Hemingway Centennial Celebration
Papa Culture: Ernest Hemingway would have turned 100 this year, and Oak Park, the author’s hometown, has organized what it calls “the nation’s premiere celebration” of the event. The multidisciplinary nature of the celebration is only fitting: Hemingway’s influence as a cultural figure looms large over the worlds of art, film, and the performing arts, as well as literature, thanks to the force of his personality and his engagement in the turbulent politics of his time. Sponsored by the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park, this 100th birthday extravaganza–running July 14 through 21 at various locations–offers an opportunity to reevaluate the artist while enjoying a moveable feast of dance, theater, movies, visual art, and other festivities. Activities include a weeklong humanities festival, a literary conference, art exhibits, a Spanish-style “Fiesta de Hemingway,” and a series of theatrical and spoken-word performances that includes the world premiere of It Just Catches, a play by Hemingway’s daughter-in-law based on the old man’s work.
Following is a schedule of events. Organizers are encouraging visitors to use public transportation. For more information, call the Hemingway Foundation at 708-848-2222 or the Oak Park Visitors Bureau at 708-524-7800. You can also visit the festival’s Web site at www.hemingway.org/hemingway.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 14
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Trainee Ensemble
Hubbard Street’s “preprofessional” troupe–who take daily classes and every opportunity they can to perform–presents several original works. Nineteenth Century Woman’s Club, 178 Forest, Oak Park. 5 PM. Free.
The Faithful Bull
Storyteller Amy Pappageorge performs her rendition of Hemingway’s children’s story. (An exhibit of illustrations for the tale, by Norwegian artist Lars Elling, is on display through July 31.) Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake, Oak Park. 6 PM. Free.
THURSDAY, JULY 15
An Artist’s View of Hemingway
An exhibit of watercolors by Kay Smith, illustrating scenes from Hemingway’s stories and novels, opens with a reception at Boulevard Fine Arts, 809 Lake, Oak Park (the show continues through August 15). 5:30 to 7:30 PM; free, but reservations required (call 708-524-7800).
An Evening With Frank Lloyd Wright
Lyman Shepard portrays the architect (and Oak Park resident) in this biographical one-man show. Oak Park Arts Center, 200 N. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park. 6 PM. Free.
Hello Hemingway
Fernando Perez directed this 1990 Cuban feature from a script by Mayda Royero. In 1956 in Havana, a poor high school student (Laura de la Uz) who’s a neighbor of Ernest Hemingway’s dreams of attending college; she reads The Old Man and the Sea and finds herself identifying with its protagonist. With Marta del Rio, Jose Antonio, and Raul Paz. Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake, Oak Park. 6 PM. Free.
Staged Readings of Hemingway Short Stories
The Village Players perform excerpts from works by or related to Hemingway. Oak Park/River Forest Civic Theatre, 1010 Madison, Oak Park. 8 PM. Free.
Moveable Feast
Eight different Oak Park restaurants serve dishes from Craig Boreth’s The Hemingway Cookbook: Cafe Winberie (151 N. Oak Park Ave.), Cucina Paradiso (814 North Blvd.), La Bella Pasteria (109 S. Marion), Marion Street Grill (189 N. Marion), Papaspiros Grecian Taverna (733 Lake), Philander’s (1120 Pleasant), Szechwan Beijing (1107 South Blvd.), and Vivaldi Trattoria (144 S. Oak Park Ave.). For information, call 708-524-7800.
FRIDAY, JULY 16
Fiesta de Hemingway
Annual three-day party based on the author’s love of Spain, which he described as “the country that I loved more than any other, except my own.” In addition to Spanish and Latin American food and drink, festival offerings include music, dancing, children’s entertainment (1 to 5 PM Sunday), and a Hemingway look-alike contest (8 PM Saturday). Saturday also features a parade and “running” of papier-maché bulls starting at 5 PM. Scoville Park, Lake and Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, 5 to 10:30 PM Friday and Saturday, 2 to 10:30 PM Sunday. Free.
Hemingway’s Quest
A readers’ theater ensemble joins with classical guitarist Paul Henry to perform a program exploring Hemingway’s “search for truth in life and art.” Austin Gardens, Forest and Ontario, Oak Park. 6 PM. Free.
Afterhouse Young Adult Coffeehouse
The Oak Park Public Library sponsors an open mike and poetry slam featuring material on a Hemingway theme. Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake, Oak Park. 7:30 PM. Free.
SATURDAY, JULY 17
Hemingway’s Oak Park
A two-hour bicycle tour starts at 10 AM from the Oak Park Visitors Center, 158 Forest, Oak Park. $25, includes lunch and bike rental; call 708-848-9524 for reservations.
Tauromaquia
An exhibit of bullfighting prints by Spanish artist Jose Antunez opens at 10 AM and continues through July 21. Hemingway Museum, 200 N. Oak Park Ave. Free.
Juried Art Show
Exhibit of Hemingway-inspired artwork opens with a reception at 1 PM and music by the Hamilton Ensemble (the show stays up through August 20). Oak Park Art League, 720 Chicago Ave., Oak Park (708-386-9853). Free.
Hemingway’s Boyhood Wilderness
A two-hour walking tour explores Hemingway’s favorite spots along the Des
Plaines River. The tour will end with readings from At the Hemingways, a memoir by the writer’s sister Marcelline, and an exhibit of historic photographs of the area. Thatcher Woods Conservation Project, Thatcher and Washington, River Forest. 2 PM. Free.
Hello Hemingway
See listing for Thursday, July 15. Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake, Oak Park. 2 PM. Free.
Fiesta de Hemingway
See listing for Friday, July 16. Scoville Park, Lake and Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, 5 to 10:30 PM (parade and “running” of papier-maché bulls start at 5 PM). Free.
SUNDAY, JULY 18
Fiesta de Hemingway
See listing for Friday, July 16. Scoville Park, Lake and Oak Park Ave., Oak Park. 2 to 10:30 PM (children’s festival from 2 to 5 PM). Free.
Hemingway and Religion
“Our nada who art in nada, nada be thy name…” Scholar Redd Griffin discusses the influence of religion on the author’s life and art. Grace Episcopal Church, 924 Lake, Oak Park. 2 PM. Free.
It Just Catches
The Montana Repertory Company performs the world premiere of a play by Hemingway’s daughter-in-law Carol Hemingway, adapted from three short stories: “The Three-Day Blow,” “Cat in the Rain,” and “A Pursuit Race.” When asked why she chose these 3 tales from the more than 70 collected in The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway, Carol Hemingway said that each story is ideally suited for the stage, requiring a minimum of actors and a single set. She also pointed to their laconic, almost Pinter-esque dialogue. “The Three-Day Blow,” a Nick Adams story, paints a portrait of the adolescent summering in Michigan, before World War I would forever change him and the world. “Cat in the Rain,” set at least ten years later, focuses on a brittle pair of bored Jazz Age sophisticates in a posh Italian hotel. “A Pursuit Race,” set in Kansas City, concerns an advance man for a down-and-out burlesque show. It Just Catches received a staged reading at this year’s International Hemingway Festival in Florida, but this full production will be its world premiere. (Commentary by Jack Helbig.) Oak Park/River Forest High School, 201 N. Scoville, Oak Park. 3 and 8 PM. $18.
Forest Home Cemetery Walk
The Historical Society of Oak Park/River Forest presents a two-hour tour of Hemingway family graves (and those of other notable residents). Forest Home Cemetery, 836 Des Plaines Ave., Forest Park (just south of 290). 3:30 PM. Reservations recommended; call 708-848-6755. $3.
Picturing Hemingway: A Writer in His Time
Curated by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, this exhibit looks at
the writer’s life through nearly 100 photographs and personal memorabilia. The show’s opening reception, from 4:30 to 6:30, also kicks off the festival’s International Literary Conference, which will be held Monday through Wednesday. Hemingway Museum, 200 N. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park. Free.
Staged Readings of Hemingway Short Stories
See listing for Thursday, July 15. Oak Park/River Forest Civic Theatre, 1010 Madison, Oak Park. 7 PM. Free.
MONDAY, JULY 19
International Literary Conference
“Hemingway: Literary and Historical Perspectives at 100” is the title of this meeting of minds, held from 9 AM to 5 PM Monday through Wednesday. Oak Park/River Forest High School, 201 N. Scoville, Oak Park. Three-day admission is $125, $75 for students; one-day admission is $60. Call 708-848-2222 for reservations and a schedule of events.
Hemingway y los toros
A two-hour Spanish-language program focusing on the writer’s ties to Spain. Friend and scholar Jose Luis Castillo Puche, author of Hemingway in Spain, will deliver a lecture, followed by artist Jose Antunez, who will discuss his studies of bullfighting. Also on display, “Hemingway–The First 17 Years,” an exhibit created by junior high students. Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake, Oak Park. 5:30 PM. Free.
Pop Culture vs. Serious Fiction
Edgar Rice Burroughs, the creator of Tarzan, was another native of Oak Park; this panel discussion on Burroughs and Hemingway is sponsored by the Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest. Pleasant Home, 217 Home, Oak Park. 6 PM. Free.
Selected Readings
Local performers read original material as well as selections by Hemingway. Austin Gardens, Forest and Ontario, Oak Park (in case of rain, the program will be held at Grace Episcopal Church, 924 Lake). 6 PM. Free.
A Hemingway Crime Story
Scholar Frank Laurence leads a multimedia presentation of “one of Hemingway’s crime tales”; a discussion follows. Centuries & Sleuths Bookstore, 743 Garfield, Oak Park. 7 PM. Free, but reservations are required (limited to 20 people “willing to participate”); call 708-848-7243.
Dinner With Patrick Hemingway
Patrick Hemingway, the author’s son, served as editor of True at First Light, the posthumous “fictional memoir” published this summer; he’ll talk about the book at this dinner gathering. MarLac House, 104 S. Marion, Oak Park. 7 PM. Tickets are $30. Reservations required; call 708-848-2222.
Open Mike
River Oak Arts’ spoken-word program features an on-site contest to create “the perfect first paragraph for a Hemingway-esque short story.” Healy’s Westside, 7217 Madison, Forest Park. 7 PM registration; call 708-524-8725 for information. $2 cover.
It Just Catches
See listing for Sunday, July 18. Oak Park/River Forest High School, 201 N. Scoville, Oak Park, 8 PM. $18.
TUESDAY, JULY 20
Spanish Civil War Program
Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade discuss their experiences during the Spanish civil war. (Hemingway served as a war correspondent during the conflict and later used it as a backdrop for his novel For Whom the Bell Tolls.) Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake, Oak Park. 5:30 PM. Free.
Hemingway in Watercolor
Artist Kay Smith gives a slide lecture on her illustrations of Hemingway’s work. Hemingway Museum, 200 N. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park. 6 PM. Free.
It Just Catches
See listing for Sunday, July 18. Oak Park/River Forest High School, 201 N. Scoville, Oak Park, 8 PM. $18.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 21
Hemingway Birthplace Dedication
The author’s birthplace features 1890s period rooms plus photos and videos focusing on his early years. While the home is already open to the public, it will be officially dedicated today, Hemingway’s 100th birthday. Hemingway Birthplace, 339 N. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park. 8 AM. Free.
Hemingway Birthday Luncheon
Hemingway family members are the honored guests at this luncheon, which will include a talk about the ongoing restoration of the author’s birthplace home. Oak Park Arts Center, 200 N. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park. Noon. $25. Reservations required; call 708-848-2222.
Teddy Roosevelt Returns to Oak Park
Ted Zalewski impersonates Hemingway’s boyhood hero in his one-man show Teddy Roosevelt: Mind, Body & Spirit. Oak Park Arts Center, auditorium, 200 N. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park. 4:30 PM. Free.
The Spanish Earth
Joris Ivens, venerable agitprop documentarist for a variety of left-leaning and third-world causes (How Yukong Moved the Mountains, The Threatening Sky), made this 1937 Spanish civil war documentary with the assistance of some heavy celebrity artillery, including Lillian Hellman, Archibald MacLeish, and Dorothy Parker, among the umbrella group of American producers and Hemingway as the voice-over narrator. The film develops parallel connections between farmers creating an irrigation system and civilian defenders of the besieged Spanish republic, and includes footage of Dolores Ibarruri (La Pasionaria of Republican legend) and other Loyalist leaders. (Commentary by Pat Graham.) Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake, Oak Park. 6 PM. Free.
Hemingway’s 100th Birthday Party
Lura Lynn Ryan, first lady of the state of Illinois, will be honorary chair of this birthday celebration, which will feature flamenco, swing, tango, and food from “some of Chicago’s finest restaurants.” MarLac House, 104 S. Marion, Oak Park. 6 PM. Tickets are $150. Reservations required; call 708-848-2222.
It Just Catches
See listing for Sunday, July 18. Oak Park/River Forest High School, 201 N.
Scoville, Oak Park, 8 PM. $18.