WPBT2 will host two dinners with Jim Lehrer, PBS NewsHour Anchor and also moderator of eleven Presidential Debates, on Wednesday, February 22 at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach and Thursday, February 23 at the Coral Gables Country Club.  Ticket information for the dinners is available at wpbt2.org/lehrer.

 Jim Lehrercame to PBS in 1972, teaming with Robert MacNeil in 1973 to cover the Senate Watergate hearings. They began in 1975 what became The MacNeil/Lehrer Report, and, in 1983, the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, the first 60-minute evening news program on television.  When MacNeil retired in 1995, the program was renamed The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.

In the last six presidential elections, Lehrer moderated eleven of the nationally televised candidate debates.  His latest book, a non-fiction work about the presidential debates, titled Tension City,was published in September 2011. At the WPBT2 dinners, Lehrer will discuss his latest book and give attendees a ringside seat for some of the epic political battles or our time, shedding light on some of the critical turning points and theoretical faux pas that helped determine the outcome of America's presidential elections.  He will provide antedotes from his experiences as "the man in the middle seat."

During the Evenings with Jim Lehrer, WPBT2 will also present Lifetime Service Awards to William F. Koch, Jr. and Herbert A. Tobin for their commitment to public television WPBT2.

Louisa May Alcott’s Life and Work Discussed at Broward County Libraries!

 

Louisa May Alcott is recognized around the world for her novel Little Women, but few know Alcott as the bold, compelling woman who grew up in the innermost circle of the Transcendentalist and antislavery movements, served as a Civil War army nurse, and led a secret literary life writing pulp fiction. Louisa May Alcott was her own best character and her life was her own best plot.

The Broward County Library’s public programs shed light on Louisa May Alcott by exploring her life and the historical and cultural context that inspired her remarkable body of work. Alcott’s childhood was characterized by chronic economic difficulties and frequent uprooting due to her father’s utopian experiments. Despite her family’s financial hardships, Alcott experienced a rich intellectual life influenced by family friends such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller. When slavery threatened the nation, the Alcott home was an Underground Railroad stop for fugitives; during the Civil War, Alcott wanted to fight, but as a woman she could enlist only as a nurse.

To support Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women, a documentary film co-produced by Nancy Porter Productions, Inc. and Thirteen/WNET New York’s American Masters, Broward County Library will present six programs from May through September 2011. The six series program will re-introduce audiences to Louisa May Alcott’s story. Louisa May Alcott programs in libraries are sponsored by the American Library Association Public Programs Office with the support of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Additional sponsors are the Florida Center for the Book, the Broward Public Library Foundation, the Friends of the Fort Lauderdale Libraries and WPBT2.

The six programs are located at the following libraries in Broward County:

Saturday, May 7th, 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Alvin Sherman Library, Research and Information Technology Center at Nova Southeastern University, 3100 Ray Ferrero Jr. Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Gallery 2nd Floor

Louisa May Alcott: Through Her Eyes. A community-wide library event focusing on the life, works, and times of Louisa may Alcott. View film clips from the documentary film, Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women with commentary by Nova Southeastern University Scholar Dr. Christine Jackson.

Wednesday, June 8th, 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm

Main Library, 6th Floor, 100 S. Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Louisa May Alcott Wrote That?  Reading and Discussion of Louisa May Alcott’s lesser know works with Scholar Dr. Christine Jackson of Nova Southeastern University. The project scholar will facilitate a discussion exploring these short works, which together help display the range of Alcott’s writing and exemplify her strong and dynamic connections to the culture in which she lived. Copies of her stories will be available at the program.

Tuesday, August 9th, 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm

South Regional/ Broward College Library, 7300 Pines Blvd. Pembroke Pines

Louisa May Alcott: Literary Phenomenon and Social Reformer

Scholar led program with Dr. Chrisitine Jackson of Nova Southeastern University focusing on Louisa May Alcott as a self-trained and successful professional writer. The discussion will center on how Alcott used her writing to advance many of her era’s ideas for social reform, such as Abolitionism and women’s rights.

Thursday, September 15th, 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm

Main Library, 6th Floor, 100 S. Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Reading and discussion of the biography – Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women.

A scholar-led discussion by Dr. Christine Jackson of Nova Southeastern University of the biography; documentary film clips will be presented during the discussion.

Wednesday, September 21st, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm

West Regional Library Auditorium, 8601 West Broward Blvd, Plantation, Florida

Film Screening and Discussion – Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women. Discussion led by scholar Dr. Christine Jackson of Nova Southeastern University.

Thursday, September 22nd, 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Main Library, 6th Floor, 100 S. Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Make your personal Louisa May Alcott journal with writer and artist Susan Buzzi. Susan Buzzi will talk about Louisa May Alcott as a young writer and have teens decorate and design their own journals.

WPBT2 will broadcast the documentary Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women during the libraries program series. The first presentation of the 1-1/2 hour documentary is May 1st at 6:00 pm on WPBT2.2 Create (Comcast 202).

Miami-Dade Public Library System presents Art of Storytelling Festival on April 30, 2011 from 10:30 am to 4:00 pm.

Storytellers from around the world will take center stage in downtown Miami  
as Miami-Dade Public Library System celebrates its eleventh annual Art of Story Telling International Festival Day.

A magical adventure awaits as celebrity storytellers, from around the world join the cast of the Bit’s ‘N Pieces Puppet Theatre, Mother Goose on the Loose, Niall de Burca, magician Robert Hermens, the Bahamas Junkanoo Shakers, Geeta Dias: Bollywood Indian Dancers, School of Rock, the Hip Hop Kids and many others! Also back by popular demand is the teen zone-an area just for ‘tweens and teens which features anime, manga and video gaming competitions, plus activities around popular books and lots of cool surprises!

This FREE event is open to people of all ages and takes place at the Main Library - 101 W Flagler Street in downtown Miami. It begins at 10:30 am and ends at 4:00 pm.

WPBT2 premieres Looking for Lincoln on April 12th at 8:00 pm.

This documentary follows one of the country’s best and enigmatic presidents. It is presented and written by Henry Louis Gates Jr. In the film, Gates shows how the Lincoln legend grew out of controversy, greed, love, clashing political perspectives, power struggles, and considerable disagreement over how our 16th president should be remembered. His quest to piece together Lincoln’s complex life takes him from Illinois to Gettysburg to Washington, D.C., and face-to-face with people who live with Lincoln every day – relic hunters, re-enactors, and others for whom the study of Lincoln is a passion.

The program gives an in-depth look at the famous almost mythological president. It discusses Lincoln’s childhood and his depression stage of his life. Furthermore, it explains Lincoln’s relationships with women and how he ended up with Mary Todd. It illustrates how Lincoln believed that there was strength in intelligence and he was not afraid to ask for help by enlisting his ex-opponents to be apart of his presidential cabinet.  He truly believed it would be the best for the country to succeed, as would freeing the slaves. President Abraham Lincoln left a mark on this country with more than just freeing the slaves and it shows in the documentary.

A Night of Poetry Everywhere with Liam Callanan and Campbell McGrath is hosted by the Miami Dade Public Library System on Thursday April 14 at 6:30

A Night of Poetry Everywhere is hosted by Liam Callanan, executive producer of Poetry Everywhere, and award-winning poet Campbell  McGrath. The evening is dedicated to screenings, readings and discussions about poetry. The event consists of thirty different short animated poetry films from different poets including Miami’s own Campbell McGrath to the current Santa Fe Poet Laureate Valerie Martinez. Each film features every word of every poem, both onscreen and in the soundtrack. These films are screened on public television and in buses, libraries  and classrooms. The purpose of these films is to bring poetry into public life.

A Night of Poetry Everywhere is presented in collaboration with University of Wynwood, University of Wisconsin, and the Poetry Foundation as part of O, Miami (www.omiami.org), a county-wide poetry festival inaugurating in April 2011. Its goal is for every single person in Miami-Dade County to encounter a poem during the month of April.

The event A Night of Poetry Everywhere takes place on Thursday April 14, 2011 at 6:30 till 8:30 at the Main Library Auditorium at 101 W. Flagler Street.

WPBT2’s video sharing website, uVu, will cover this special night.  If you cannot attend, take a look at the event on uvuvideo.org, keyword “Night of Poetry”

Tom Hudson, co-anchor on Nightly Business Report, is moderating a panel at LitLive on March 27th

  Tom Hudson, co-anchor on Nightly Business Report, is moderating Broward Public Library Foundation’s LitLive! panel at Nova Southeastern University’s Alvin Sherman Library on Sunday, March 27th.

LitLive! is an annual event of the Broward Public Library Foundation. The event provides  the community with an opportunity to meet 21 outstanding authors and ask questions about their books. The day includes panel discussions, book signings and lectures.

The event is from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Alvin Sherman Library, Research, and Information Technology 
Center on the Davie campus of Nova Southeastern University. Tom Hudson’s panel discussion on the topic Hanging Tough will begin at 2:15 pm. Hudson’s panel will include authors Lee Kravitz, Rob Sheffield and Caitlin Shetterly. 

LitLive! is sponsored in part by WPBT2.  For more information visit www.LiteraryFeastOnline.org. 

Miami Dade Public Library System Celebrates 40 Years!

Join the Miami Dade Public Library System as they celebrate their 40 year anniversary on Thursday, January 20 at the Main Library on 101 West Flagler Street.  The celebration will kick off with the “Dancing through the Ages” dance party at 12:00 p.m.  Wear your favorite outfit from the past four decades and boogie down at the dance contest.  Enjoy music, giveaways, prizes and a performance by the Super Soul Steppers.

The celebration continues that evening at 6:30 p.m. with a reception and art exhibit featuring music from the Greater Miami Youth Symphony and a talk with Miami historian, Dr. Paul George. Assembling an Era, an art exhibit that commemorates the library’s history in the community, will open that night.

Both events are free and open to the public.

For more information, visit www.mdpls.org.