The 23rd Annual Steinbeck Festival
”
Collaborations and Connections” will be held from Aug. 7 to 10
at the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas.
The festival will feature four days of speakers, walking and bus
tours to Steinbeck-related sites, and theater with an emphasis on
Steinbeck’s collaborations and connections with artists, friends,
and family.
The 23rd Annual Steinbeck Festival “Collaborations and Connections” will be held from Aug. 7 to 10 at the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas.
The festival will feature four days of speakers, walking and bus tours to Steinbeck-related sites, and theater with an emphasis on Steinbeck’s collaborations and connections with artists, friends, and family.
Special events will include the opening reception, Theater night with a World Premier Production by The
Western Stage and the popular acoustic cookout with the 7~ Day Buskers at the historic First Mayor’s House.
The programs will include presentations by: Dr. Robert DeMott of Ohio University on Steinbeck’s journals; Terry Tallent on Horace Bristol; artist Betty Guy; Matthew Philion on
Steinbeck and Aaron Copland; author Katharine Rodger on Ed Ricketts’ essays; Dr. Susan Shillinglaw from the Center for Steinbeck Studies on Steinbeck in 1936; Kate Davis, Jan
Goggans and Kevin Starr fellows in Califomia Studies;
joumalist and author William Wong on Asian
farm labor in the 1930s; and various others.
Topics range from Steinbeck Country, Exploring the
Settings for the Stories” with author David Laws to “The FBI Files on John Steinbeck: By author Thomas Fensch. There will also be a teachers’ roundtable discussion and lesson plan, exchange on Aug. 7 from 2 to 4 p.m.
For complete details see the full schedule. Bus tours will be offered to literary and historical sites in Monterey (including Ed ” Doc” Ricketts’ lab), South Monterey County, Watsonville, and other Central California locales.
A Festival passport costs $75 and there are discounts for members. Individual event tickets are available, starting at $17 per session, including museum admission. For additional
information or a brochure, call (831) 796 3833, or visit www.steinbeck.org or e-mail
pu************@st*******.org
to be added to the Festival mailing list.
A festival highlight will be the world premiere adaptation of the novel Raln of Gold by founding Steinbeck Chairman Victor Villasefor, an author inspired by and compared to John Steinbeck. The Western Stage at Hartnell College, will be performing the work, directed by Lorenzo Aragon. Visit: www.westernstage.org for more information.
A Journey Shared: Inspiration for The Grapes of Wrath, The photographs of Horace Bristol are on exhibit through Sept.14, in conjunction with the Steinbeck Festival.
The exhibit includes more than 40 vintage and contemporary prints taken in 1938 with Steinbeck to migrant camps in the Central Valley. The collection of pictures is on loan from the Bristol family and will be displayed in its entirety for the first time at the National Steinbeck Center.
The exhibition itself is included with regular admission of $9.95 for adults and discounts for seniors, students and children.
There will be a special program at the festival in conjunction with the exhibition: “Steinbeck and Bristol: A Compassionate Collaboration,” with Terry Talent on Aug. 8 at 9 a.m.
The lecture costs $17 for general admission, $10 for members, or included with a festival passport.
An anticipated new chapter begins this summer at the National Steinbeck Center with the September 1 grand opening of the museum’s “Valley of the World” wing. The new addition will celebrate the rich agricultural heritage of the region, described as “The Valley of the World” by John Steinbeck when describing the story that would become East of Eden. This state-of-the-art exhibition is made up of interactive exhibits celebrating the history, technology and rich cross section of people who have lived and worked in the Salinas Valley.
Computer stations, hands on displays, video, photographs and writings explore agriculture “From Field to Fork” in these exhibits for all ages. With the addition of the new wing, the five year old National Steinbeck Center Museum will consist of three distinct visitor experiences:
– The John Steinbeck Exhibition Hall, exploring the author’s life and works.
– The Valley of the World Agricultural Wing, sharing the stories of the Salinas Valley.
– The Gabilan Gallery, offering a glimpse at changing art and cultural exhibits. For more information on the National Steinbeck Center, call (831) 796 3833.
or visit: www.steinbeck.org.
