Previous Special Events

The Kansas City Public Library welcomes the chamber music ensemble Summerfest for two "informances" on Thursday, July 9, and Thursday, July 23, at 7 p.m. at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St.  Each "informance" is designed to help newcomers and experienced concertgoers develop a new appreciation for the intricacies and beauty of chamber music from the Baroque era to the present day.

Participate in the International Year of Astronomy when Dr. Steven Hawley—astronomer, astrophysicist and astronaut—presents Galileo, Apollo, and Beyond on Tuesday, July 7, at 6:30 p.m. at the Central Library, 14 W. 10th St.

A panel of military historians will discuss the significance of the Battle of Gettysburg on Wednesday, July 1, at 6:30 p.m. at the Central Library, 14 W. 10th St.

Production for the Meet the Past television series continues in June with two programs taped before a live audience at the Central Library, 14 W. 10th St. Additional episodes will be taped in upcoming months. The series will air during prime-time on KCPT (channel 19) during the 2009-10 season.

Meet the Past features Library Director Crosby Kemper III interviewing prominent historical figures (as portrayed by veteran Chautauqua performers) with Kansas City-area connections.

The Kansas City Public Library hosts Faye and Aliza Kellerman for a discussion of their novel Prism on Monday, June 29, at 6:30 p.m. at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St.

On Mondays, June 8, 15, 22, and 29, at 1:30 p.m. at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St., the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival presents The Merry Wives of Windsor: The Earliest Sitcom, a series of programs celebrating one of Shakespeare’s rollicking comedies.

The women architects who helped shape Kansas City neighborhoods and beyond are the subject of the second season of They Built Kansas City, a series examining the work of architects responsible for some of the city’s most recognizable structures.

All programs in the series begin at 2 p.m. in the Truman Forum at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St.

The third season of the Script-in-Hand series of stage performances, presented by the Kansas City Public Library and Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre, wraps up with The Devil and Daniel Webster on Friday, June 26, at 7 p.m. at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St.

Gary Pomerantz talks about his new true- crime book set in Kansas City, The Devil’s Tickets: A Night of Bridge, a Fatal Hand, and a New American Age, on Wednesday, June 24, at 7 p.m. at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St.

On Mondays, June 8, 15, 22, and 29, at 1:30 p.m. at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St., the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival presents The Merry Wives of Windsor: The Earliest Sitcom, a series of programs celebrating one of Shakespeare’s rollicking comedies.