Up until the current pandemic, the Walker Lecture Series had been regularly offering programs for free to the public at the Concord City Auditorium. The Audi has been pretty quiet since March, but the lectures are again being offer via ConcordTV and after the fact on YouTube.
Next up in the fall 2020 line-up is a virtual travelogue with Ed Webster on Antarctica, which will air on ConcordTV, channel 22, on Dec. 9 at 7:30 p.m. and be available online afterward.
Webster frequently travels to Antarctica as a polar history lecturer on adventure cruise ships. In his Walker presentation, Webster recounts the historic voyages and eventual discovery of Antarctica by 18th, 19th and 20th-century explorers, combining original archival photographs, pictures by scientific researchers, wildlife videos, and his own modern images.
Previous fall lectures available online include “Fascinating Facts About Our Presidents” by Richard Lederer from Sept. 30, a performance by the Scott Kirby Band from Oct. 14 and historian Michael Tougias “From the Mayflower to King Philip’s War” from Nov. 4. There are also links to a free prerecorded concert from Common Chords, who were under consideration for a Walker series concert before the pandemic hit.
The Walker Lecture Series grew from an 1892 bequest of $30,000 in the will of Abigail B. Walker, widow of Timothy Walker. The first programs were presented in 1896, and more than 1,500 performances and lectures have been given since then.
In accordance with the terms of the trust, the series offers a “free course of lectures upon subjects of history, literature, art or science, and free dramatic, musical, literary, historical and other cultural events to be given in Concord, the native city of Timothy Walker and lifelong residence of Abigail B. Walker.”
For more information or for links to the programs above, visit walkerlecture.org.
