Editor's note: This is the final edition of "Things to Do at Penn State" before the Thanksgiving holiday break. "Things to Do" will resume publication on Dec. 1.
What's happening at Penn State? Here's a look at some of the cultural events — both in-person and virtual — taking place across the University this weekend and next week:
Performances
"The Wild Party" — Nov. 2-14, Playhouse Theatre, University Park campus. Penn State Centre Stage presents Andrew Lippa's adaptation of "The Wild Party," a jazz-flavored contemporary musical about risk and excess.
"Mixing It Up" — 7:30 p.m., Nov. 11 and 12, Wolf Kuhn Theatre, Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Penn State Altoona. Allied Motion Dance Company and Ivyside Dance Ensemble will perform. Free.
Front Row: National — Noon, Nov. 15, through noon, Nov. 19, via livestream. The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's "Front Row: National" virtual concert series features Cho-Liang Lin, violinist. Free, but registration required.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra — 8 p.m., Nov. 19, Bryce Jordan Center, University Park campus. The Trans-Siberian Orchestra returns to Penn State as part of its "Winter Tour."
Lectures
Holocaust survivor, author Irene Hasenberg Butter — 9 a.m., Nov. 11, via Zoom. Author and Holocaust survivor Irene Hasenberg Butter will share her experiences overcoming Nazi oppression during World War II in a virtual webinar offered by Penn State Hazleton. Free.
George J. McMurtry Faculty Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award lecture: David Hozza — noon, Nov. 11, E202 Westgate Building, University Park campus and via Zoom. David Hozza, lecturer in the College of Information Sciences and Technology, will present "Things I've Learned on This Teaching Journey." Free.
SciComm Speaker Series: Bernice Hausman — 3:30 p.m., Nov. 11, via Zoom. Bernice Hausman, humanities chair in the College of Medicine, will present "Vaccine Dissent and the Post-COVID Landscape." Free.
2021 Brown Democracy Medal Lecture: Desmond Meade — 4 p.m., Nov. 11, via livestream. Desmond Meade, executive director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, will be featured. Free.
Energy for the Future Seminar Series: Hannah Wiseman — 4 p.m., Nov. 11, 157 Hosler Building, University Park campus, and via Zoom. Hannah Wiseman, professor of law and Wilson Faculty Fellow in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, will present "Locally Desirable Energy Development." Free.
Behrend Speaker Series: Dr. Scott Gottlieb — 7:30 p.m., Nov. 11, McGarvey Commons, Reed Union Building, Penn State Behrend. Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb will discuss vaccine hesitancy, the political wedge around masks and mandates, and the steps that can best prepare the nation for the next pandemic. Free.
Data Science Community virtual talk series: Margaret Hu, James Wang and Elizabeth Mansfield — 11 a.m., Nov. 12, via Zoom. Margaret Hu, associate dean for non-JD programs and professor of law and international affairs, will present "The Big Data Constitution." James Wang, professor of information sciences and technology, and Elizabeth Masfield, professor and head of art history, will present "Imaging and Art History.' Free, but registration required.
College of Information Sciences and Technology Distinguished Lecture Series: Lorrie Faith Cranor — 11:45 a.m., Nov 12, via Zoom. Lorrie Faith Cranor, director and Bosch Distinguished Professor of the CyLab Security and Privacy Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, will present "Designing Useful and Useable Privacy Interfaces." Free.
Andrew Yang and Charlie Dent — 4:30 p.m., Nov. 16, via livestream. The McCourtney Institute for Democracy will host New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang and former U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent will discuss the country's party system and ideas to fix it. Free.
2021 Hankin Distinguished Lecture: Amanda L. Reddy — 4 p.m., Nov. 17, via Zoom. Amanda L. Reddy, executive director of the National Center for Healthy Housing, will present "Florence Nightingale Was Right: The Central Role of Housing for Ensuring Health and Well-Being in a Changing World." Free, but registration required.
Penn State Mont Alto Evening Talk and Star Party Series: Anne Devney — 7:30 p.m., Nov. 18, in-person and via Zoom. Anne Devney, assistant teaching professor in nursing will present "Rapid Anxiety Reduction Tools." Free, but registration required.
Events
49th annual Shakespeare Festival — Nov. 8-12, Penn State Fayette. The festival will feature public workshops, performances and exhibits from the National Players and Nitwittany Players. Free.
Veterans Day Ceremony — 11:11 a.m.-noon, Nov. 11, Old Main lawn, University Park campus, and via livestream. Hosted by the Penn State Student Veterans Organization, the annual ceremony honors those who have served in the armed forces. Free.
Cafe Laura Theme Dinner: "A Peruvian Experience: A Trip to Lima" — Nov. 11, Cafe Laura, Mateer Building, University Park campus. Students in HM 430 Advanced Food Production and Service Management prepare a series of themed dinners throughout the semester to be served in the student-run Cafe Laura restaurant. Reservations required.
Cafe Laura Theme Dinner: "Pimento: An Elevated Southern Experience" — Nov. 17, Cafe Laura, Mateer Building, University Park campus. Students in HM 430 Advanced Food Production and Service Management prepare a series of themed dinners throughout the semester to be served in the student-run Cafe Laura restaurant. Reservations required.
Cafe Laura Theme Dinner: "When in Rome: That's Amore" — Nov. 18, Cafe Laura, Mateer Building, University Park campus. Students in HM 430 Advanced Food Production and Service Management prepare a series of themed dinners throughout the semester to be served in the student-run Cafe Laura restaurant. Reservations required.
Virtual exhibits
"African Brilliance and the Purpose of Art" — This interactive virtual tour accompanied the Palmer Museum of Art’s spring 2020 special exhibition "African Brilliance: A Diplomat’s Sixty Years of Collecting" and will remain available throughout the current academic year. Explore the exhibition installation, images of selected works, videos for guided viewing and related art-making activity suggestions. Free.
"Celebrating the ADA: The Legacy and Evolution of Disability Rights and Lived Experiences at Penn State" — The University Libraries virtual exhibit explores the first 100 years of national disability rights legislation and the movement's impact on the Penn State community. Free.
"Global Asias: Contemporary Asian and Asian American Art from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundations" — This web-based, interactive program from the Palmer Museum of Art features guided video tours of selected exhibition artists in addition to an introductory overview by the curator. Learn about the “Global Asias” concept of personal and cultural identity in a contemporary world. Artists featured include: Jacob Hashimoto, Dinh Q. Lê, Hung Liu, Takashi Murakami, Roger Shimomura, Do Ho Suh, and Rirkrit Tiranvanija. Free.
"Pandemic Spaces (1918 Edition)" — The University Libraries virtual display explores architecture related to the devastating influenza epidemic of 1918. Free.
"Who Am I? Art and Identity" — This self-directed, interactive, online tour features a selection of objects from diverse areas of the Palmer Museum of Art’s collection, related through a common exploration of personal or cultural identity. Free.
"Women in Art: Activism + Resistance" — This self-directed, interactive, Palmer Museum of Art online tour is intended for college-level courses and features a selection of objects by female artists in the museum’s collection. In celebration of the centennial of the 19th Amendment, this tour highlights artists working in a variety of mediums during the 20th and 21st centuries who have contributed to political, social and cultural change. Free.
In-person exhibits
"Wind Spirits" — Through Nov. 20, Art Alley, HUB-Robeson Galleries, University Park campus. “Wind Spirits” is an exhibition of artists Tatiana Arocha, Deirdre Murphy and Rachel Sydlowski, considering the power and delicacy of Earth’s avian creatures and the larger implications that duality poses for human roles in the natural world. Free.
"Tech Vanitas" — Through Nov. 23, the Gallery, Penn College. Jeanette May's large photographs in a rich color palette evoking classic 17th-century Dutch still-life paintings offer an exploration into modern-day obsessions with technological gadgets. Free.
"Ukiyo-e: Images of the Floating World, Japanese Woodblock Prints from the Permanent Collection" — Through Dec. 5, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. The art of ukiyo-e flourished in Japan during the Edo period (1615-1867). Period artists specializing in genre scenes, portraits of actors and courtesans, and later, landscape, in a manner that reflected the most contemporary fashions and attitudes, their work became known as ukiyo-e, or “pictures of the floating world.” Free.
"Blackout Poetry" — Through Dec. 10, campus library, Penn State Fayette. “Blackout Poetry” is a creative way to bring new meaning to any written text and make it your own. Redact words in order to create a one-of-a-kind piece. All entries will be displayed in the campus library. Free.
"Patchwork Voices Community Collection" — Through Dec. 10, Coal and Coke Heritage Center, campus library, Penn State Fayette. The Patchwork Voices Community Collection is one of the Coal and Coke Heritage Center's unprocessed collections. Unprocessed means that a traditional finding aid has not been created for researchers to access materials. The collection consists of smaller, family collections. Visitors will find materials such as photographs, letters, recipes, mining certificates, newspapers, magazines, union materials, clothing and mining tools. Free.
"Righting a Wrong: Japanese Americans and World War II" — Through Dec. 10, campus library, Penn State Fayette. The exhibit examines the complicated history and impact of Executive Order 9066 that led to the incarceration of Japanese Americans following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Free.
"Celebration of Trees" — Through Dec. 12, Henry Gallery, Penn State Great Valley. The presentation hosts photographs, prints, paintings and mixed media works. All of the artists are inspired by the architecture of trees themselves, formative memories, the experience of being in nature, and environmentalism. To support improved environmental policies and draw attention to climate change, they manifest a connection to the earth and an understanding of the importance of forests. Free.
"Global Asias: Contemporary Asian and Asian American Art from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation" — Through Dec. 12, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. This web-based, interactive program features guided video tours of selected exhibition artists in addition to an introductory overview by the curator. Learn about the “Global Asias” concept of personal and cultural identity in a contemporary world. Free.
"Place to Place: Recent Gifts of American Drawings and Watercolors, 1900-1950" — Through Dec. 12, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. "Place to Place" offers a jaunt around America in the first half of the 20th century. From New York to New Mexico to New Orleans, a range of sites in several different media are gathered to explore notions of place. International locales represented include Belgium, England, France, Germany and Morocco. Free.
"Documenting the Moment: A Visual Journal" — Through Dec. 17, Ronald K. DeLong Gallery, Penn State Lehigh Valley. The exhibit features a collection of artist Jason Travers’ ink and graphite drawings that capture what he’s seeing in real time at a particular moment. The gallery also is showcasing student works depicting significant moments shown from various perspectives. Free.
"OPENINGS: Highlights from the Eberly Family Special Collections Library" — 10 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays through Jan. 14, 2022, Eberly Family Special Collections, Paterno Library, University Park campus. A selection of rare, unique and distinctive items from the University Libraries' Eberly Family Special Collections. Free.
"Design for Life" — Nov. 10-Jan. 26, 2022, Art Alley, HUB-Robeson Galleries, University Park campus. Work from Stuckeman School faculty and students exemplifying the influence design has on a wide rage of social issues will be on display. Free.
"Lost Bird Project" — Through Jan. 26, 2022, exhibition cases, HUB-Robeson Galleries, University Park campus. The "Lost Bird Project" consists of five sculptural monuments to extinct bird species. Conceived by artist Todd McGrain, the "Lost Bird Project" recognizes the tragedy of modern extinction by immortalizing the five most recently extinct North American birds. Free.
"Why Biodiversity Matters" — Through Jan. 26, 2022, exhibition cases, HUB-Robeson Galleries, University Park campus. "Why Biodiversity Matters" includes avian research and educational materials from Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center and Penn State’s Wildlife and Fisheries program. Free.
"Altar" — Through Jan. 30, 2022, exhibition cases, HUB-Robeson Galleries, University Park campus. Kiana Honarmand’s installation in the exhibition cases utilizes text from the poem “Gift” by Iranian feminist poet Forough Farrokhzad to pay homage to the history of hiding critical commentary in Persian poetry and visual arts.
Rosemarie Fiore — Through Jan. 30, 2022, HUB-Robeson Galleries, University Park campus. Artist Rosemarie Fiore's smoke paining murals celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity. Free.