Enjoy free online lectures from the comfort of your home. We've been enlightened and entertained in the past by authors, artists, public officials, historians and more. Even some LLC members with great stories to tell. Admission is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required.
Fall 2024 Series
Do you have a speaker suggestion? Send it to Webinar coordinator Jane Adler at [email protected].
"LLC is greatly inexpensive and has a wonderful variety of courses. I enjoy being exposed to and stimulated by subjects about which I previously only had limited knowledge.”
Susan Van Horne, Swansea, MA
Thursday, September 12, 2024
4-5 PM
Ben Nacar, Pianist and Composer
The Evolution of the Cadenza: Lecture and Live Piano Recital
Register for this free Zoom Webinar.
Join us for an enchanting afternoon of music and insight with our Lecture and Live Piano Recital featuring the acclaimed pianist Ben Nacar. After a successful presentation in 2022, Ben returns to captivate us once more. This time, he will explore the fascinating world of the cadenza, a hallmark of the classic concerto. A particular focus will be on Beethoven's own cadenzas. Concertos by Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and Rachmaninoff will also figure in this presentation. Don't miss this unique opportunity to experience a blend of performance and education from a truly talented musician.
Benjamin Nacar, pianist and composer, gives frequent performances, both solo and in collaboration with professional and student musicians. His continuing musical adventures are documented at his website bennacar.com and his YouTube channel youtube.com/insearchofthemuses. Information about his album can be found at bennacar.bandcamp.com.
Monday, September 16, 2024
4-5 PM
John Kostrzewa, Writer of the Walking Rhode Island column for The Providence Journal
Fall Hikes - Walking Rhode Island
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John Kostrzewa has been hiking across the state for years. His talk and slide show will include how he started, where he has hiked and what he has learned. He’ll share his observations about the history, geological features, vegetation and wildlife he has found along the trails. He’ll also explain what makes Rhode Island’s trails unique and outline some of the challenges Rhode Islanders face to maintain the state’s public preserves.
John Kostrzewa worked for forty-two years in the newspaper industry, including the last twenty-nine at The Providence Journal as a business reporter, columnist, business editor, and assistant managing editor. He started his walking column in 2021 and has published a compilation of his hikes into a book, Walking Rhode Island 40 Hikes for Nature and History Lovers with Pictures, GPS Coordinates and Trail Maps.
Tuesday, September 24, 2024
4 PM – 5 PM
Linda Bloom, LCSW and Charlie Bloom, MSW, Authors and Relationship Counselors
Secrets to the Best Relationships
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Now more than ever, people need guidance for navigating conflict wisely and skillfully, drawing on insights from their work, the blooms offer practical tools and strategies that apply to all relationships, including relationships between seniors, partners, adult, children, grandchildren, friends, and others. During their presentation, they refer to their newest book, An End to Arguing, where they convincingly show how destructive conflicts can be avoided. Successful discussions provide a stimulus for both individual and interpersonal growth. Their work doesn’t just provide a way of preventing differences from turning into painful conflict; it provides insight into what qualities are inherent and argument-free relationships. The way of getting there may be simpler than you think. Questions are welcome.
Linda Bloom, LCSW and Charlie Bloom, MSW are trained as psychotherapists and relationship counselors. They have worked with individuals, couples, groups and organizations, and have lectured and taught at learning institutions throughout the USA and internationally. They have authored five books, including the bestseller,101 Things I Knew When I Got Married.
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
4- 5 PM
Secretary of State Gregg Amore
Election Integrity for 2024
Register for this free Zoom Webinar.
Please try not to miss this important presentation.
Secretary of State Gregg Amore will provide an update on the November 5 general election, including key dates and reminders for voters, as well as an overview of elections administration. Election Day is November 5. Get important information about upcoming deadlines ahead of time by visiting vote.ri.gov. Please bring your questions.
Secretary of State Gregg Amore was elected in November of 2022 and sworn into office on January 3, 2023 as the thirtieth Rhode Island Secretary of State.
Monday, October 28, 2024
4-5 PM
Linda Kushner
Author, The Fight That Saved the Libraries: A True Rhode Island Story
The Fight that Saved Providence’s Neighborhood Libraries from Extinction
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Here is the inside story of how a small, determined group of people, drawing on their diverse skills, managed to stop the Providence Public Library, a 138-year-old institution, from closing its branches libraries in 2009 by creating a separate new library system, the Community Libraries of Providence (CLPVD) which now runs all nine neighborhood libraries for the city of Providence. The five-year fight to get the city contract was truly a David and Goliath story. David won again!
Linda Kushner is a retired attorney who represented the East Side as a state legislator for twelve years, from 1982 to 1994. In 2004, she joined with a small group of reformers, and using her legal and political skills, launched a five-year battle to reform the library.
Wednesday, November 6, 2024
4pm – 5pm
SPECIAL PRESENTATION – A live performance of Menopause Mama written and performed by Rose Weaver, Television, film, music, and solo performer and writer
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Menopause Mama is a compelling, cutting edge and often hilarious solo performance about menopause and aging. Through a variety of characters, Weaver depicts the struggles, triumphs, tears and lighter side of menopause. Her take no-prisoners honestly is delivered with a touch of humor, ensuring the audience is entertained while also gaining valuable insights.
Try not to miss this extraordinary live performance.
Rose Weaver, a 2000 Pell Award winner and New England Emmy nominee, has entertained audiences for more than 40 years in television, film, music, and as a solo performer and writer. She has appeared in many theatres across the country including many performances for Trinity Rep including August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean where she played Aunt Ester; Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grille; Dussie Mae in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom; Bernice in The Piano Lesson, and the witch in Into the Woods. A few of her television performances include In the Heat of the Night, Poetic Justice, LA Law, Tales From the Crypt, The Accused, Not In My Family, Lady in White, and Go Tell It On the Mountain. See Rose Weaver on Wikipedia.
Thank you to our previous speakers:
Stephen Kaplan and Marilyn Kaplan
Experiencing Israel at War: A Recent Visit to Israel
Presented May 20, 2024
Joe Petteruti
Author, A Night She’d Remember: My Grandmother's Experience on the Titanic
Presented May 9, 2024
Steve Kidd
Director and Resident Actor, Gamm Theatre
Theatre Arts Teacher, Moses Brown School
Sigh/Omelas: A live one man show
Presented April 29, 2024
Andrew Starcevic
Peace Corps Regional Recruiter – RI, MA, CT
Office of Volunteer Recruitment and Selection Serving in Namibia
Presented April 17, 2024
Charles Clarkson, PhD
Director of Avian Research, Audubon Society of Rhode Island
What Audubon is Doing to Protect Birds
Presented April 4, 2024
David N. Cicilline
President and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation
Former Rhode Island Congressman
Presented March 27, 2024
Marjorie Turner Hollman
Author, Do You Want to Take an Easy Walk?
Presented March 20, 2024
Dr. David Weed
Coordinator, Sowams Heritage Area Project
Creating a New National Heritage Area in East Bay, RI and nearby Massachusetts
Presented February 21, 2024
Oleksandr (Alexander) Kreshchuk
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Music Department, Artist in Residence
Ukraine: Known and Unknown
Presented February 6, 2024
Rick Beyer
Co-Author, The Ghost Army of World War II (a NYT Bestseller)
Award-Winning Documentary Filmmaker
Presented January 24, 2024
Maria DeCarvalho
Azulejos: Memories in Blue and White
Presented November 21, 2023