Signature Events
Zamaswazi Dlamini-Mandela, Sahm Venter
From four different prisons over 27 years of confinement, Nelson Mandela penned a multitude of letters to prison authorities, government officials, compatriots and, most memorably, his wife Winnie and his five children. More than 250 are highlighted in the new book The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela, released on what would have been the 100th birthday of the revered anti-apartheid activist and South African president on July 10. Mandela’s granddaughter, Zamaswazi Dlamini-Mandela, joins Nelson Mandela Foundation senior researcher Sahm Venter in discussing this intimate portrait of one of the most inspiring figures of the 20th century.
*** NOTE*** General admission seating in main viewing area is AT CAPACITY. RSVPs after 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 15, 2018, will be seated in Helzberg Auditorium on the fifth floor of the Central Library where the event will be shown via livestream. A limited number of VIP tickets are available.
*** NOTE*** General admission seating in main viewing area is AT CAPACITY. RSVPs after 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 15, 2018, will be seated in Helzberg Auditorium on the fifth floor of the Central Library where the event will be shown via livestream. A limited number of VIP tickets are available.
Jeremy Nowak, Wendy Guillies
This event has been postponed at the speaker’s request due to an illness. We will make every effort to notify interested persons when the program is rescheduled.
Joel P. Rhodes
Historian Joel Rhodes, who led research for the Library exhibit It Finally Happened Here: The Kansas City Riot, April 9-12, 1968, takes a 50-year look back at the deadly, four-day episode – one of nearly 300 incidents of civil disorder across America during the civil rights era.
Friday Night Family Fun
After five weeks of drama classes the Young Actors Workshop participants in the need an audience.
Enjoy comedic and dramatic performances by children ages 3-17 taught by theatre instructor John Mulvey, who holds a Bachelor of Theatre Arts degree from Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas.
Michaeline Chance-Reay
Missouri Valley Sundays
When restaurateur Fred Harvey established his popular Harvey House restaurants along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway in the late 1800s, thousands of young women were recruited to staff them. Many “Harvey Girls” came from rural and immigrant families and sought opportunity and adventure.
2018 Adult Summer Reading Program
Every guitarist has a six-string story. They tell tales of their first guitar, guitars lost or stolen, and guitars that chose the musician. Professional photographer and music lover Chuck Holley illustrates these musical memories with his book of full color portraits of the musicians and their beloved instruments.
Denis Kitchen
Denis Kitchen, the founder of Kitchen Sink Press, discusses the life and career of the great Will Eisner, a comics pioneer who created the iconic crime-fighting hero The Spirit and later gave birth to the graphic novel with A Contract with God. His work is spotlighted in the Library exhibit Will Eisner: The Centennial Celebration, 1917-2017.
First Friday
The Library again provides a perfect family-friendly starting point for your First Friday outing. Offerings include: Sunyoung Cheong’s Art in the Loop exercise (for children and adults) in assembling wood, plastic, foam, and fabric objects into unique wearables and exhibit pieces; a kite-decorating workshop led by Stacey Sharpe; and live, electronic-infused music by Katlyn Conroy and Nick Carswell.
