Closed in 1991, the Laconia State School housed thousands of New Hampshire
citizens. Using an extensive collection of slides, artifacts, and videotaped oral
histories DuBois will trace the evolution and growth of the State’s only institution
for people with developmental disabilities. The presentation will provide insight
into the principle features of society’s values and changes in those values during the
20th century. It will connect Laconia State School’s institutional history with larger
social ideals and principles, which led to national trends and social policy. Research
for this presentation along with the videotaping of 22 oral histories of people who
lived or worked at Laconia was made possible through a 1988 mini grant from the
New Hampshire Humanities Council.
Gordon DuBois earned his M.S. at Indiana State University. He worked for 40 years in
the disability field in Maine and NH most recently for the NH
Bureau of Developmental Services. He worked at Laconia State
School from 1977 until it closed in 1991. A wealth of documents
(files, letter, manuscripts, and artifacts) were catalogued at the NH
Department of Archives and Records Management. DuBois became fascinated
with the history of Laconia State School and to a larger degree the history and
social condition of people with disabilities. To book this program, contact DuBois at 603-279-0379 or by e-mail.
Linda Peavy & Ursula Smith are independent scholars specializing in western women’s history. They have co-authored a dozen books, including The Gold Rush Widows of Little Falls, Women in Waiting in the Westward Movement, and Pioneer Women. They served as historical consultants for the PBS mini-series Frontier House (2002) and wrote the companion book for that series with producer Simon Shaw. Their latest work, Full-Court Quest: The Girls from Fort Shaw Indian School, “Basket Ball” Champions of the World, is the basis for a PBS documentary to be released in 2009. In tandem they have given more than 500 speeches and workshops at venues across the country, including the Library of Congress and the White House.
Even the most ardent fans of women’s basketball are likely unaware that more than a century ago girls’ teams were playing a fast and physical brand of the game – and that among the best of the best was a team from an isolated Indian boarding school in Montana. Playing like “lambent flames” across the polished floors of dance halls, armories, and gymnasiums, the girls from Fort Shaw overcame racial and gender barriers to emerge as the state’s first “basket ball” champions. In their new program, Peavy and Smith tell how the girls took their game to St. Louis, where they introduced an international audience to the fledgling sport and returned home with a trophy befitting world champions.
To book one of Peavy’s and Smith’s programs, contact them at 802-235-2844 or by e-mail.
David Stewart-Smith earned his Ph.D. in History at Union Institute Graduate School. He formerly worked as a professor of History and Cultural Studies at Vermont College of Norwich University; Stewart-Smith is of Scottish and native Pennacook descent and serves as a historian for the New Hampshire Intertribal Council. Indian Issues in New England is one of three programs Stewart-Smith offers through Humanities to Go.
“My research into New Hampshire’s Indian archaeology and history began some 30 years ago,” says Stewart-Smith. “My grandmother’s family history comes out of New Hampshire’s frontier and Indian heritage. I frequently meet people during the programs who are on the same path of discovering their heritage and love of history and enjoy sharing stories with them.”
Stewart-Smith explores the past, present and future of native tribes in New England in his new program. Although they were the first to welcome new settlers to New England in the 17th century, New England tribes have been the last to be recognized. This program focuses on contemporary tribal issues such as recognition, repatriation, political and commercial representations, including school mascots and caricatures.
If you’d like to book one of Stewart-Smith’s programs, contact him by phone at 648-2109 or by e-mail.
Do you love looking at quilts? With her slides and quilts, Cheryl Savageau will discuss quilts from Anglo (main-stream), Amish, African American, and several Native American traditions, and will “read” them for their cultural context,
historical meaning and significance, political, religious, and geographical influences and the differing aesthetics they embody.
Cheryl Savageau is a textile artist and author. She received her M.A. from the University of Massachusetts and is a founding member of Oak and Stone Storytellers. She is the author of poetry collections titled Mother/Land and Dirt Road Home, and a picture book, Muskrat Will Be Swimming. She is the recipient of fellowships and residencies in poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Massachusetts Artists Foundation and the MacDowell Colony. Her quilts have been exhibited at the University of New Hampshire in a contemporary Native Artists exhibit and the Abbe Museum’s Twisting Path exhibit in Bar Harbor. To book one of her programs, contact Savageau at 672-6654 or by e-mail.
The late 20th century saw a renaissance in Native American writing. Poetry was in the vanguard of this literary movement, yet it is often overlooked in Native American literary studies. Abenaki poet Cheryl Savageau will read from the works of Native American poets from diverse tribal traditions, providing cultural and historical context and discussing the many roles played by Native poets in cultural survival.
Cheryl Savageau is a textile artist and author. She received her M.A. from the University of Massachusetts and is a founding member of Oak and Stone Storytellers. She is the author of poetry collections titled Mother/Land and Dirt Road Home, and a picture book, Muskrat Will Be Swimming. She is the recipient of fellowships and residencies in poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Massachusetts Artists Foundation and the MacDowell Colony. Her quilts have been exhibited at the University of New Hampshire in a contemporary Native Artists exhibit and the Abbe Museum’s Twisting Path exhibit in Bar Harbor. To book one of her programs, contact Savageau at 672-6654 or by e-mail.
Local legend says Strawbery Banke Museum began when a Portsmouth librarian gave a rousing speech in 1957.
The backstory is a complex tale of progress and urban renewal versus colonial architecture in New Hampshire’s only seaport.
J. Dennis Robinson, author of Strawbery Banke, A Seaport Museum 400 Years in the Making, will share the history of “America’s oldest neighborhood” and the scenes of the founding years. Tapping into private letters, unpublished records and personal interviews, he explores the politics of preservation at what Ken Burns called “one of the best history museums in the country.” Robinson looks candidly at mistakes made and lessons learned in this grassroots success story.
J. Dennis Robinson has published over 1,000 articles on New Hampshire history and culture. He is the author of seven books including award-winning
histories of Strawbery Banke Museum and the grand hotel, Wentworth by the Sea. If your organization would like to book one of Robinson’s programs you can reach him at 427-2020 or by e-mail.
Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) represent the best of the “bad boy” genre in American literature. But the theory of “The Human Boy” that started it all was the brainchild of two Portsmouth, New Hampshire authors. It all began with “plaguey Ike Partington” (1850s) invented by B.P. Shillaber and A Story of a Bad Boy (1869) by Thomas Bailey Aldrich. Boys are born to be bad, the theory goes, and must fight and fail their way to manhood. Parents who overprotect and direct their sons endanger their futures. Robinson tracks the NH origins of the genre that gave us Dennis the Menace and Bart Simpson.
J. Dennis Robinson has published over 1,000 articles on New Hampshire history and culture. He is the author of seven books including award-winning histories of Strawbery Banke Museum and the grand hotel, Wentworth by the Sea. If your organization would like to book one of Robinson’s programs you can reach him at 427-2020 or by e-mail.
Everyone knows his name, but few know his story. The real John Paul Jones was born in Scotland and spent more than a year in New Hampshire during the American Revolution. A jealous genius, Jones (not his real name) was a complex self-made naval hero on a quest for glory. J. Dennis Robinson tells Jones’ story illustrated with images from his own extensive collection of “Jonesiana.” Robinson shows how America rejected Jones, then used his name and image to sell everything from whiskey, cigarettes, and women’s clothing... even to recruit for the U.S. Navy.
J. Dennis Robinson has published over 1,000 articles on New Hampshire history and culture. He is the author of seven books including award-winning histories of Strawbery Banke Museum and the grand hotel, Wentworth by the Sea. If your organization would like to book one of Robinson’s programs you can reach him at 427-2020 or by e-mail.
Beyond Little Women is a carefully researched one woman show highlighting the suffragist and abolitionist works of this great New England writer (who was also a Civil War nurse). Alcott explores essential questions of liberty, personal responsibility, community activism, abolition and suffrage. In this living history program, Donnelly examines the issues and passions that inspired Alcott, both in her life and in her work. Marianne Donnelly earned a Master of Arts in Educational Media at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. She is a Massachusetts Cultural Council Touring Roster artist. If your organization would like to book one of Donnelly’s programs you can reach her at 617-983-1183.
How the West was Fun dispels the myths of the American Westward movement and of Martha Jane Cannery — also known as Calamity Jane. Donnelly uses historical records, diaries, letters, and railroad lore to distinguish truth from tall tale in this living history program. Calamity Jane might ask folks what the pioneers were afraid of and why. Invariably, the subject of “Indians” arises and she debunks Hollywood myths through a careful exploration of the history of this complex period augmented with songs, and stories.
Marianne Donnelly earned a Master of Arts in Educational Media at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. She is a Massachusetts Cultural Council Touring Roster artist. If your organization would like to book one of Donnelly’s programs you can reach her at 617-983-1183.
Glenn Knoblock explores the fascinating history of NH’s beer and ale brewing industry from Colonial days, when it was home- and tavern-based, to today’s modern breweries and brew pubs. Unusual and rare photos and advertisements document this changing industry and the state’s earliest brewers, including the renowned Frank Jones. A number of lesser-known brewers and breweries that operated in the state are also discussed, including the only brewery owned and operated by a woman before the modern era. Illustrations present evidence of society’s changing attitudes towards beer and alcohol consumption over the years. Whether you’re a beer connoisseur or a “tea-totaler,” this lecture will be enjoyed by adults of all ages. Anticipating an oft-asked question... sorry, there are no beer samples at this lecture.
Glenn Knoblock has a B.A. in History from Bowling Green State University. He is the author of ten books and more than 70 articles. He served as the main military contributor to Harvard and Oxford Universities’ landmark African American Biography Project. Other Humanities to Go programs offered by Knoblock are on NH’s covered bridges, cemeteries, and African-American submariners. If you would like to book one of Knoblock’s programs you can reach him at 569-9209 or by e-mail .
Scandals in business, governments, and schools have become commonplace, but has it always been so? Is the societal moral compass spinning out of control, or do we merely have a “different” value orientation? This presentation explores the notion of “honor” as an element of social cohesion and explores whether “honor” exists in the 21st century.
Aine Donovan is an Associate Professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. She is the Executive Director of the Ethics Institute, a consortium of Dartmouth faculty concerned with teaching and research in applied and professional ethics. She earned her Ph.D. at the University of San Francisco.
If you would like to book Donovan’s
program, contact her at 603-646-1299 or by email.
Lincoln’s political life evolved from humble origins to culminate in the presidency and his leadership during the American Civil War. Schubart’s illustrated lecture traces the crucial years of transition from 1858 to 1861 when Lincoln became a national candidate for office and traveled widely. He came to Exeter to see his son Robert at Phillips Exeter Academy and, while he was here, addressed audiences in Concord, Dover, Exeter, and Manchester.
Schubart holds the Bates-Russell Distinguished Faculty Professorship at Phillips Exeter Academy. A scholar of early American and Civil War history, Schubart has worked with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Endowment for Humanities, and the American Independence Museum. He earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in American History at the State University of New York.
If you would like to book his program, contact Schubart at 603-777-3589 or by email.
Maria W. Stewart will give her famous speech delivered at the Franklin Hall, Boston, September 21, 1832, in this living history program. She was the first
African American woman to author a political manifesto. She broke the taboo against women’s participation in public political dialogues and lectured in defense of women’s rights. A pioneering black abolitionist, a woman of profound religious faith, and a champion of women’s rights, she was a forerunner to Fredrick Douglass and Sojourner Truth.
Gwendolyn Quezaire-Presutti is a performance storyteller with a passion for education. She combines expertise in public speaking and diligence in historical research to create amazing stories and dramatic performances. She is an artist-in-residence at the Connecticut Historical Society and the Prudence Crandall Museum.
If your organization would like to book one of Quezaire-Presuti’s programs, you can reach her at 860-528-0733 or by e-mail.
Sarah Harris, “a young woman of color, respectable, a teacher of religion and daughter of honorable parents,” was born in 1812 in Norwich, Connecticut. Sarah dreamed of opening her own school for African American children. Connecticut in the early 1830s offered three options for higher education: Yale University, Washington College (now Trinity), and Wesleyan University. None admitted women nor did any university in the U.S., except Oberlin College. Sarah approached Prudence Crandall about accepting her as a day student at the Canterbury Female Boarding School. This took an act of immense courage, to request an education alongside the daughters of wealthy white citizens. Hear the rationale of one woman’s hopes and aspirations in this living history program.
Gwendolyn Quezaire-Presutti is a performance storyteller with a passion for education. She combines expertise in public speaking and diligence in historical research to create amazing stories and dramatic performances. She is an artist-in-residence at the Connecticut Historical Society and the Prudence Crandall Museum.
If your organization would like to book one of Quezaire-Presuti’s programs, you can reach her at 860-528-0733 or by e-mail..
Invented in the 1830s, photography was an unprecedented technological and artistic breakthrough. Developed independently by Louis Daguerre and William Henry Fox Talbot, photography revolutionized how images were made and used. This talk introduces the beginnings of photography and explores the characteristics of the first photographs, highlighting early subjects, interpretations, and critical reactions.
Martin L. Fox is a Professor of Art History at the NH Institute of Art. As a freelance editor and museum professional, Fox has contributed to the creation of catalogs, curriculum, and print materials for museums including New Hampshire’s Currier Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Dia Art Foundation, the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the International Center of Photography, the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, and for publishers McGraw-Hill, and Yale University Press. To book one of Fox’s programs, contact him at 603-622-5792 or by e-mail .
Among the most iconic images in American history are the documentary photographs taken during the Great Depression by Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Russell Lee, and others for the Farm Security Administration, a New Deal program. Roy Stryker, the organizer of this effort, expressed its goal as “introducing America to Americans.” This discussion and slide presentation examines these documentary photographs and how they served to define the era.
Martin L. Fox is a Professor of Art History at the NH Institute of Art. As a freelance editor and museum professional, Fox has contributed to the creation of catalogs, curriculum, and print materials for museums including New Hampshire’s Currier Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Dia Art Foundation, the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the International Center of Photography, the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, and for publishers McGraw-Hill, and Yale University Press. To book one of Fox’s programs, contact him at 603-622-5792 or by e-mail .
In a brief 30-year period in the early 19th century the New Hampshire countryside became home to hundreds of thousands of sheep. Production of wool became a lucrative business, generating fortunes and providing the only era of true agricultural prosperity in the state’s history. It left behind a legacy of fine architecture and thousands of miles of rugged stonewalls. Farmers overcame enormous challenges to make sheep husbandry succeed, but forces from beyond New Hampshire were to doom the industry, with social consequences that would last a century. Steve Taylor traces this history and its impacts on New Hamsphire today.
Steve Taylor is a farmer, journalist and longtime public official. He operates a dairy and maple farm in Meriden Village, has been a newspaper reporter and editor and served a quarter century as New Hampshire’s commissioner of agriculture. He is a lifelong student of the state’s rural culture. If you would like to book one of Taylor’s programs, contact him by phone at 603-469-3375 or by e-mail.
In this program Steve Taylor explores the impact of cattle on New Hampshire’s past, present and future. Cattle were essential to the survival of the earliest New Hampshire settlements and their contributions have been central to the life and culture of the state ever since. From providing dietary sustenance to basic motive power, bovines have had a deep and enduring bond with their keepers, one that lingers today and is a vital part of the iconography of rural New Hampshire. Where are New Hampshire’s cows today? What are they doing for us now? Some answers will surprise you.
Steve Taylor is a farmer, journalist and longtime public official. He operates a dairy and maple farm in Meriden Village, has been a newspaper reporter and editor and served a quarter century as New Hampshire’s commissioner of agriculture. He is a lifelong student of the state’s rural culture.
If you would like to book one of Taylor’s programs, contact him by phone at 603-469-3375 or by e-mail.
Meet Julius Caesar as he grows up in a Rome that is recovering from one civil war and headed for another. Sebastian Lockwood portrays Caesar in a grippping living history program. Caesar will discuss the powerful women in his life who will help him achieve his destiny: his mother, Aurelia; his aunt, Julia; his wives; and his great love, Servilia. This is the man who claims descent from the Goddess Venus herself. Hear him describe his rise to power in Rome, his great adventures, his time in Gaul, and finally, after he crosses the Rubicon, his war with Pompey that will leave him the most powerful man in the world. Here is your opportunity to ask the great man questions about his times and how they relate to ours.
Lockwood has an M.A. in Social Anthropology and an M.A. in Education from Cambridge University. He also earned a B.A. in English and American Literature at Boston University and teaches in Lesley University’s Creative Arts program and at the New Hampshire Institute of Art. To book one of Lockwood’s programs, contact him by phone at 603-547-3373 or via e-mail.
Sebastian Lockwood takes us into Homer's world in this living history program which begins with Book V where we find Odysseus weeping on Calypso’s island. Odysseus himself will tell the tale of his great encounters: Princess Nausika, the Cyclops, Circe, Hades, the Lotus Eaters. The tale ends on Ithaka, with the reunion with his faithful Penelope and confrontations with her many suitors. Now you can ask what delayed Odysseus so in his return.
Lockwood has an M.A. in Social Anthropology and an M.A. in Education from Cambridge University. He also earned a B.A. in English and American Literature at Boston University and teaches in Lesley University’s Creative Arts program and at the New Hampshire Institute of Art.
To book one of Lockwood’s programs, contact him by phone at 603-547-3373 or via e-mail.
With the Good Friday agreement of 1998, the people of Northern Ireland experienced the first real indication that the 30-year nightmare quaintly referred to as “The Troubles” might be over. A decade later, however, militant political murals still adorn the walls of buildings throughout Belfast and other Northern Ireland cities and towns. These images provide a vivid backdrop for tales of everyday life during the years of sectarian violence, tales that at once reflect a painful past and anticipate a harmonious future. Through photographs and stories from Northern Ireland, Kathleen Shine Cain explores the impact of civil strife on a resilient people and the ways in which narratives and images can help to heal the wounds of war.
Professor of English at Merrimack College, Kathleen Shine Cain has directed the college’s Writing Center and the Women’s Studies Program, and has chaired the English Department. During academic year 2005-2006 she was a visiting professor at St. Mary’s University College of Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Her books include Leon Uris: A Critical Companion and The Mercury Reader. If you’d like to book this program, contact Kathleen Shine Cain by phone at 603-437-2831 or e-mail her .
The Hutchinson Family Singers of Milford, New Hampshire, were America’s most popular musical entertainers for much of the mid-19th century. They achieved international fame with songs advancing social reform and political causes such as abolition, temperance, women’s suffrage, and the presidential campaign of Abraham Lincoln. Impresario P.T. Barnum wrote, “The celebrated and honored Hutchinson Family always give a most excellent entertainment, which pleases all classes, and exercises a mighty influence for good. To endorse them as the best of entertainers and philanthropists is as superfluous as a certificate to the sun for its warmth and brightness.”
Singer and storyteller Steve Blunt presents this living history program as John Hutchinson tells his family’s story and shares songs with audiences of all ages. Blunt plays the guitar and shares songs from our past such as “The Old Granite State,” “Get Off the Track!” and “Tenting Tonight at the Old Campground.”
Blunt’s interest in the Hutchinson Family Singers was sparked by a visit to the New Hampshire Historical Society Museum in 2003. He has an MA in Teaching from Columbia University. He is a Music Specialist at River College’s Early Childhood Center and at the Montessori Children’s Center in Concord. Blunt has created and performed educational programs for schools, libraries and other organizations since 2001. His recordings include “Hang On, Henry!” and “Outta School!,” both of which won Parents’ Choice “Approved” Awards. To book this program, contact Steve Blunt at 603-888-3866 or e-mail him.
Susan B. Anthony, abolitionist and suffragist, is busy circulating petitions, getting arrested, and challenging legislators. Sally Matson portrays Anthony in this living history program. Matson reveals Anthony’s righteous fury, her wit and her courage as she interacts with Frederick Douglass, Horace Greeley, Lucy Stone, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and other leaders of the abolitionist and suffrage movements. Letters, speeches, and diaries highlight Matson’s presentation as she brings Anthony to life in a riveting performance. Matson’s presentation at the recent Humanities Fair won rave reviews.
Sally Matson is a graduate of the Northwestern University School of Communication. In addition to acting and directing for thirty years, she studied writing at the University of Virginia and Manhattanville College and has been a teacher, most recently at the American Textile History Museum in Lowell. She has portrayed Anthony for more than five years at libraries, historical societies, colleges and corporations in thirteen states.
Matson will present her first program through Humanities to Go on
Tuesday, August 12 at 7 p.m. at the Holderness Historical Society.
If your organization would like to book Sally Matson’s program, the first step is to contact her to arrange a date. You can reach her by mail at 23 William St., Andover, MA 01810; by phone at
978-749-9908; or by e-mail .
A long neglected and misunderstood area of American Indian art has been the “souvenir” beadwork produced by the northeast woodland tribes. Gerry Biron’s program examines the work produced by the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) from upstate New York and eastern Canada and the Wabanaki in northern New England and the Canadian Maritime Provinces. Biron will survey the close relationship this work has with two other cultural phenomena—the rise of tourism in the northeast and the fashion industry.
In the early 1800s, native women from the tribes of the northeast created a new art form: delicate, intricately beaded purses, hats, and other whimsical objects. This “souvenir” art, as it has come to be called, played a crucial role in the subsistence of many American Indian families during the nineteenth century. Gifted with a refined sense of design, and sharing a passion for beadworking, they executed a profusion of bright, bold mosaics that included floral, figurative, and geometric motifs.
As they worked in a communal setting, the beaders wove stories into their designs which spoke of what it meant to be Haudenosaunee or Wabanaki. Festive dress was a language through which many artists expressed their deepest beliefs about the universe. Embedded within the designs are stories of people told in symbols and motifs that speak of sacred relationships with the natural world. Many such stories are lost now, but the art survives as a legacy, testifying to the inventiveness and aesthetics of a forgotten people.
Artist, author, collector and independent researcher Gerry Biron will present a comprehensive illustrated survey of the “souvenir” purses that were made by these women during the nineteenth century. His interest in the Indians of the northeast stems in part from his ancestry – his matrilineal grandmother Clarissa Basque was a Mi’kmaq from Nova Scotia. A beadworker since childhood, he’s been doing professional restoration of American Indian beadwork for over twenty years. To book Biron’s program, contact him by mail at P.O. Box 250, Saxton’s River, Vermont, 05154-0250; by phone at 802-869-2077 or by e-mail .
Apply for a Humanities to Go program with this simple, one-page application form. Download the HTG Application Checklist to help guide you through the application process. Each HTG program host is limited to three programs per year; however, those who partner with a completely separate organization may enjoy the benefits of six programs per year, when each partner serves as host for three programs. (The partner organization must be a separate administrative entity; you should not duplicate one another’s constituent base.)
The Humanities Council encourages collaboration! You can build your audience, increase your program power, and share your costs with any partner organization you think might like to help host your selected programs.
The cost share formula for non-profits is $35 for the first program; $50 for the second; and $75 for the third.
Submit your application at least ten weeks before your planned event.
Step One:
Select a program and contact a partner in your town if you wish to collaborate (we recommend schools, parent/teacher organizations, chambers of commerce, town offices, museums, libraries, historical societies, and other civic organizations).
Contact the speaker well in advance. Remember you need to schedule 10 weeks between submission of the application and the event. Set a date, time, and location for the program with the speaker you’ve chosen. Provide the speaker with details about your audience, your location, program protocol, evaluation procedures, any other details that will give your speaker a good idea what to expect. Confirm with your speaker what technology he/she will require. Be sure to ask for the speaker's round trip mileage to and from your venue. The Humanities Council will pay up to $50 in mileage at .50 cents per mile. Your organization is responsible for paying any mileage above that amount.
PLEASE NOTE: You must contact and schedule a date and time with your chosen presenter FIRST before submitting your application. The Humanities Council does not book the speaker for you.
Step Two:
Mail your application to us with a check for the correct cost share amount. Please clearly indicate the place where the program will be held, including the address, so we can publicize your program in our print and on-line Calendars. When you receive a response from us, confirm the program with your host partner and speaker.
Step Three:
Begin promoting your program (with your host partner if applicable). In any publicity, please give the Humanities Council equal credit for sponsorship. Use the Humanities Council logo on all print materials and post the logo on your website with a link to the Council's site. Download a black and white or color version of our logo with these links. Check with your local newspapers and radio stations for deadlines. Refreshments are always a good audience draw. Prepare your volunteers in advance. If you change any of the logistics for your program including time, place, or date or if you anticipate a weather-related cancellation YOU MUST contact the Humanities Council as soon as possible at 224-4071 so we can note the changes in our print and on-line materials.
Step Four:
Program hosts will receive a check from us two weeks in advance of the program which you must use to pay your presenter(s) their stipends plus mileage at the time of the program. IMPORTANT: The program host pays the presenter directly on the day of the program with the funds previously received from the Humanities Council. You must have a check for both the $200 stipend (or possibly a higher amount if it is a Chautauqua program) and total mileage ready to present to the speaker at your program. The Humanities Council does not pay the speaker directly.
- The NHHC pays up to $50 in total mileage costs at .50 per mile, your organization pays mileage costs above this $50;
- Chautauqua performers may charge an additional fee of up to $125, which the program hosts cover. Chautauqua scholars are strongly urged to be flexible in their fees, especially for organizations with small budgets;
- Programs that include multiple presenters (two or more) are limited to six presentations per calendar year – please check with the NHHC before booking these programs to check on their status;
- If you must reschedule the program because of speaker sickness, inclement weather, or other unforeseen crisis, please inform the Humanities Council, your community, and any media outlets as far in advance as possible.
- Evaluation is essential for sustaining quality programming. We ask for three different types with your final report to us; one from the speaker, one from the program organizer, and one from your audience. When you introduce the speaker, please also announce that you will collect evaluations at the end of the program. Give an evaluation form to your speaker when you pay him or her. The form should be returned to you for inclusion in your final report. Evaluation forms are included in the back of the catalog. You may feel free to make copies for your program(s) or download the forms with the links below.
Download the Audience Evaluation Form
Download the Progam Host Evaluation Form
Download the Presenter Evaluation Form
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