Sep 17 Thursday
Course description:
College is a crucial institution in which our society works through its expectations for young people. This course explores the purposes of college education through the first great book on the philosophy of education, Plato’s Republic. We read The Republic in conversation with other thinkers including Aristotle, Confucius, John Stuart Mill, Virginia Woolf, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King. For the 325th anniversary of Yale’s founding, we also explore the changing conception of college education at Yale over the centuries and read some of the college’s and the university’s key founding documents. Themes include the development of personal character, participation in a community, preparation for citizenship, and conversation with others on intellectual matters. We also explore some of the social and economic functions of college education.
The 2026 DeVane Lecture series will be led by Pericles Lewis, Dean of Yale College and Douglas Tracy Smith Professor of Comparative Literature
The class is free and open to the public and will run on Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:30 to 3:20 p.m., from September 2 to December 9, 2026.
Sep 18 Friday
Sep 19 Saturday
The sanctuary needs your help! As the largest open space in Westport, our 62-acre wildlife sanctuary serves as a vital hub for local biodiversity and education. We invite our community to join us in caring for the land by removing invasive plant species and tending to the trails.
Bring a neighbor and come to Earthplace for our Community Volunteer Day! We’ll start the day with coffee and tea before heading out to the trails.
Please remember to bring a bottle of water and wear long pants, long socks, and tick repellent. Gloves and tools will be provided.
The Bethel Pride book club meets the third Saturday of each month in person at Rainy Day Paperback at 3PM or online via Discord (see below). March: Queer Palestine and the Empire of Critique April: Nicked by M.T. Anderson May: Body Horror: Capitalism, Fear, Misogyny, Jokes June: Man O'War by Cory McCarthy July: Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity August: Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White
If you cannot attend in person, book club is also hosted via text chat on Friday & Saturday via Discord. Please visit store website for a link!
Sep 20 Sunday
Lace up and join us for the 2nd Annual Steps Against Melanoma on Long Island for a morning of movement, community, and family-friendly fun at beautiful Heckscher State Park! Whether you’re walking, running, cheering from the sidelines, or just coming out to support the cause, there’s something for everyone — including giveaways, music, community vendors, and free visual skin screenings hosted by Northwell Health.
This inspiring 5K walk/run brings together survivors, caregivers, families, friends, and supporters from across Long Island, all united in the fight against melanoma. Every step helps support AIM at Melanoma’s mission to advance research, raise awareness, and provide support for the melanoma community. Come make memories, honor loved ones, and help take steps toward a cure.
Come cut your own bouquet from the beautiful flowers being grown in the Earthplace garden! We’ll have a wide variety of flowers, including dahlia, sweet pea, zinnia, snapdragon, Chamois aster, cosmos, coreopsis, gomphrena, and more. (Please bring your own vase if you would like one! The number of stems per bouquet depends on the variety of flowers.)
Sep 21 Monday
Sep 22 Tuesday