Holiday History Teatime
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
Join us for a festive evening of tea, history, and community at the historic Old South Meeting House! This holiday teatime invites Board members, staff, and members of the Revolutionary Spaces community to gather in celebration of the season with warm drinks, sweet and savory tea-time snacks, and lively conversation. Enjoy festive music by Safari & the Beat Explorers to set the mood, along with specialty tea cocktails to toast the holiday spirit.
As we come together to embrace the warmth of the season, immerse yourself in the rich traditions of holidays past. Our President Nat Sheidley and Director of Interpretation and Education Matthew Wilding will share festive stories and insights about holiday customs, connecting them to the history of Boston and the legacy of the Old State House and Old South Meeting House. Board member and acclaimed poet Charles Coe will share heartfelt seasonal poems, reflecting on the warmth of family, the joy of community, and cherished holiday memories.
This program sets the stage for the annual Boston Tea Party Reenactment the following week (Monday, December 16th), offering appreciation for the spirit of community and resilience that has defined Boston’s history.
This free event is made possible through the generous support of the Lowell Institute and is open to everyone. We would love to see you and celebrate the season in one of Boston’s most iconic spaces!
Special Guests & Performers
Dr. Nathaniel Sheidley is the President and CEO of Revolutionary Spaces. He was formerly Executive Director of the Bostonian Society and Assistant Professor of American and Native American History at Wellesley College. He is a graduate of Stanford University and holds a Ph.D. in American History from Princeton University. Sheidley is a programmatically daring historian whose leadership has reimagined public history at the center of Boston’s cultural landscape. His work is guided by a deeply held belief that public history at its best can do more than tell us about the past; it can also deepen our understanding of the present and equip us to build a more just and equitable future. Sheidley curated and provided creative direction for numerous exhibitions and programs, including Blood on the Snow, an immersive, site-specific work of theater written by playwright Patrick Gabridge that dramatizes the pivotal aftermath of the Boston Massacre in the very room where the events took place.
Matthew Wilding is a public historian and museum professional with 20 years experience around Boston's Freedom Trail. His primary area of interest is in American cultural history in the 18th and 20th centuries, and he has developed award-winning tours, educational programs, and exhibits at Revolutionary Spaces, Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the US Senate, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, and the Freedom Trail Foundation.
Charles Coe is a poet, prose writer, teacher of writing, and a musician (vocals and didgeridoo). He was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, but has lived in the Boston area since 1975. After 18 years, he retired in the spring of 2015 from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the state agency that funds arts and culture, and now spends his time writing, teaching writing, and making music.
Coe has written four books of poetry: "Picnic on the Moon," "All Sins Forgiven: Poems for my Parents," “Memento Mori,” and “Purgatory Road, all published by Leapfrog Press. He has also written "Spin Cycles," a novella published by Gemma Media. "Peach Pie," a short film by filmmaker Roberto Mighty based on his poem "Fortress," has been shown in film festivals nationwide. “Charles Coe: Man of Letters,” also created by Roberto Mighty, was named “Best Short Documentary” at the Roxbury Film Festival.
Receiving a fellowship in poetry from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Coe was selected by the Associates of the Boston Public Library as a “Boston Literary Light in 2014” and spent 2017 as an Artist-in-Residence for the City of Boston, creating a project that collected oral histories of people who live and work in Boston’s Mission Hill neighborhood.
Teaching poetry and prose is a special interest of Coe’s. He teaches in a wide variety of settings, including grade schools, high schools, colleges, writing conferences, and workshops. He has served as poet-in-residence at Wheaton College and at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York. Coe has also taught in Dingle, Ireland for the Bay Path University MFA Abroad program and as an adjunct professor of English at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island, teaching poetry and nonfiction in the low-residency MFA program.
Safari & The Beat Explorers’ focus is to transport their audience through an expedition of emotions with the universal language of music. Their vibrant and diverse sound is the perfect soundtrack for celebrating life and connecting with others. Safari & The Beat Explorer strives to create an inclusive space where everyone can feel uplifted and inspired. Join them on a journey of musical exploration and discovery!