Spend an afternoon with Hempsted staff on the Thames River Heritage Water Taxi to learn about New London's history. This tour will explore the stories of a fugitive slave, Black Revolutionary Patriots, Black Governors and Whalers, the Amistad and more.
Two East Haddam organizations create an historic Pride Celebration! Begin at the East Haddam Historical Society (EHHS) for a presentation by Ken Simon, Emmy award-winning filmmaker, founder of Syracuse New Times, and Executive Producer of SimonPure Media, that will highlight Kate Swift and Casey Miller who helped make strides toward gender equality. After, explore EHHS’ exhibit, “Linguistic Warriors: Casey Miller and Kate Swift” that highlights their groundbreaking work changing pronouns. Continue to the Palmer-Warner House with the Connecticut Museum of Culture & History’s traveling exhibit on our state’s rich LGBTQ+ history. At 3 pm, Dusty Rader will lead a discussion on gender identity and expression. Dusty, who transitioned his senior year of high school in 2009 and has never looked back, has provided training and professional development on LGBTQ+ youth across the nation, taught Introduction to Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at CCSU, and served as their interim Coordinator for the LGBTQ Center. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for PROUD Academy.
Cruise along the Thames River and hear about sites along the Thames that sparked authors' imaginations to write their stories. Explore books that tell the tales of the people and events that inspired them like Night of the Moonjelllies, Love and Brutality: The Mysterious Saga of Gallows Road, For Adam's Sake: A Family Saga in Colonial New England; Diary of Joshua Hempsted, Morton F. Plant and the Connecticut Shoreline, Venture Smith: The First Slave Narrative, Jordan Freedman Was My Friend, and Ice Diaries - the incredible true story of Capt. William R. Anderson and his crew's harrowing top-secret mission aboard the USS Nautilus, and more. As these authors attest by their writing, the Thames truly is one river with a thousand stories.