Beacon College’s Salon Speaker Series will feature authors, scientists, historians, poets, actors, dancers, and musicians from around the state and country during its 2023-24 season, which opens Aug. 28 with a presentation by Dance Theater of Orlando at The Savannah Center in The Villages.
This will be the seventh season for the Salon Speaker Series, which is the Leesburg-based college’s flagship community education outreach program for lifelong learners. Each event is free and open to the public. Tickets are available at www.BeaconCollege.edu/Salon, with each ticket including a free boxed meal (vegetarian option available). Boxed meals are served starting at 6:15 p.m. The speaker begins each presentation at 7 p.m.
Here is the schedule:
Aug. 28: Dance Theatre of Orlando, The Savannah Center in The Villages
Creating Art in Motion: A Seminar on Dance Choreography with Marshall Ellis
The three-dimensional art created through movement and dance is a unique experience, designed with the audience in mind. Similar to how music has the ability to evoke emotions in the listener, dance choreography paints pictures for the viewer in real time. Through dance performances and discussion, attendees will understand how choreography — a sequence of steps oftentimes set to music — can be used to connect with the audience’s participation. This understanding will boost your appreciation for dance as a performance art.
Sept. 25, 2023: Dani Mitchell, Beacon College anthrozoologist and falconer, The Venetian Center in Leesburg
Falconry and its Impact on Raptor Conservation
An insightful look at falconry, or the pursuit of wild quarry with a trained bird of prey, this talk highlights what falconry is, how it has evolved over the past few decades, the role of falconers in the conservation of birds of prey, and more. Join the Beacon College anthrozoologist as she shares about the California Condor and Peregrine falcon recovery efforts made by falconers to help prevent these species from going the way of the dodo. Note: If available, the presentation will use live birds of prey in the presentation.
Oct. 3: Tina McElroy Ansa, novelist, The Venetian Center
Spirituality in African-American Fiction
The author of five novels will discuss spirituality in her writing. Spirituality and the supernatural are key elements of Ansa’s work. She will concentrate on the character Lena in two of her novels, “Baby of the Family” and “The Hand I Fan With.”
Nov. 8: Drs. Christopher Huff and A.J. Marsden, The Venetian Center in Leesburg
Bat S**t Crazy (but not Brand New): The History and Psychology of Conspiracy Theories from the Illuminati to QAnon
While January 6 stands as a singularly unique event in American history, the ideas behind the January 6 attack are anything but new. QAnon and belief in the “deep state” are the most recent expression of a long tradition of conspiracy theories about the U.S. government that goes back to the nation’s founding. Beacon College professors Huff and Marsden explore the history of American conspiracy theories and examine what leads ordinary people to believe in them. While conspiracy theories are often bat-s**t crazy, the people who believe in them generally are not. By examining the historical and psychological story of a wide range of conspiracy theories, attendees will learn that Americans have always embraced them, and given the right circumstances, almost anyone can find themselves going down the dark roads of conspiracy.
Dec. 4: Dr. William Nesbitt, author, The Venetian Center
The Beats: Poets and Provocateurs
The Beats are one of the last movements in American literature. They pushed boundaries and wrote about still-relevant issues such as political topics, gender equality, rights for the LGBTQ+ community, the environment, censorship, and compassion for the world. The Beat Generation originated in the 1950s and principal members include Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, and more. Both censorship and media coverage galvanized the movement. In 1956, City Lights published Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl and Other Poems,” which when banned attracted national attention. In 1957, On the Road by Jack Kerouac appeared. It received a great review in The New York Times and Kerouac became an overnight celebrity. Beacon College professor Nesbitt examines a movement that some say peaked in the 1950s and 1960s. Others believe that the movement lived until 1997 when Ginsberg passed. Still others point out that with the creative and academic interest, the Beats exert considerable cultural influence through the present moment.
Jan. 25, 2024: Barbara Bergren, author, The Venetian Center
Witness for My Father
The presentation will chronicle the story of Bergren’s father, Martin Weigen, before, during, and after WWII, highlighting the reunion between him and the former lieutenant John Withers who was in charge of a segregated African-American army unit during the war. Through acts of kindness, Weigen finds his way to recovery after his liberation from the Dachau concentration camp. A true story of the worst and best of humanity — where two men are touched by discrimination and the horror of war and experience resilience, hope, and inspiration.
Feb. 15, 2024: Rich Lowry, editor of National Review Magazine, The Venetian Center
Lessons from Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was a proponent of markets, individual achievement, and personal responsibility. He embraced economic dynamism and development. He rejected populist demagoguery directed at corporations and banks and, in fact, worked as a lawyer for the biggest corporation in the state, the Illinois Central Railroad. He warned against class warfare and made working for your own living — and not off the work of others — one of his bedrock principles. He considered property rights sacrosanct and called patent law one of the greatest inventions of all time. He revered the Founders and their principles. All of these elements of his politics were at play in his struggle to end the rural backwardness in which he had grown up and — more importantly — to end slavery, which as “unrequited toil” offended his sense of basic justice and natural rights. Without understanding these fundamental commitments of Lincoln, you can’t understand him as a figure or the DNA of the Republican party.
March 7, 2024: Flying Horse Big Band, University of Central Florida’s jazz big band, Lake Deaton United Methodist Church in Wildwood
Ray of Sunshine: The Music of Ray Charles
The celebrated University of Central Florida Flying Horse Big Band, led by renowned saxophonist Jeff Rupert, will play jazzy versions of classics from the great Ray Charles’ genre-spanning catalogue in a concert that will have you clapping your hands and tapping your feet so hard you’ll never want to hit the road, Jack!
April 25, 2024: Elizabeth Randall, author, The Venetian Center
Haunted Florida
Florida has some of the earliest settled areas in the United States and is home to fascinating history. These include tales from Native Americans, early European settlers, and modern Floridians. In some places, people claim that habitants of these historical moments remain. All over Florida, but especially in the north and southeast, there are fascinating and terrifying stories of lingering spirits. Who haunts America’s oldest regions? Randall’s presentation tells of these and other stories of haunted Florida, but it goes a step further. Beneath the surface of Florida’s beauty, there is bloodshed, bodies, war, peace, courage, betrayal, heroism, stupidity, and brilliance. Haunts tell Florida’s history.
