The Lake on Fire by Rosellen Brown

Events

All programs are free and open to the public and will be held in the Library auditorium, unless otherwise designated.

Mike at the Movies: How Chicago Invented the U.S. Film Industry - Wednesday, March 27, at 7 pm

Filmmaker and professor Michael Glover Smith describes how innovations including Eadweard Muybridge's Zoopraxiscope, a projection device that debuted at the 1893 World's Fair, turned Chicago into the center of the U.S. film industry at the turn of the century. Clips from the early history of film will be shown.

Maxwell Street: Many Cultures, Many Dreams, and One Street - Tuesday, April 2, at 7 pm

Lori Grove, president of the Maxwell Street Foundation, chronicles the history of Maxwell Street, its neighborhood and market, using rich visual images, interpretation, and anecdotes.

Souvenir Music from the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 - Sunday, April 7, at 2 pm

A trio of Lake Forest faculty members performs pieces that were written as “souvenir” sheet music for tourists who visited Chicago at the time of the Fair. Providing a form of time capsule of American life at the end of the 19th century, the music reveals how the Fair’s visitors understood and remembered the experience.

Classics and Contemporary Book Discussion - Tuesday, April 9, at 10:30 am

A discussion of Rosellen Brown’s novel, The Lake on Fire, led by an Adult Services librarian.

Women of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition - Sunday, April 14, at 2 pm

Chicago Architecture Center docent Kathleen Carpenter discusses how the World’s Columbian Exposition served as a showcase for the women who created, managed, and decorated the Fair’s Woman's Building, detailing some of the women as well as their challenges and achievements.

The Vanishing City: Excavating the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition - Monday, April 22, at 7 pm

Professor Rebecca Graff speaks about her archeological and archival research focused on the Fair's ephemeral "White City" and Midway Plaisance. The results of the excavation in Jackson Park revealed a robust archeological signature of the Fair. Graff's work links the Fair, as a catalyst for structural change and its material record, to the larger social structures of late nineteenth-century America.

The Impact of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition on Architecture and Landscape Design - Sunday, April 28, at 2 pm

Architectural historian and historic preservationist Timothy Wittman offers insight into the multiple ways that the World’s Columbian Exposition influenced the future of architecture, urban planning, and landscape design throughout the U.S. and the world.

Tour of Chicago’s Driehaus Museum (Transportation by bus) - Wednesday, May 1, from 9 am to 1 pm

A tour of the historic museum, which explores art, architecture, and design of the late 19th/early 20th centuries, focusing on the Gilded Age. Bus transportation will be provided to and from the Library. Tour requires walking. A non-refundable fee of $25 is due at time of in-person required registration; fee covers transportation and admission. No refunds. Priority registration for Wilmette and Kenilworth residents begins April 1; non-resident registration begins April 8. The bus leaves WPL promptly at 9:15 a.m. and returns at approximately 1:00 p.m.; a snack pack will be provided on the return ride.

Novels @ Night. Wilmette Wine Cellar, 1100 Central Avenue, Wilmette - Thursday, May 2, at 7 pm

A discussion of Rosellen Brown’s novel, The Lake on Fire, led by an Adult Services librarian. Snacks will be provided; wine will be available for purchase.

Author Rosellen Brown Discusses The Lake on Fire. Wilmette Junior High School, 620 Locust Road, Wilmette - Sunday, May 5, at 2 pm

Author Rosellen Brown talks about her latest novel. A book signing will be held following the program; copies of Ms. Brown’s books will be available on site for purchase from The Book Stall.

Funding for One Book, Everybody Reads is made possible by Friends of the Wilmette Public Library.