Tag Archives: Grand Rapids Main Library

Grand Rapids Civic Theatre hosts immigration discussion

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By Nancy Brozek

Grand Rapids Civic Theatre

 

What is it like to be an immigrant in West Michigan? That is the question Grand Rapids Civic Theatre is asking our community. In conjunction with the highly anticipated production of “Ragtime the Musical,” Civic Theatre has partnered with the Grand Rapids Public Library and area experts to engage in community conversation on immigration during this important time in American history.

 

“Ragtime” is told through the eyes of an African American Harlem musician, a white upper class suburbanite, and an Eastern European family of immigrants all hoping to find a place in American at the turn of the 20th Century. Just as relevant a topic now as then, panelist will lead the audience in a discussion on these themes in a modern context.  Speakers will share historical insights and present day experiences.

 

Panelists include:

 

Ricardo Tavarez, Pastor at En Vivo Church

 

Susan Kragt, Executive Director at West Michigan Refugee Education and Cultural Center

 

Kristine Van Noord, Program Manager at Bethany Christian Services’ Refugee Adult & Family Programs

 

Kelsey Herbert, Office of Social Justice at Christian Reformed Church of North America

 

Irina Nadrau, Grand Rapids Public Library

 

The event takes place from 7 – 8 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 15, at the Grand Rapids Main Library, 111 Library St. NE. The event is free and attendees will receive a discount to Civic Theatre’s production of Ragtime the Musical (on stage Feb. 24 – Mar. 19)

On the shelf: Book review of “Empty Mansions”

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05BOOK-blog427Empty Mansions:

The Mysterious Life of Hugette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune

by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr.

 

Review by Mary Knudstrup

Grand Rapids Main Library

 

The rich really are different and nothing proves it as much as Empty Mansions, the story of Huguette Clark, heir to the riches of her millionaire father, W.A. Clark , a savvy and ambitious businessman and politician, who made his money in copper mines and founded a town that later became Las Vegas.

 

Authored by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell Jr., a cousin to Huguette, Empty Mansions tells the story of a woman so wealthy she owned paintings by Renoir and Degas, Stradivarius violins, and several remarkable homes, including an estate in Santa Barbara, California, and three apartments totaling more than 40 rooms at a posh Fifth Avenue address.

 

Despite her vast wealth, however, she chose to spend a large part of her life as a recluse, collecting dolls and abandoning her many opulent homes to live in a small and rather spartan hospital room even though she was not ill.  A complex and mysterious individual, she was extraordinarily generous to people she hardly knew but avoided most of her family.

 

Upon her death her secluded life was thrust into the public venue as a legal battle over her $300 million dollar ensued.  Meticulously researched and filled with illustrations of her homes and possessions, Empty Mansions is an intimate look at an eccentric life.