Please join us for an enlightening and entertaining series of talks. Light refreshments will be served after each program…of course!
Sunday, September 15, 2019, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m., Ann Arbor District Library – Malletts Creek Branch, 3090 E. Eisenhower Parkway (east of Stone School Road), Ann Arbor, MI 48108
A Rich Brew: How Cafes Created Modern Jewish Culture withShachar Pinsker, professor, Judaic Studies and Middle East Studies, University of Michigan. Dr. Pinsker discusses his book A Rich Brew: How Cafes Created Modern Jewish Culture and the ways in which cafes provide a window into understanding modern Jewish culture and modernity: What it means for cafes to be sites of the production of Jewish culture, how cafes sold not just coffee but also a concept of modernity, and the transformation of cafes and Jewish culture. The book takes us on a tour of Jewish cafe culture in six cities: Odessa, Warsaw, Vienna, Berlin, New York, and Tel Aviv. In the course of the book, we see how Jews who migrated to cities gravitated towards cafes as important spaces and sites for producing Jewish culture. It’s a story of the global aspects of Jewish modernity, what it means to be part of the public sphere, and the ways in which cafes present an important backdrop to the changes and challenges of modernity.
Sunday, October 20, 2019, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m., Ann Arbor District Library – Malletts Creek Branch, 3090 E. Eisenhower Parkway (east of Stone School Road), Ann Arbor, MI 48108
Order Up! The Henry Ford’s Lamy’s Diner with Donna Braden. Lamy’s Diner sits smack in the middle of Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, with period menus, paper straws, and an iconic counter. But the truest testament to the times are the dishes served up with ’40s friendliness. Donna Braden, Senior Curator & Curator of Public Life at The Henry Ford Museum, discusses bringing Lamy’s Diner back to life in the form of not just an installation, but also a dining experience inside the Museum, from what’s on the plates to how they created the menu.
Sunday, November 17, 2019, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m., Ann Arbor District Library – Malletts Creek Branch, 3090 E. Eisenhower Parkway (east of Stone School Road), Ann Arbor, MI 48108
Detroit Prohibition with Mickey Lyons. Rumrunners and bootleggers and speakeasies, oh my! Mickey Lyons of DetroitProhibition.com takes us through Detroit’s intoxicating history during the prohibition years, from sloshing the stuff across the Detroit River to raiding the liquor cabinets and speakeasies with a whole lot of intemperance.Mickey is a Detroit-based author and researcher on Detroit Prohibition history. Her upcoming book, City on a Still: Detroit During Prohibition, is in the works. In the meantime, she spends her days trudging through old bars and buildings and sifting through old newspapers.
November 24: Themed Meal for CHAA members and friends, “The Mighty Mississip’.” Featuring dishes from the ten U. S. states bordering the Mississippi River: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, & Louisiana.
Sunday, January 19, 2020, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m., Ann Arbor District Library – Malletts Creek Branch, 3090 E. Eisenhower Parkway (east of Stone School Road), Ann Arbor, MI 48108
Sunday, February 16, 2020, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m., Ann Arbor District Library – Malletts Creek Branch, 3090 E. Eisenhower Parkway (east of Stone School Road), Ann Arbor, MI 48108
Sunday, May 17, 2020, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m., Ann Arbor District Library – Malletts Creek Branch, 3090 E. Eisenhower Parkway (east of Stone School Road), Ann Arbor, MI 48108