It was a beautiful final day of August yesterday as the rafts set sail in the fountains at the Public Square at Metro Courthouse to kickoff Nashville’s Citywide Celebration of Mark Twain. Following words by Twain himself — expertly and humorously conjured by Nashville actor Brian Russell — and Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, handmade rafts created by children from several elementary schools in the Nashville area, in conjunction with YMCA artEMBRACE (Empowering Many By Rendering After school Enrichment) and local artist Kaaren Engle, were placed in the fountains to ceremoniously begin the celebration, which will last until May 2010 and incorporate dozens of events and organizations.
NPT is proud to be a part of the celebration, and one of the first scheduled events is our broadcast, this Thursday, September 3 at 8:00 p.m. of part one of MARK TWAIN: A FILM BY KEN BURNS. Drawing from 63 hours of material, thousands of archival photographs and nearly 20 interviews with top writers and scholars, this two-part, four-hour documentary is the story of Twain’s extraordinary life, full of rollicking adventure, stupendous success and crushing defeat, hilarious comedy and almost unbearable tragedy. The documentary conclude the following Thursday, September 10, at 8:00 p.m.
For a full list of organizations and events, visit twainandtwang.org.
Photos by Joe Pagetta
