February 24
Program:
BAWDI’s 5th Annual Mother Language Day Celebration. Join the members of the Bangladeshi American Women’s Development Initiative as they celebrate Mother Language Day. The program begins at 6pm and will include an art show and speakers. This event is free and open to the public.
March 4
Program:
Happy Birthday Lou Costello! Join members of the Abbott and Costello Fan Club at 1pm as we celebrate the 117th birthday of legendary comedian and Patersonian, Lou Costello. Enjoy refreshments and informal conversation. This event is free and open to the public.
Through March 25
Exhibition:
Paterson Great Falls: From Power to Park. The Paterson Great Falls has dual, sometimes conflicting, identities. The first, as a natural wonder, a scenic beauty and a tourist attraction. The second, as a source of power, providing the energy needed by the industries that developed into the City of Paterson. Paterson Great Falls: From Power to Park explores the waterfall’s long journey from a natural resource and industrial tool to becoming a protected park.
April 1 – June 24
Exhibition:
Paterson’s Poets: Voices from the Silk City Since its founding in 1792, Paterson has been home to many poets. Still more have visited Paterson and been enthused by the beauty of the Great Falls or the ingenuity of the city’s residents. This exhibit celebrates and honors the poets who were not only inspired by Paterson, but became a part of our community, whether they lived, worked or played here.
April 1
Reception:
Paterson’s Poetry: Voices from the Silk City Join us from 2pm to 5pm as we open our newest exhibition. Speakers include Giacomo DeStefano, Museum Director and Talena Lachelle Queen, Paterson Poet Laureate and Word Seed Inc., President.
April 1
Program:
Power of Words: Paterson Poetry, Past and Present. The opening program for National Poetry Month, this collaboration with Word Seed Inc., will include poetry readings by featured poets and open mic opportunities for attendees. Program starts at 5pm.
April 29
Program:
Power of Words: Paterson Poetry Past and Present. The closing event for National Poetry Month, this collaboration with Word Seed Inc., will include readings by featured poets and open mic opportunities for attendees. Program begins at 5pm.
May 6
Lecture:
Recovering Paterson in Paterson. William Carlos Williams’s epic poem Paterson announces itself as a poem of place. Its title points us to the subject of the poem: Paterson, New Jersey. And yet, scholarship on Williams’s epic poem has often overlooked the history, geography, and people of Paterson. This talk seeks to recover the importance of Paterson in Paterson by discussing Williams’s relationship with the city—a relationship that both grew with the poem and exceeded it. Presented by Kyra Morris, a PhD candidate in English at Princeton University. Join us in-person at 1pm.
May 20
Lecture:
Made in Paterson: The Life and Legacy of U.S. Senator William Hughes. Join local historian Daniel J. Willever as he discusses his new book, Made in Paterson, exploring the life and legacy of U.S. Senator William Hughes, a frequently overlooked yet influential figure of Paterson’s history. Willever’s research interweaves Hughes’s life with aspects of Paterson’s unique local history, tracing his origins in the local labor movement, legal studies, time as a soldier, and his work defending striking silkweavers from prosecution. In addition to highlights from the book, the talk will feature a display of artifacts from Hughes’s life and career. Copies of Made in Paterson will be available for purchase and signing. Join us in-person at 1pm.
July 1 – Sept 23
Exhibition:
Order’s Up! Paterson and the Rise of the New Jersey Diner: This exhibit will focus on Paterson’s contributions to the Diner industry, including information about the Paterson Vehicle company, Libby’s Lunch and other Paterson eateries past and present.
July 8
Reception:
Order’s Up! Paterson and the Rise of the New Jersey Diner: Join us at the Museum from 1pm to 3pm as we open our newest exhibition. Speakers include Giacomo DeStefano, Museum Director and author Michael Gabriele.
August 5
Program:
A Roadmap to the Diner Capital of the World with New Jersey author Michael Gabriele. Join us in-person at 1pm. This presentation will describe how diners have played an important role in New Jersey’s history as gathering places for communities. Diner experiences—good food, slice-of-life encounters with friends and strangers, and the memories they inspire—have reflected the state’s spirit, culture and mythology for more than 100 years.