I’m back from vacation to bring you more great Narnia news than you can possibly dream of. I can’t give specifics of my vacation, but I can say that I did visit Middle-earth while I was in New Zealand, and that I saw wonderful, weird and marvelous creatures while I was away. Onto the news: The C.S. Lewis Festival returns for its seventh year, expanding its offerings into early October.
The Petoskey area is gearing up for the fifth annual month-long festival on the life and works of the man who created Narnia, C. S. Lewis.
Beginning with the kickoff weekend October 26-28, community groups and guest scholars will explore the theme of The Question of God in accessible and dramatic style, delving into issues that preoccupy all thinking people today: What is happiness? How do we find meaning and purpose in our lives?
The Question of God illustrates the lives and insights of Sigmund Freud, a life-long critic of religious belief, and C.S. Lewis, a celebrated Oxford don, literary critic and perhaps this century’s most influential and popular proponent of faith based on reason.
Wheaton College scholar, Jerry Root, Ph.D., will deliver The Question of God keynote address on Friday, October 26 at 7:30 p.m. at North Central Michigan College. Dr. Root will seek to compare supernaturalism versus materialism, essential components that separated the worldviews of Lewis and Freud.
The weekend also features a daylong seminar Saturday, October 27 entitled “C.S. Lewis and The Problem of Pain,” at North Central Michigan College. Geared toward students, life-long learners, educators, and administrators, the seminar features scholars Christopher Mitchell, Ph.D., of The Wade Center at Wheaton College, IL, and Dr. Root, exploring Lewis’ experiences as expressed in A Grief Observed, and its relationship to his earlier views on suffering. Full-day registrations are $40, including lunch; half-day registrations are also available. Participants are encouraged to sign up early by registering online at
www.cslewisfestival.org or by calling (231) 347-5550.
On a lighter note, Three Streams Theatre will stage Narnia, the Musical at 7:30pm on Friday, October 26 and Saturday, October 27, and on Sunday, October 28 at 2pm at Harbor Light Christian School, 8333 Clayton Road, Harbor Springs. Tickets are $5/children and $25/family, available at the door.
The public is invited to a reception at Gaslight Gallery located on Howard Street in downtown Petoskey, featuring the work of artist, Michael Morris. He will be on hand to talk about his unique take on Lewis’ Narnia series. This event is free and open to all and refreshments will be served.
To wrap up the opening weekend, Lewis Festival advisor and Wade Center Director Dr. Christopher Mitchell will give the morning message at the First Presbyterian Church of Harbor Springs on Sunday, October 28 at 10 a.m. The church is located at 7940 Cemetery Road in Harbor Springs. For information, call (231) 526-7332
Dr. Jerry Root, will give the morning message at Petoskey United Methodist Church on Sunday, October 29 at both the 8:45 and 11 a.m. services. The church is located at 1804 E. Mitchell in Petoskey. For information, call (231) 347-2733.
Other C. S. Lewis-related events throughout the month of November include theatre performances, community arts and library programs, school reading events, discussion groups, and the special five-year anniversary gala celebration featuring an English Dinner at Stafford’s Perry Hotel and an Evening with C.S. Lewis with acclaimed English actor, David Payne. Many events are free and open to the public, while others require pre-registration or tickets. For more information, visit www.cslewisfestival.org or call (231) 347-5550.
The second annual Petoskey Area C.S. Lewis Festival will be held in Northern Michigan this November (www.cslewisfestival.org). Dubbed as “a month-long celebration of the life and works of one of the most beloved authors of the 20th-century,” the festival has received state-wide recognition as a unique collaborative effort between the local arts council, public schools, community college, and ministerial association.
Included among its board members is David Crouse of Crouse Entertainment, a local film producer who co-produced the PBS documentary “The Magic Never Ends: The Life and Works of C.S. Lewis”; as well as Dr. Christopher Mitchell, Director of the Marion E. Wade Center in Wheaton, Illinois. He will be leading a day-long seminar, along with another Lewis scholar, on Saturday, November 6. A Children’s Theater will perform a musical of “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” Nov. 12-14.
For more information, visit www.cslewisfestival.org. Local hotels will be doing special packages for Lewis Festival weekends throughout the month, and every weekend is packed with events. To Narnia and the North!
Blessings,
Sarah Arthur,
C.S. Lewis Festival Secretary
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