After the tinsel has settled and the last of Santa’s helpers has gone back to the North Pole, it will be time to join Chesapeake Forum for its annual Winter Preview Party on Wednesday, January 8th at the Academy Art Museum, Easton from 3:30 – 6 PM.  The event is free, but reservations are required at https://chesapeakeforum.org.

Enjoy light hors d’oeuvres and refreshments while getting a first look at what is coming up at the Chesapeake Forum this winter.   Brief video clips from each Chesapeake Forum teacher will explain what their course is about and what students can expect.  There are a wide variety of subjects on offer from cooking, local history, global events to literature, museum trips, personal enrichment and more.  Classes open for registration January 9th at 7 AM. 

Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit organization that provides lifelong educational opportunities for residents of the eastern shore. To receive Chesapeake Forum’s newsletter, please send your name and contact information to [email protected].

Americans are turning away from community and civic life in greater numbers than ever before with important consequences.  Join Chesapeake Forum on Thursday, Nov. 7th for Our Lost Sense of Community, a discussion about the impact this withdrawal has on churches, social organizations, civic groups, politics, governance and more.  

In 2023, a film called “Join or Die” was released.  Its provocative title comes from the work of pioneering social scientist Robert Putnam who found that people who are actively engaged in their communities – whether that’s college, a social club, a religious institution or local sports team – are happier. Ironically, his research also showed that

a majority of Americans currently feel a lack of belonging to their families, friends, workplace, local communities – and increasingly, religious institutions.

Led by Lynn Randle, Chesapeake Forum executive director, and Bruce Purdy, board vice chair,  Our Lost Sense of Community will use the film “Join or Die” and Putnam’s research, as a jumping off point for discussions about whether we have, in fact, lost our sense of belonging and if so, what can be done about it.  That discussion is particularly relevant to any organization that is struggling to maintain members. “Join or Die” will be shown in its entirely during the first session. 

Our Lost Sense of Community is three sessions Thursday, Nov. 7, 14 and 21 from 10:30 – noon HYBRID (in person at the Easton Family YMCA, ZOOM or recording). $50.  To register, visit https://chesapeakeforum.org.

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Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing lifelong learning opportunities for residents of the Eastern Shore. To receive Chesapeake Forum’s newsletter, please send your name and contact information to [email protected].

US Navy’s Role in the Civil War

Did you know that the United State’s fledgling Navy played an important role in the American Civil War?  Learn how the Navy helped the Union cause during the Civil War and about the leadership of Navy Secretary Gideon Welles in the Chesapeake Forum course, US Navy in the Civil War, starting Sept. 10th from 1:30 – 3 PM.  

This course will trace the development of both the oceangoing, as well as the river fleets, the enlightened leadership of Welles and others, along with the manufacturing prowess of the Union that developed and built the warships and met the disparate needs of the military.  

Instructor Mickey Terrone is a lifelong student of the Civil War. He recently taught a course at Chesapeake Forum on the border states, including Maryland. He is a past president of the Civil War Round Table of Washington, DC.

US Navy in the Civil War is three (3) sessions, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 17 and 24 from 1:30 – 3 PM.  HYBRID (in person at the Easton Family YMCA, via ZOOM or recording).  $40.  To register, visit https://chesapeakeforum.org.

Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing lifelong learning opportunities for residents of the Eastern Shore.  To receive Chesapeake Forum’s newsletter, please send your name and contact information to [email protected].

Pollinators like bees are an essential part of the food web but they are in sharp decline as urbanization and the widespread use of pesticides continues to wipe out their habitat.  You can help the environment and keep the world fed by learning to start your apiary, or beehive, with Chesapeake Forum’s Beekeeping Fundamentals and Apiary Tour starting Wednesday, May 15th. 

In the first session, instructor Jim Scoggins takes students through the ins and outs of starting and managing a hive. Learn about hive design, protective clothing, harvesting and essential tools.  In the second session, students will visit a working apiary just outside of St. Michaels to gain practical experience with the concepts explained in the classroom.

Beekeeping Fundamentals and Apiary Tour is two sessions, Wednesday May 15th and 22nd from 1 – 2:30 PM. HYBRID classroom (in person at the Easton Family YMCA, ZOOM or recording) on the 15th and in person FIELD TRIP on the 22nd. To register, visit https://chesapeakeforum.org

Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing lifelong learning opportunities to residents of the Eastern Shore.  Chesapeake Forum is a part of the YMCA of the Chesapeake.  To receive Chesapeake Forum’s newsletter, please send your name and contact information to:  [email protected]

Join Chesapeake Forum for Lights, Camera, Action: A Legacy of Fine Filmmaking – an evening of fascinating, humorous, and, amazing behind-the-scenes stories from two generations of filmmakers on May 9th at the Academy Art Museum.  Enjoy refreshments and light hors d’oeuvres. The event kicks off the 2024 Lectures on the Shore series from the Chesapeake Forum. 

Husband and wife filmmakers are rare and entire filmmaking families even rarer, but in the Fine family, it’s the norm. Holly and Paul Fine spent more than 40 years making documentaries for 60 Minutes, 20:20, Nightline, National Geographic, and more.  Their son, Sean, has won an Oscar for his filmmaking work. 

Holly and Paul Fine met at Chanel 7 in Washington DC where Paul shot and directed and Holly edited and directed.  They were known for the distinctive style they employed while giving a human face to complex contemporary issues. 

In 1982, they joined CBS where they produced documentaries for CBS Reports and 60 Minutes. Together, they produced stories on just about everyone who has been in the news including, Barbara Streisand, Kirk Douglas, Ray Charles, and the opera singer Denise Graves. 

Their 1982 broadcast on the near assassination of Ronald Reagan, The Saving of the President gained them national attention. Their documentary, The Plane That Fell from the Sky, about a mysterious nose dive of a commercial jet in which all 49 passengers and three crew members survived, won them national acclaim.  

The Fines’ distinctive and compassionate journalism won them a trophy case full of awards including 4 Peabody Awards, a Columbia Dupont Award, over 80 Emmys, and 50 other national and international citations.

Sean Fine followed his parents into the business but he has been carving his distinctive path with his wife, the filmmaker Andrea Nix Fine. The two of them have been working together for 20 years since meeting at National Geographic. 

The first film they worked on together, War/Dance earned Sean and Andrea an Oscar nomination.  They followed that with Inocente, which took home the Oscar for Best Documentary Short in 2013.  The pair are also Emmy and Peabody Award winners. 

Be prepared for an evening of amusing, wild, and surprising stories about the making of some of the most important documentaries of our time. The Fines will be interviewed by their long-time friend and Chesapeake Forum Board Member, Bruce Purdy. 

Lights, Camera, Action is Thursday, May 9th from 5:30 – 7:30 PM.  In-person tickets are $70, Livestream only tickets are $30. To register, visit https://chesapeakeforum.org.

Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing lifelong learning opportunities for residents of the Eastern Shore. To receive Chesapeake Forum’s newsletter, please send your contact information to [email protected].