Matheson History Museum 2024 Spring Program Series

Press release from Matheson History Museum

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Matheson History Museum is excited to announce our 2024 Spring Program Series! The programs include live music, yoga in the park, local history, and more.

Along with our regular local and Florida history programs, this spring we are continuing our Second Saturdays at Sweetwater series. From January to April, the Museum will host a program in Sweetwater Park in front of the Matheson House on the second Saturday of the month.

Darren Burgess Jazz Collective (Second Saturdays at Sweetwater), Saturday, January 13, 2:30 p.m.-4 p.m.
FREE (no registration required)

Join us for our first Second Saturdays at Sweetwater of 2024! The Darren Burgess Jazz Collective, featuring Darren Burgess on jazz guitar, Patricia Markoch on vocals, and Rafael Abdalla on bass, will perform a free concert from the front porch of the Matheson House. Bring your folding chairs and blankets and enjoy an afternoon of jazz standards from the Great American Song Book.

Barracoon with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
Friday, January 26, 7 p.m.
Lincoln Middle School auditorium
Tickets $25-$30 – https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dr-ibram-x-kendi-presents-barracoon-tickets- 770529262767?aff=oddtdtcreator

Join award-winning author Dr. Ibram X. Kendi for an evening discussing Barracoon and his adaptations of Zora Neale Hurston’s work, Hurston’s enduring legacy, and why he wanted to adapt her work for children (and more!), plus Q&A with pre-selected audience questions.

Yoga in the Park (Second Saturdays at Sweetwater) with Emma Sugarman
Saturday, February 10, 2 p.m.
FREE (no registration required)

We are excited to partner with #UNLITTER for a yoga class on the front lawn of the historic Matheson House. All levels and abilities are welcome. Please bring your own yoga mat or towel to use.

The Pagoda: A Lesbian Community by the Sea – Author Talk with Rose Norman
Sunday, February 11, 4 p.m.
FREE with registration

Rose Norman will share from her new book, The Pagoda, about the cultural center, women’s retreat center, and residential community of the same name that was founded by two lesbian couples in St. Augustine. It operated from 1977 to 1999.

Finding Florida: Crossing the Suwanee River in the Early 1800s – Early Ferries, Bridges, and Trestles
with Dr. Ken Sulak
Saturday, February 24, 4 p.m.

FREE with registration

Settlers traveling to Florida in the early to mid-1800s encountered a nearly trackless longleaf pine wilderness and the necessity of crossing the Suwannee River or its tributaries – the Withlacoochee or Alapaha rivers. The history of settlers, pioneer families, and river crossings is intertwined with the history of Florida. Join historian and fish biologist Dr. Ken Sulak as he shares about this fascinating piece of Florida’s past.

My Withered Legs and Other Essays – Book Launch with Sandra Gail Lambert, Sunday, March 3, 2 p.m.
FREE with registration

Join Sandra Gail Lambert as she launches her latest book, My Withered Legs and Other Essays. A seventy-year history of disability is the framework for Sandra Gail Lambert’s new collection of personal essays that are grounded in queer, crip, and climate politics.

30th Anniversary Sock Hop Gala, March 9, Time TBD
Paid Ticket

Join us to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Matheson with a Sock Hop Gala in the former American Legion Hall! This ticketed event will hearken back to the days of Teen Time and high school dances in the Museum building – including several performances in 1965 by Tom Petty’s first band, the Sundowners. Break out your best pair of socks for an evening of live music and good food, and dance the night away.

Information about tickets will be shared soon.

Yoga in the Park (Second Saturdays at Sweetwater) with Emma Sugarman
Saturday, April 13, 2 p.m.
Free (no registration required)

We are excited to partner with #UNLITTER for a yoga class on the front lawn of the historic Matheson House. All levels and abilities are welcome. Please bring your own yoga mat or towel to use.

Just Call Me Rae: The Story of Rae O. Weimer, Founder of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications
with Ann Weimer Moxley
Wednesday, April 24, 7 p.m.

Free with registration

Rae O. Weimer founded the University of Florida’s first school of journalism in 1949. Ann Weimer Moxley, Weimer’s daughter, has written an eye-opening chronicle of her late father’s lasting legacy to journalism in the state of Florida.

Once Upon a Time in Florida: Roots and Rivers
with Jacki Levine, Jack E. Davis, and Cynthia Barnett, Sponsored by Florida Humanities
Wednesday, May 1
6:30 p.m. Reception, 7 p.m. Panel Discussion
Free with registration

This is the final stop in the Florida Humanities’ statewide book tour for Once Upon a Time in Florida. This book marks Florida Humanities’ 50th anniversary with a collection of 50 timeless stories from the archives of FORUM, the award-winning magazine of Florida Humanities. This tour stop will focus on Florida’s environment.

Floridiana Show Saturday, May 4, Time TBD
Free Admission

The Floridiana Show is back! Come to the Matheson to buy your own piece of Florida kitsch and vintage Florida. A variety of vendors from Gainesville and around the state will be joining us.

These events are sponsored in part by Visit Gainesville/Alachua County, FL; The City of Gainesville; and by the Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Council of the Arts and Culture, and the State of Florida.