Previous Special Events

Historian Ethan S. Rafuse examines a tumultuous year in the history of the Army of the Potomac, when Gen. “Fighting” Joe Hooker took over a demoralized and bruised Union force and restored its effectiveness, only to lose the battle of Chancellorsville and be replaced by George Meade.

Rafuse is professor of military history at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth.

Co-sponsored by the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College Foundation.

Narrowing the growing gap between the wealthy and the rest of us demands a major investment in “human capital,” according to Kauffman Foundation senior scholar Brink Lindsey.

In his new book Lindsey analyzes how the rich are getting richer while the poor are trapped in a vicious cycle. He offers an ambitious plan calling for educational reform, encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation, increasing early intervention for at-risk children, low-wage job subsidies, and penal reform.

Formerly, Lindsey was vice president for research at the Cato Institute.

In an effort to educate the public on the joy of exercise and healthy eating, the Kansas City Public Library offers weekly Zumba sessions, co-sponsored by the American Heart Association in conjunction with Get To Goal KC, as well as a Healthy Harvest Mobile Market, courtesy of Truman Medical Centers, every Tuesday at the Lucile H. Bluford Branch, 3050 Prospect Ave.

This annual film series returns for an examination of Kansas City’s own home-grown cinema auteur, Robert Altman.

After 20 years in industrial films and television, Altman became an “overnight” success with this black comedy about rebellious, wise-cracking Army surgeons working and playing at a field hospital. Though set in the Korean War, everyone who saw it knew it was really about Vietnam. With Elliott Gould and Donald Sutherland.

Rated R; 116 minutes.

Biographer Robert Farnsworth discusses his new eBook about the life, death, and legacy of Leon Jordan, a one-time police officer and educator who founded Freedom, Inc., and became Missouri’s most powerful black politician before being gunned down in a 1970 assassination outside his Kansas City tavern.

Children and parents are invited to be part of monthly interactive story times presented by the Coterie Theatre. Coterie Theatre artists read from favorite children's books while audience members enjoy an opportunity to "jump into the story" and then participate in an improvised story of their own making.

The Kansas City Public Library and Truman Medical Centers offer comprehensive activities and workshops during a health fair from Noon – 2 p.m. on Saturday, January 19, 2013, at the Lucile H. Bluford Branch, 3050 Prospect Ave.

Oh, the weather outside is frightful but the StoneLion Puppets are so delightful! Enjoy a wintery performance of trick marionettes, singing puppets, and cool music.

The 25-minute show allows children of all ages to dance the “Penguin Shuffle,” sing along with “I Want to be Your Teddy Bear,” watch ice skating mice, or just bounce along with Frosty the Snowman.

StoneLion Puppets tours throughout the Midwest and beyond. The group is a Smithsonian Institute touring performer.

Steve Kraske of KCUR’s Up to Date moderates a panel discussion about Kansas City’s financial planning. Featured city officials and experts include City Manager Troy Schulte, Chair of the City Council Finance Committee Jan Marcason, certified public accountant and representative of the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City James Gegg, and University of Kansas Associate Professor of Public Administration Alfred Ho.

Screenwriter Mitch Brian employs original texts and film clips to illustrate how classic (Chandler, Hammett, Thompson) and modern noir literature has found its way to film and television. His presentation is part of While the City Sleeps, this year’s Adult Winter Reading Program.

Brian has written teleplays for all the major networks and screenplays for directors including Chris Columbus and Oliver Stone.