Live Events

Alex Cano is a nationally touring Rock/Americana artist based in NY. Known for his combination of smooth baritone and powerful rock vocals, Cano's sound ranges from high energy alternative and blues based rock ‘n’ roll, to intimate Americana/folk/roots rock. He has been compared to artists/bands such as Foo Fighters, Led Zeppelin, Pearl Jam, The Black Crowes, Jason Isbell, and Johnny Cash. Free admission, no reservation required.

Clara Bingham is a journalist and author whose work has focused on social justice and women’s issues. Her latest book, The Movement: How Women’s Liberation Transformed America 1963-1973, is a history of the early years of second wave feminism. As a Washington, D.C. correspondent for Newsweek from 1989 to 1993, Bingham covered the George H. W. Bush White House leading up to and during the 1992 presidential election. Her freelance writing has appeared in publications including Vanity Fair, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Glamour, and more. Moderated by Nancy Steiner.

Trivia Night returns to the Bedford Playhouse Cafe, hosted by Rachel from Rock Paper Scissors Custom Events. Play solo or as a team and test your knowledge on a wide range of topics, including movies, music, history, geography and more. Food and drink available for sale from the bar.

In this John Jay Lecture Series, we welcome Steven Brill to discuss his book, The Death Of Truth. Brill explores how misinformation in media has historically sown division, but argues that today’s political climate and advanced technologies have amplified this influence exponentially—taking it, as he describes, 'from the slingshot age to the nuclear age.' Offering both keen analysis and actionable solutions, Brill sheds light on the urgent challenges posed by modern media. Books will be available for signing.

Party Boys is the amazing true story of how a family from a small farm town in Canada built an entertainment empire in New York City where more than 40 million people danced, laughed, and had the time of their lives. Founder, along with his brothers, of NYC’s Webster Hall, Lon Ballinger discusses his experiences in the nightclub industry, the importance of integrity and responsibility in business and the challenges he’s faced. Copies of the book will be available for sale and signing.

Join David Pogue—CBS Sunday Morning correspondent, seven-time Emmy winner, and author of How to Prepare for Climate Change—for an eye-opening and hilarious talk about the bright side of the climate crisis. David will share 10 reasons to feel hopeful—and 10 actions you can take right now to help turn things around in our community. A Community Climate Conversation presented in partnership with Bedford 2030.

Chloe Melas (Luck of the Draw) and Margot Clark-Junkins (Following the Front) will share the remarkable WWII experiences of their grandfathers, followed by a Q&A. Melas’s grandfather, Frank Murphy, served in the 8th Air Force’s “Bloody 100th” Bomb Group and was held as a POW at Stalag Luft III. His memoir, republished by Melas in 2023, became a New York Times bestseller. Clark-Junkins published her grandfather Sidney Olson’s 1945 war dispatches, which capture Churchill in London, Hemingway and Capa in Paris, the fall of Cologne and Nuremberg, and Dachau’s liberation. Books will be available for sale and signing.

Under New York’s 1799 Gradual Abolition scheme, a child born to an enslaved mother (as of a certain date) was deemed “free,” but had to continue as the servant of the mother’s owner until the age of 25 (for a girl) or 28 (for a boy).  Gronningsater develops a deeply researched picture of the lives, politics, and legal efforts of this generation of Black children of ambiguous status, and how they combined with others to help shape important changes to the U.S. Constitution as well as groundbreaking state and Federal civil rights legislation.

In 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee, John Scopes was charged with breaking the new law that banned the teaching of evolution in public schools.  His trial became an international sensation, with brilliant and famous personalities – one, a former presidential candidate – representing the opposing sides during the so-called Roaring Twenties.  Keeping the Faith brings to life this trial, its combatants, and the way it exposed profound divisions in America that still resonate today, over the meaning of freedom, religion, education, and civil liberties in a democracy.

John Trumbull saw the American Revolution firsthand, including being shot at and jailed as a spy.  He was seen by his contemporaries as a painter, but he thought of himself as a historian, wanting “to preserve and diffuse the memory of the noblest series of actions which have ever presented themselves in the history of man.”  He knew John Jay well, having served as his secretary during the negotiations of the Jay Treaty, and he painted the only portrait in the Homestead’s collection that Jay actually sat for (the rest are copies).