Profit Spike

We haven’t been to the New Hampshire Humanities Celebration in a while and decided to go all out with Emerald City tickets. We are concerned about the direction the country is going because of the divisions being widely fostered. We see the humanities as a solution in helping us to communicate with each other. They bring people together – to connect.” 

-John Gilbert, Exeter

Join us to celebrate 50 years in your community!

2024 Annual Celebration of the Humanities

FEATURING KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
GREGORY MAGUIRE, AUTHOR OF WICKED

Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Tupelo Music Hall, 10 A Street, Derry, NH

Doors open at 6:30 pm  Ӏ  Program starts at 7:00 pm

For 50 years, New Hampshire Humanities has brought thought-provoking, high-quality humanities programs to communities across the state, connecting people to culture, history, places, ideas, and each other.

And, on one special evening each year, we bring together the state's cultural, corporate, civic, academic, and philanthropic communities for a spectacular night of inspiration and networking at our signature event, the Annual Celebration of the Humanities. By purchasing a ticket to our most important fundraiser and a once-in-a-lifetime experience, you will be directly supporting hundreds of free public programs for the people of New Hampshire and beyond. Get your tickets today!

Emerald City - $150

Ticket(s) include entry to a special reception at 5:00 pm with keynote speaker Gregory Maguire, premier cabaret-style-seating closest to the stage with 6 at a table, and a 50th celebration remembrance. Heavy hors d'oeuvres and cash bar.

Yellow Brick Road - $75

Ticket(s) include entry to the event; doors open at 6:30 pm. Seating is cabaret-style tiered above the “Emerald City” with 6 at a table, a basket of fun snacks, and 50th anniversary swag. Cash bar available.

No Place Like Home - $50

Ticket(s) include entry to the event; doors open at 6:30 pm. Seating accommodations are single seats on the perimeter of the “Emerald City” or cafe-style tables for two behind the “Yellow Brick Road.” Cash bar available.

Poppy Fields - $35

Ticket(s) include entry to the event and 50th anniversary swag; doors open at 6:30 pm. Tiered theater-style seating provides unobstructed views. Cash bar available.

 

For sponsorship opportunities, click HERE

 

2024 Annual Celebration Sponsors

(to date)


 

Bangor Savings Bank

Fidelity Investments

Fiduciary Trust of New England

M&T Bank

Manchester Community College

Merrimack County Savings Bank

 

E&S Insurance

_______________

Thank you to our Annual Partners who provide year-round support of our programs:

Lead Partner

Silver Partners
   


Media Partners

 

Gregory Maguire: Confessions of a Wicked Writer  

Join us for an intimate conversation with Gregory Maguire, author of Wicked, inspiration for the smash Broadway musical and soon-to-be-released movie. He will be joined onstage by Jaed Coffin, author, Moth Radio Hour storyteller, and professor of creative writing (fiction/nonfiction) at the University of New Hampshire. Together, we will learn how Maguire’s life, childhood, and love of children’s literature shaped him as an author and storyteller. 

Gregory Maguire had been an author of children’s books for almost two decades when, in 1995, he published his first novel for adults,Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. The novel initially sold 500,000 copies before the 2003 opening of the blockbuster Broadway adaptation. By 2005, ten years after its original publication,Wickedspent six months on theNew York Times bestseller list. The stage adaptation of his book will be released as a movie on November 22. 

Born and raised in Albany, NY, Gregory Maguire was schooled in Catholic institutions through high school, received a B.A. in English and art from the State University of New York at Albany, an M.A. in children's literature from Simmons College, and a Ph.D. in English and American literature from Tufts University. His doctoral thesis was on children's fantasy literature written from 1938 to 1989. 

By returning us to Frank Baum’s Land of Oz, Maguire taps into powerful imagery and mythology to upend our assumptions about good and evil, political power, and personal strength. Maguire’s magical storytelling explores contemporary issues ranging from the deeply personal – living as an outsider – to the global as individuals struggle in the face of authoritarianism and political control. In conversation with writer and UNH professor Jaed Coffin, we will learn how Maguire’s life, childhood, and love of children’s literature shaped him as an author and storyteller.

About the interviewer:
Jaed Coffin is an associate professor of English and creative writing (nonfiction/fiction) at the University of New Hampshire. His first book, A Chant to Soothe Wild Elephants (2008), chronicles the summer he spent as a Buddhist monk in his mother's village in central Thailand. His next book, Roughhouse Friday (2019), explored the year he won the middleweight title of a barroom boxing show in Juneau, Alaska. Coffin has lectured widely on multiculturalism, masculinity, and the environment. He has also served as the artist in residence at the Telling Room, a nonprofit storytelling foundation that empowers refugee communities in Maine. Coffin has published over forty articles and essays in a range of journals and magazines. He has also served as the Wilson Fellow in Creative Writing at Deerfield Academy, a Resident Fellow at the Island Institute in Sitka, Alaska, and the William Sloane Fellow at the Bread Loaf Writers Conference, and was a storyteller on the Moth Radio Hour.