Featured Events

“Two Chairs (or maybe…three?)"

In 1857 William Morris commissioned a group of furniture for the apartments that he shared with Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti in Red Lion Square. The objects were stylistically “Arthurian” in keeping with the sensibilities of the Pre-Raphaelites. Two chairs, prominent in the group, were acquired by the Delaware Art Museum in 1997. A mysterious third chair that surfaced in a Belgian flea market in 2010 will be presented, compared and contrasted with the documented chairs, and a probable resolution to the mystery will be offered. 

Mike Podmaniczky was in the first graduating class of the Conservation Analytical Laboratory’s Furniture Conservation Program in Washington, DC, receiving a certificate from the Smithsonian Institution and an M.A.

Kevin Reilly was living a charmed life. He had fulfilled his lifelong dream of playing in the NFL, for his beloved Philadelphia Eagles. Then, a rare tumor in his shoulder had him undergo a radical amputation and put an end to his professional football career. Join us in the Terrace Room as he shares his personal story with us. 

Join us in the Terrace Room as we welcome Mark W. (MACK) McElroy, PhD from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.  Mack will be discussing with us the Orion program. This program is NASA's current effort to send humans back to the moon and to Mars. Involved in this program is design and construction of a crew capsule that will be launched by a new rocket into deep space (i.e., beyond Earth orbit). Occurring in parallel will also be a new human occupied space station that orbits the moon that Orion will interact with on missions. I will discuss these programs from my perspective in the structural engineering branch and describe how all of these efforts fit together in the larger picture of human space exploration over the next 1-2 decades.

Internationally acclaimed pianist Enrique Graf will be performing in our living room on Saturday, June 23rd. Mr. Graf is one the world’s premiere virtuosos equally sought after as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher. He has been variously described as an “assured and technically complete pianist” and “one of the best interpreters of his generation” (El Pais), who plays with “fiery virtuosity” (The New York Times).

Join us in the Terrace Room as we welcome, Lenny Wilson is the Associate Director of Development for the Delaware Center for Horticulture.  tA Botanical Shoemaker by training, Lenny uses traditional methods and materials to unify leather, leaves, and other materials to craft unique life-size shoes. His one-of-a-kind shoes made from plant material are displayed in local art galleries and exhibits.

Join us in the Terrace Room on Thursday, April 26 as we welcome our guest speaker, Alison Hoagland. Her engaging study of this archetypal American building form combines in-depth research and fieldwork with vivid anecdotes. Especially valuable is her fresh and multifaceted interpretation of the building type as an icon evokes pioneer virtues, humbly born presidents, and childhood memories of Lincoln logs and little houses on the prairie. Alison assures us that we will never take the log cabin for granted again.

Alison K. Hoagland, Professor Emerita in Social Sciences at Michigan Technological University and author of Mine Towns: Buildings for Workers in Michigan’s Copper Country and Buildings of Alaska.

Singing the classics from the Great American Song Book, we welcome back Katie Eagleson.  Since the beginning of her professional career, Katie has been the featured vocalist in many ensembles, ranging from duos to Big Bands, singing "pop" music, in venues large and small, and events both public and private, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Chris' Jazz Cafe and Sellersville Theater. Katie will be performing at Stonegates with Lenny Pierro and his group.  You're not going to want to miss it! 

Jonathan Russ is an associate professor of History at the University of Delaware.  Jonathan serves as the editor of the Delaware History and as a board member of the Delaware Heritage Commission. Professor Russ regularly teaches courses in the history of Delaware, United States history and the history of business at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The topic that Professor Russ has agreed to talk about is: The settlement of the Dutch and the Swedes in Delaware and the origin of the American log cabin. This topic will fit together nicely with Alice Hoagland’s lecture the following week on the American log cabin.

Ralph Begleiter (former CNN World Affairs Correspondent and Director of the University of Delaware's Center for Politcal Communication)  will join us for a discussion about how the social media and Internet communication revolutions have overturned a century of mainstream information media economics, ethics and standards.

From coral reefs to deserts, The Nature Conservancy works to protect the lands and waters that plants and animals need to survive—for us and for future generations. Come join State Director, Richie Jones as he shares with us how the Natrure Conservancy protects nature to preserve life.  Founded in 1951, the Nature Conservancy is the world's leading conservation organization.

Join us as we welcome the Executive Director of the Delaware Theater Company, Bud Martin.  Bud will share with us just what it takes to produce a play and the struggles it takes to land a play on Broadway. In 2012, Bud assumed the role of Executive and Artistic Director at Delaware Theatre Company. Prior to this post, his career has spanned from the theatre to corporate finance to Broadway producer.  

The mission of Delaware Theatre Company is to create theatre of the highest professional quality in Delaware and thereby enrich the vitality of the area through artistic programming, education and community service.