Stowe Bicentennial Programs & Events

June 5 - April 1, 2012

June 5
Uncle Tom's Cabin in The National Era
Beginning Sunday, June 5, 2011, look for weekly installments of Stowe's best-seller, Uncle Tom's Cabin, in our new blog. The installments will follow the identical format of the novel's original release in The National Era on June 5, 1851. The installments will run for 44 weeks ending on April 1, 2012.

Each installment will include an introduction by a Stowe scholar, historian or fan. Additional features of the blog include:

"This Week in History", a collection of news stories from Connecticut, the United States and around the world
Illustrations corresponding with specific chapters
Connections Stowe made between real life events and the characters of her story.

Subscibe to the Uncle Tom's Cabin blog at http://nationalera.wordpress.com

June 9
Inspiring Actions: Real Stories of Social Change
(Public Programs presented by the Stowe Center, are taking place across Farmington Ave. at Immanuel Congregational, 10 Woodland Street, Hartford, CT)

3:00 - 4:00pm
Inspiration to Action Fair
The Inspiration to Action Fair is comprised of grassroots human rights organizations showcasing their work to actively create social change. Participating organizations include:
Artists for World Peace
CONNSACS
Free the Slaves
Hands on Hartford
Mother's Day Movement
Not for Sale
Pax Educare
PeaceJam
The Purpose Project
World Affairs Council of Connecticut
Local high school human rights groups
4:00 - 5:30pm
Inspiring Action: Real Stories of Social Change
Taking the successful salon format to a new level. What can you do to improve the lives of women and girls? A conversation featuring Stowe Prize winners Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn will be joined by change-making catalysts Shannon McNamara and Eva Hausman in an interactive dialogue on creating social change. Laurie Perez of Fox News will moderate.
Kristof and WuDunn will discuss the stories behind their book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity Worldwide. Shannon McNamara founded SHARE after visiting Africa when she was 15 years old. SHARE creates libraries and donates books in Africa to empower girls in Africa through education. Eva Hausman is the co-founder of the Mother's Day Movement, which raises money to help women in need both around the world and here at home. The organization encourages others to rethink their giving on Mother's Day and contribute to the lives of women everywhere.
The interactive panel discussion, following our popular Salon format, will engage the entire audience in a discussion on turning oppression into opportunity worldwide. Share your stories and ideas for creating positive change, or just follow along, on Facebook and Twitter. The program will also stream live from our website.
5:30 - 9:30pm
Stowe Prize Big Tent Jubilee
The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center will award the inaugural Stowe Prize for Excellence in Writing to Advance Social Justice to authors Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn for their work, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide in recognition of Stowe's 200th birthday.
Step back in time to the 19th century for a farm-to-table style dinner -- complete with special guests -- Harriet Beecher Stowe, Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Mark Twain and Abraham Lincoln. Spirituals sung by the Lift Every Voice and Sign Choir will call guests to dinner. The Big Tent Jubilee is a ticketed fundraising event for the center's education programs. Pre-registration is required. Contact jlomenzo@stowecenter.org.

June 10
Call to Action: A Conversation on Race & Social Justice
9AM - 12PM
Bushnell's Belding Theater, Hartford, CT

In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin was a clarion call to freedom, galvanizing public sentiment for abolition leading up to the Civil War. Today, social justice for all still eludes us. In recognition of Stowe's Bicentennial, the Stowe Center has invited the Congressional Black Caucus to Hartford to join the conversation Stowe began 160 years ago.

Join us for a public program, moderated by WNPR's Where We Live host, John Dankosky with members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressman John B. Larson, Connecticut legislators, policy makers, community activists, students and individuals working on three key issues:

The Achievement Gap
The Economics of Race
Health Disparities

The moderated program is open to the public and will stream live from our website. The goal of the program is to create a blueprint with key actions to address these inequities and identify actions we can all take for positive change. Contact sburke@stowecenter.org for information.

Branching Out: A Gathering of Stowe's Family for Her 200th Birthday, 2:00 - 8:00pm
Guided tours, reception at the Stowe Center and dinner at Hartford's Town and County Club. A family reunion during the weekend of Stowe's birthday. Email sgreen@stowecenter.org for details.

June 11
Harriet Beecher Stowe's 200th Birthday Community Event, 10:00 - 4:00pm
A FREE community open house befitting a 200th birthday celebration. Take a tour of the first floor of Stowe's home. Nook Farm walking tours will be provided by the Hartford Preservation Alliance. Horse drawn carriage rides provided by Blue Star Equiculture will take visitors for a short ride around the site. Enjoy musical performances, craft activities, a writing workship and readings from Uncle Tom's Cabin under the trees. An Inspiration to Action Fair will take place under the big tent along with official proclamations, awards and of course, birthday cake! Vendors will provide snacks at this year's food court. Read more in our calendar of events.

June 14
Harriet Beecher Stowe's birthday!
24-hour reading of Uncle Tom's Cabin
Begins at 10:00am in the Katharine Day House on the Stowe Center grounds
A public reading of Stowe's greatest work, the book that changed America. Choose a chapter or section to read, or come to hear celebrities, officials, scholars or Stowe fans. Stop by any time during the day or night to listen to Uncle Tom's Cabin being read in multiple languages. Audio for the reading will also be streamed live on our website. Email jbaldini@stowecenter.org to volunteer to read.

June 22-25
Harriet Beecher Stowe at 200 Conference: Home, Nation, and Place in the 21st Century
(Sponsored by the Harriet Beecher Stowe Society and held at Bowdoin College, Burnswick, ME)
Exploring the themes of home, nation, and place in Stowe's work through lenses such as politics, education, reform, race, and religion. (Information at StoweSociety.org)

Bicentennial Week Sponsors

Presenting Funders
Connecticut Health Foundation
Hartford Foundation for Public Giving

Gold Funder
Comcast

Silver Funders
Northeast Utilities
Novartis Pharmaceuticals

Bronze Funders
Arrow Prescription Center

Francisco Borges
Cloud and Robinson Development
LAZ Parking
PCC Technology