how easily the public can be fooled when they choose to put their trust in conniving knaves.
LEARN MORE
Einstein Explains It All
FREE | IN-PERSON | FAMILY-FRIENDLY
Step back into time to the early 1950s, and spend an evening with Dr. Albert Einstein. As Einstein did so many times, he will share with wit and humor his ideas that resulted in his international acclaim, and he will present them in a way that everyone can understand.
LEARN MORE
Robert F. Kennedy: Keeping the Peace
FREE | IN-PERSON | FAMILY-FRIENDLY
RFK took up that gauntlet. He was thirty-six when he became the US Attorney General. At thirty-nine, he was elected US Senator and later started his Presidential campaign. History asks the question, what might have been had he finished the race?
LEARN MORE | RESERVE TICKETS
Pauli Murray: Confronting the Law
FREE | IN-PERSON | FAMILY-FRIENDLY
A mixed-race orphan, Pauli grew up in segregated Depression Era North Carolina. UNC Graduate School rejected because of her race. Harvard Graduate School rejected her because of her sex. Murray’s story is one of determination and resilience. Hear her story in “her own words” performed by Becky Stone.
LEARN MORE | RESERVE TICKETS
Eleanor Roosevelt: America’s Extraordinary First Lady
FUNDRAISER | IN-PERSON | FAMILY-FRIENDLY
Drawn from Eleanor’s own letters, diaries, and newspaper writings, Eleanor Roosevelt comes alive in this memorable portrayal by nationally recognized actress and scholar Leslie Goddard.
LEARN MORE
Jacqueline Kennedy: A First Lady of Grace and Style
FREE | IN-PERSON | FAMILY-FRIENDLY
Meet former First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy in this free, live event, performed by Leslie Goddard. It is 1964 and the former first lady, besieged by tourists and paparazzi, is struggling to cope.
🚨 Seats at The Classic Center Pavilion are available for the first 200 attendees. Bring your own folding chair.
The Most Influential Woman You’ve Never Heard Of: Pauli Murray
FREE | VIRTUAL | FAMILY-FRIENDLY
Pauli Murray took part in the movements for labor, civil rights, and women’s rights. Murray was the first Black person to earn a JSD from Yale, a National Organization for Women founder, a poet, an Episcopal priest, and life-long friend of Eleanor Roosevelt.
LEARN MORE
POLICING: What Should We Do to Ensure Fair Treatment and Keep Neighborhoods Safe for Everyone?
IN COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, people are rethinking police practices. The goal: to treat all people fairly while still enforcing the law.
![Robert F. Kennedy: American Icon [Virtual]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/604538dfc062f241917594e3/1627416212854-8QWKDGCC9HPM2KTFQBXF/RFK_Event-Time.jpg)
Robert F. Kennedy: American Icon [Virtual]
In this solo performance, Jeremy Meier portrays the candidate on the campaign trail in ’68 and features insights on the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Civil Rights Movement and the impact the Kennedy name had on Robert’s world view. It is followed by an interactive question and answer session.
LEARN MORE
![Winston Churchill: Through the Storm [Live]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/604538dfc062f241917594e3/1630259733038-4OF8HRFV7ZGD87TEXNZ8/bruce.jpg)
Winston Churchill: Through the Storm [Live]
In this special fundraising event, Winston Churchill reminisces about his personal and public life, the war, and the possible future.
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Three Palaces at Yalta
In each of the three acts, Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt respectively voice their plans, concerns, and aspirations. Of particular interest to them is the future of Poland, whose invasion by Germany in 1939 ignited the global war, and which has become a symbol of potential conflict in post-war Europe. The three palaces also represent Fear, Honor, and Hope, aspects of the motivations and character of the statesmen who occupy them.