The American Transcendentalists - A Presentation in Two Acts: How Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau changed American spirituality

This historical reenactment follows two key figures in the founding of the American Transcendentalist movement - Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau - and explores how they changed American spirituality. The reenactment will be followed by a group discussion.

Charles LaFond is a local potter, fundraiser, and writer on the island and has an interest in spirituality but not in religion. He has spoken twice at the Freeland Library on discernment and on fundraising. His purpose in this seminar is to ask questions about what 19th-century Concord, MA, and 21st-century Whidbey have in common in these political, religious, and social times and how people choose to become activists on topics they feel will improve life for others.

Auston McArdle is a local organic farmer, nonprofit leader, writer, father, and activist on issues around the environment, soil protection, and generation on Whidbey. He has lived in much the same way Thoreau did when he decided to build a cabin and live there as a life and social experiment, and can speak from that authority.

For more information on transcendentalism, please see this curated resource list.