PAST PROGRAMS & EVENTS

Miss one of our programs? Use the drop down at right to view CPLF programs from past years,
or check out this collection of CPLF programs and events.

May 7, 2019

CPLF’s Spring Fundraiser
The Still an Optimist Edition with
Three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning Journalist and Best-selling Author, Thomas L. Friedman – Tues, May 7th

Sunset Center, Carmel, CAA stimulating conversation: When global markets, technology and climate change collide, with Thomas Friedman and Professor John Arquilla, chair of the Defense Analysis Department at the Naval Postgraduate School.Thomas Friedman is an American journalist and author. He is a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, and currently writes a weekly column for The New York Times. He has written extensively on foreign affairs, global trade, the Middle East, globalization, and environmental issues. His books include; That Used To Be Us, Hot, Flat and Crowded, From Beirut to Jerusalem, The Lexus and the Olive Tree, The World is Flat, Longitudes and Attitudes and his most recent book, Thank You For Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations which has been on the New York Times Best Selling List.Click here to purchase tickets to the event. www.sunsetcenter.org

March 13, 2019

Climate Change Science; What Do We Know and What Should We Do?

Wed. Mar 13th at 7pm
Carpenter Hall at Sunset Center, Carmel, CA

Climate change science has revealed major changes in Earth’s environment that have occurred since the Industrial Revolution, and especially in the last 50 years. This science strongly indicates that human emissions of CO2 have been the main cause of these changes, and that continued emissions will lead to even greater changes. The impacts of these changes have included substantial disruptions of the environment and human lives. But there is uncertainty in the science of climate change, which contributes to uncertainty about how we as individuals and organizations should respond to on-going and future climate change. Dr. Murphree will present an overview of the science of climate change, with an emphasis on the major changes that have already occurred, the changes that are likely to occur within the lifetimes of our children and grandchildren, and what we don’t yet know about climate change. He will also discuss on-going and proposed responses to climate change, and how to go about selecting the optimal responses.

Tom Murphree is a professor at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA, where he teaches and conducts research on Earth’s climate system. Tom also presents hands-on science workshops for K-12 students and teachers, the general public, and scientists who want to share their science with children.

March 6, 2019

Henry Meade Williams Local History Lecture Series – Sponsored by the Frank & Eva Buck Foundation and Robert & Lacy Buck
Saint Junípero Serra and the Dream of California

Wed. Mar 6th at 7pm
Carpenter Hall at Sunset Center, Carmel, CA

Archaeologist, writer, photographer, and Professor Rubén G. Mendoza will address the events leading to, and culminating with, the Papal Canonization of San Junípero Serra, OFM. Mendoza will address the back story surrounding the Serra Canonization from the standpoint of an archaeologist and historian with long experience in that work needed to address the contested histories of the California missions.

March 3, 2019

Donor Salute

Sun, Mar 3rd from 3 to 5pm
Harrison Memorial Library, Carmel, CA

February 27, 2019

FILM and Community Discussion
California Typewriter

Wed, Feb 27th, 7pm
Doors open at 6:30pm
Carpenter Hall at Sunset Center, Carmel, CA

California Typewriter, a documentary portrait of artists, writers, and collectors who remain steadfastly loyal to the typewriter as a tool and muse, featuring Tom Hanks, John Mayer, David McCullough, Sam Shepard, and others. It also movingly documents the struggles of one of the last standing repair shops in America dedicated to keeping the aging machines clicking. In the process, the film delivers a thought-provoking meditation on the changing dynamic between humans and machines.

February 20, 2019

Fogcatchers

Wed, Feb 20th, 7pm
Carpenter Hall at Sunset Center, Carmel, CA

Learn how fog has impacted our world and how it may potentially serve as a relatively inexpensive source of water in many arid regions. Dr. Dan Fernandez, Professor in the School of Natural Sciences at California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) has developed and deployed dozens of “standard fog catchers” throughout the region, testing their effectiveness with different materials and in different coastal areas. Fernandez has taught and researched sustainability issues for many years on topics ranging from clean energy to large-scale composting, as well as water conservation. He teaches courses in physics and environmental studies at CSUMB.

February 6, 2019

Henry Meade Williams Local History Lecture Series – Sponsored by the Frank & Eva Buck Foundation and Robert & Lacy Buck
The Life of Jo Mora in Monterey County and Carmel

Wed. Feb 6th at 7pm
Carpenter Hall at Sunset Center, Carmel, CA

Join Peter Hiller for a fresh look at the numerous artistic accomplishments of renowned local artist, Jo Mora. Few people celebrated the historical significance of Monterey County as did Mora, from his cenotaph created in honor of Father Juniperio Serra in the Memorial Chapel in El Carmelo Mission, to his series of maps – or cartes, as he referred to them that were historically accurate, humorous, and now collectable prints, one of which paid homage to Carmel-By-The-Sea.

This new presentation will focus on the most recent discoveries of Mora’s work along with artistic material from the Mora family archive, seldom, if ever, seen publicly. The timing of this talk coincides with the release of a significant biography about Jo Mora being published by the Book Club of California and penned by Peter Hiller along with a major exhibition of Jo’s work at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco on display through the end of February.

January 31, 2019

An Evening’s Conversation: Ernest Hemingway and Traveling the World

Thurs. Jan 31st at 7pm
Carpenter Hall at Sunset Center, Carmel, CA

Michael Katakis is an internationally acclaimed photographer, author and international manager of Hemingway’s literary estate. His work has been translated into several languages including Greek, Bulgarian and Chinese and his photographs have been collected by institutions including the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C., the Victoria and Albert Museum, the British Library and Stanford University’s Special Collections Department. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and was Presented to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth. in 2011. In 2012 he was appointed Ambassador for the British Library and elected Director of Americans for the British Library.

Mr. Katakis’most recent book, Ernest Hemingway: Artifacts From a Life provides an illuminating story of American icon Ernest Hemingway’s life through the documents, photographs, and miscellany he kept. Mr. Katakis’ other books include; A Thousand Shards of Glass: There is Another America (Simon and Schuster, UK 2014), Traveller: Observations From an American in Exile (Scribner, New York 2009), The Vietnam Veterans Memorial (Crown, New York 1988) which is a two year study of the emotional impact the memorial has had on its visitors. Sacred Trusts: Essays on Stewardship and Responsibility (Mercury House, San Francisco 1993). Excavating Voices: Listening to Photographs of Native Americans (University Museum Publications, University of Pennsylvania 1998) and the limited edition book, Despatches (Foolscap Press, Santa Cruz, California 2008) which a number of institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum and Stanford University have acquired for their special collections.

January 9, 2019

The Wisdom of Scheherazade

Wed. Jan 9th at 7pm
Carpenter Hall at Sunset Center, Carmel, CA

The Wisdom of Scheherazade: The 1001 Nights, also known as The Arabian Nights, has Indian origins, its characters have Persian names, most of the tales have their roots in Iraq and Egypt, and it has been translated into dozens of languages. More than the tales themselves, however, what audiences seem drawn to is the character of Scheherazade herself. Dr. Bonnie Irwin’s talk will trace the development of the frame story of the Nights and the legacy of Scheherazade for modern writers and audiences.

December 8, 2018

Gingerbread Making Fundraiser

Sat. Dec 8th at 10:30am & 1:30pm
Hofsas House, between 3rd & 4th on San Carlos, Carmel, CA

November 14, 2018

Henry Meade Williams Local History Lecture Series – Sponsored by the Frank & Eva Buck Foundation and Robert & Lacy Buck
Carmel’s Treasure Trove

Wed. Nov 14th at 7pm
Carpenter Hall at Sunset Center, Carmel, CA

Former Carmel-by-the-Sea City Administrator and local historian Doug Schmitz has helped us rediscover the “Golden Era” that revealed some of the most significant aspects of life in Carmel and how it was established. Now he takes us on another journey into Carmel’s past as he explores the facts and fiction that have shaped this unique village.

October 24, 2018

Henry Meade Williams Local History Lecture Series – Sponsored by the Frank & Eva Buck Foundation and Robert & Lacy Buck Wright on Exhibit: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Architectural Exhibitions Wed. Oct 24th at 7pm Carpenter Hall, Sunset Center, Carmel, CA

Carpenter Hall, Sunset Center, Carmel, CA

Frank Lloyd Wright, the creator of New York’s Guggenheim Museum and Fallingwater, a house over a waterfall, is universally regarded as the greatest American architect who ever lived. In her new book, Wright on Exhibit, Kathryn Smith charts Frank Lloyd Wright’s rise and fall and rise again in a revealing exposition of how Wright refused to be forgotten and what he did step by step to attract the admiration of millions of Americans, not to mention the Europeans and Japanese. Smith will devote special attention to one of Wright’s most dramatic houses by the water, the Mrs. Della Walker House, Carmel-by-the-Sea, the only other Wright building that can be compared to Fallingwater in its profound connection between man and nature.

Kathryn Smith is an architectural historian, who is an historic preservation consultant, author, and lecturer. Her books include Wright on Exhibit: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Architectural Exhibitions (2017), Frank Lloyd Wright: American Master (2009), Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin and Taliesin West (1997), and Frank Lloyd Wright, Hollyhock House and Olive Hill (1992). Smith has been a consultant to Graycliff Conservancy, Florida Southern College, and Barnsdall Park. She has held NEH, NEA, and Graham Foundation fellowships. In 2003, she was Scholar-in-Residence at the Robie House, Chicago. In 2001, Smith was awarded the Wright Spirit Award in the Professional Category from the Building Conservancy.

October 4, 2018

An Evening with Tobias Wolff: This Boy’s Life

Thurs. Oct 4th at 7pm
The Woman’s Club, 9th & San Carlos, Carmel, CA

Carmel Public Library Foundation partners with The National Steinbeck Center for the National Endowment for the Art’s Big Read program which funds community reads and programming around a select list of books. This year the selected book is Tobias Wolff’s This Boy’s Life. An unforgettable memoir, by one of our most gifted writers. He introduces us to the young Toby Wolff, who turns tough and vulnerable, crafty and bumbling, and ultimately winning. Central themes include challenges youth face during adolescence, and more.

Tobias Jonathan Ansell Wolff (born June 19, 1945) is an American short story writer, memoirist, novelist, and teacher of creative writing. He is known for his memoirs, particularly This Boy’s Life (1989) and In Pharaoh’s Army (1994). He has written two short story collections, including The Barracks Thief (1984), which won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. Wolff received a National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama in September 2015. His academic career began at Syracuse University (1982–1997) and, since 1997, he has taught at Stanford University, where he is the Ward W. and Priscilla B. Woods Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences.