Dogwood

Tuesday, March 19 - Great Decisions - DEBARCHANA GHOSH 6:00 P.M.
2024-03-19 18:00 - 19:30 (America/Detroit) | Dogwood Center for Performing Arts, 4734 S. Campus Court, Fremont, MI, 49412, United States
Diagnosing and Treating Global Health Disparities
Dr. Debarchana (Debs) Ghosh, Associate Professor, Geography, University of Connecticut.
Looking back at the covid-19 pandemic and other global health emergencies, there are many lessons to take away both domestically and internationally. Of particular importance is understanding the multi-faceted causes of global health disparities and what we might do to improve equitable access to health services worldwide. Dr. Debarchana Ghosh, a professor of geography at the University of Connecticut will offer insights based on her research in the field of global health.
This lecture will be broadcast live at the Dogwood Center from 6:00 – 7:15 p.m. in our Black Box. Admission is free!

Saturday, March 16 - FHS Theatre Presents: Shrek The Musical 7:00 p.m. Main Stage
2024-03-16 19:00 - 21:00
“Once upon a time, there was a little ogre named Shrek….” And thus begins the tale of an unlikely hero who finds himself on a life-changing journey alongside a wisecracking Donkey and a feisty princess who resists her rescue. Throw in a short-tempered bad guy, a cookie with an attitude, and over a dozen other fairytale misfits, and you’ve got the kind of mess that calls for a real hero. Luckily, there’s one on hand… and his name is Shrek.
Click here to purchase tickets. Tickets are $12.00 for adults, $8.00 for children. General admission, Main Stage.

The Dogwood Center is located one mile east of downtown Fremont. Doors open for seating at 6:30 p.m. Online sales close two hours prior to events, please call the box office for ticket availability at 231-924-8885 if online sales have ended.

Saturday, March 16 – FHS Theatre Presents: Shrek The Musical 12:30 p.m. Main Stage
2024-03-16 12:30 - 14:30

Friday, March 15 - FHS Theatre Presents: Shrek The Musical 7:00 p.m. Main Stage
2024-03-15 19:00 - 21:00

Tuesday, March 12 - Great Decisions - NEELA BANERJEE 6:00 P.M.
2024-03-12 18:00 - 19:30
Climate Technology and the Roadmap for the Climate Crisis
Neela Banerjee, Deputy Senior Supervising Climate Editor, NPR.
While climate technology will play a central role in limiting and addressing climate change, we still don’t have a comprehensive global framework that will provide a roadmap to achieving net zero. Geopolitical rivalries, political inertia, and policy disagreements threaten to slow down a process that needs to rapidly advance, especially as countries least responsible for the climate crisis become impacted the most. Neela Banerjee, the Deputy Senior Supervising Climate Editor for NPR will discuss how we might challenge our current understanding of the climate crisis and suggest ways citizens might respond.
This lecture will be broadcast live at the Dogwood Center from 6:00 – 7:15 p.m. in our Black Box. Admission is free!

Friday, March 8 - Frankie Moreno 7:30 p.m. Main Stage
2024-03-08 19:30 - 21:30
Frankie Moreno With 17 Top-Ten albums (5 No. 1’s), 117 Top-Ten singles (100 No. 1’s), an Emmy nomination, and being named Las Vegas “Headliner of the Year” 5 times, Frankie Moreno is consistently breaking records and wowing audiences from coast to coast with his own brand of genre-blurring Rock n’ Roll.
Reaching millions of record sales worldwide, Frankie continues to write and release new music. In 2019, he made music history by becoming the only artist to have 6 albums debut at a Top-Ten spot on the Billboard Charts in a 12-month period.
As a child prodigy on the piano and a gifted multi-instrumentalist, Frankie was first introduced to American audiences at the age of 10 on CBS’s Star Search. His performance on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars brought him into America’s living rooms again performing his self-penned hit “Tangerine Honey”. He has continued to perform sold-out concerts including Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, The Hollywood Bowl, and Vegas residencies.
Frankie’s collaboration with world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell, At Home With Friends, reached the No. 1 spot on Billboard. The album included Sting, Josh Groban, Chris Botti, Kristin Chenoweth, and Regina Spektor. Frankie and Josh have since released Musical Gifts, which reached No. 8 on Billboard and featured Placido Domingo, Gloria Estefan, Allison Krauss, and Chick Corea.
Frankie toured the U.S. with Sugarland and Billy Currington. He joined multi-platinum artists Air Supply for their world tour as musical director, and wrote their radio single “Dance with Me”, reaching No. 7 on Billboard’s Top 40. He has performed his original works for his Symphony concerts with the nation’s premier orchestras.
Frankie Moreno commands audiences around the world with his highly contagious music and playful stage antics. His songs are cleverly crafted and his musicianship is virtuoso. Frankie is an all-around talent who puts his heart and soul into his music. He is unquestionably a unique artist.
Click here to purchase tickets. Tickets are $27.50. The Dogwood Center is located one mile east of downtown Fremont. Doors open for seating at 7:00 p.m. Online sales close two hours prior to events, please call the box office for ticket availability at 231-924-8885 if online sales have ended. The Dogwood Center Box Office is open Tuesday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Tickets are available online at www.dogwoodcenter.com, at the Dogwood Box Office, or at NCCA-Artsplace in downtown Fremont. For more information, phone 231.924.8885.

Thursday, March 7 - The Grand Rapids Symphony 7:30 p.m. Main Stage
2024-03-07 19:30 - 21:30
The Grand Rapids Symphony returns to the Dogwood Center on Thursday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m. for a sure to be incredible performance! Join us and you will experience a world-class orchestra performing for you live at the Dogwood!
The evening’s performance will be conducted by assistant conductor Duo Shen, and will feature the music of Smetana, Strauss, Sibelius, and Dvorak.
The Grand Rapids Symphony was officially organized in 1930 and is recognized as one of America’s leading regional orchestras. The Grand Rapids Symphony presents more than 400 performances each year, touching the lives of some 200,000. Nearly half of those who benefit are students, senior citizens and people with disabilities reached through extensive education and community service programs. Their mission is “to share great music that moves the human soul”…..and that is what they will be doing right here in Newaygo County!
Audience members are invited to a post-performance, insightful and informative “Talk Back” session with Assistant Conductor Duo Shen and GRS Director of Education Sarah Stickney in the Main Stage area!
This program is funded in part by the Fremont Area Community Foundation. Tickets are $17.50 for adults, $5 children 18 and under and seating is reserved. Click here to purchase tickets.
The Dogwood Center is located one mile east of downtown Fremont. Doors open for seating at 7:00 p.m. Online sales close two hours prior to events, please call the box office for ticket availability at 231-924-8885 if online sales have ended. The Dogwood Center Box Office is open Tuesday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Tickets are available online at www.dogwoodcenter.com, at the Dogwood Box Office, or at NCCA-Artsplace in downtown Fremont. For more information, phone 231.924.8885.

Tuesday, March 5 - Great Decisions - JANE FERGUSON 6:00 P.M.
2024-03-05 18:00 - 19:30
The Middle East After October 7
Jane Ferguson, foreign correspondent for PBS NewsHour and author of No Ordinary Assignment.
With the Middle East already at a crossroads, the attack on October 7 by Hamas on Israel upended the region and the world. Join us for a conversation with Jane Ferguson, foreign correspondent for PBS NewsHour and author of No Ordinary Assignment. She’ll discuss the latest developments in the conflict, the challenges of potential escalation, and the geopolitical implications for the region. What are the new prospects for peace in the region? What role does the U.S. have to play?
This lecture will be broadcast live at the Dogwood Center from 6:00 – 7:15 p.m. in our Black Box. Admission is free!

Tuesday, February 27 - Great Decisions - HIROKO MURAKI-GOTTLIEB 6:00 P.M.
2024-02-27 18:00 - 19:30
The U.N. High Seas Treaty and Protecting our Global Commons
Hiroko Muraki-Gottlieb, Elizabeth Haub School of Law, Pace University.
The high seas, nearly ⅔ of the ocean, belong to all but no one in particular: It is a global common. In June 2023, after more than 20 years of studies and negotiations, nearly 200 countries agreed by consensus to adopt a historic treaty to better conserve and sustainably use the high seas. The Treaty will address the unprecedented and accelerating biological diversity loss and degradation of the ocean due to climate change, pollution, and unsustainable use. It also aims to advance scientific research, globally, and address inequalities in sharing benefits associated with organisms of the high seas. Join environmental lawyer Hiroko Muraki-Gottlieb as she discusses the challenges and opportunities to effectively implement the treaty to ensure the health of the largest biodiversity of the Earth for the current and future generations.
This lecture will be broadcast live at the Dogwood Center from 6:00 – 7:15 p.m. in our Black Box. Admission is free!

Tuesday, February 20 - Great Decisions - DAN SLATER 6:00 P.M.
2024-02-20 18:00 - 19:30
Understanding Indonesia with Dan Slater
Dr. Dan Slater, James Orin Murfin Professor of Political Science; Director, Center for Emerging Democracies, University of Michigan.
Despite its large size, Indonesia remains virtually unknown to most Americans. But as one of the world’s largest democracies, the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, and as an economic driver of ASEAN, why does it fly below the radar? Join us for a timely conversation with Dr. Dan Slater from the University of Michigan as he contextualizes Indonesia and discusses the impacts of their presidential elections happening in February. With democracies in decline worldwide, what does the future hold for Indonesia?
This lecture will be broadcast live at the Dogwood Center from 6:00 – 7:15 p.m. in our Black Box. Admission is free!

Tuesday, February 13 - Great Decisions - KYLE SULLIVAN 6:00 P.M.
2024-02-13 18:00 - 19:30
Perspectives on Managing the Challenges and Opportunities in U.S.-China Commercial Relations
Kyle Sullivan, Vice President, Business Advisory Services, US China Business Council.
Join us for an evening with Kyle Sullivan from the US-China Business Council, as he delves into the dynamics of the US-China trade and commercial relationship. This event will offer valuable insights into the trajectory of the US-China relationship in the year ahead, and discuss the latest trade policies, market trends, and impact of geopolitical tensions on US companies that conduct business with China. Mr. Sullivan will also offer views on China’s domestic business environment and the unique challenges and opportunities facing US companies that operate there. Don’t miss this chance to gain a deeper understanding of one of the most consequential bilateral commercial relationships in the world today.
This lecture will be broadcast live at the Dogwood Center from 6:00 – 7:15 p.m. in our Black Box. Admission is free!

Friday, February 9 - The Charlie Millard Band 7:30 p.m. Black Box
2024-02-09 19:30 - 21:30
The Charlie Millard Band is from Michigan’s northern lower peninsula and has developed a unique sound, voice and thought-provoking lyrics/poetry of their own. Always playing lots of festivals and venues, mainly across the Midwest and Canada, percussionist Will Harris, Jercat Millard on guitars, and Charlie on the keys/organ/Rhodes bass, strive to give you a musical experience, like small movies for the ears.
Click here for tickets. Tickets are $17.50. General admission, Black Box. Tables can be reserved with the purchase of eight tickets; to reserve a table, please call the Box Office, 231-924-8885. The Dogwood Center is located one mile east of downtown Fremont. Doors open for seating at 7:00 p.m. Online sales close two hours prior to events, please call the box office for ticket availability if online sales have ended. The Dogwood Center Box Office is open Tuesday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Tickets are available online at www.dogwoodcenter.com, at the Dogwood Box Office, or at NCCA-Artsplace in downtown Fremont. For more information, phone 231.924.8885.

Tuesday, February 6 - Great Decisions - KAISER KUO 6:00 P.M.
2024-02-06 18:00 - 19:30
What Makes Chinese Tech Tick?
Kaiser Kuo, host and co-founder of The Sinica Podcast.
“Strategic competition” between the US and China can be seen across many sectors, including the race to develop and refine advanced technology like semiconductors and artificial intelligence. How do the US and China differ in their approaches to innovation and market development? Is there room (or desire) for cooperation within the current dynamic? Join us for an evening with China tech expert Kaiser Kuo, host of the Sinica Podcast, as he explains Chinese innovation strategies and how the U.S. might respond.
This lecture will be broadcast live at the Dogwood Center from 6:00 – 7:15 p.m. in our Black Box. Admission is free!

Friday, February 2 - Melody Angel 7:30 p.m. Black Box
2024-02-02 19:30 - 21:30
Melody Angel is the complete package: gifted guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, vocalist, arranger, and producer. Along the way Angel found time to launch a successful theater and film acting career and received international acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival in France. The Chicago Reader newspaper called her “The Future of the Blues.” The Southside Chicago artist is indeed navigating a forward-looking musical path while integrating the legacy of classic blues. Her music encompasses many 20th century American genres, including Rhythm & Blues, Rock, Folk, and Funk, all layered on a strong bed of Chicago blues.
Like many of us, Angel’s life and earning opportunities were upended in 2020 by the Covid pandemic. “Lucky for me I spent most of the year working on my 3rd album, She Black. This album saved my life and my sanity. I have never been prouder of a project. On this album, the truth I shared in the lyrics really healed me. Music is a powerful gift and I’m grateful for it.” On where she sees the direction of the blues, Angel is both optimistic and ready to embrace the future. “I always have hope that the blues will live on. The blues is what all great American musical genres are made from after all. Everything starts with the blues.
Click here for tickets. Tickets are $17.50. General admission, Black Box. Tables can be reserved with the purchase of eight tickets; to reserve a table, please call the Box Office, 231-924-8885. The Dogwood Center is located one mile east of downtown Fremont. Doors open for seating at 7:00 p.m. Online sales close two hours prior to events, please call the box office for ticket availability if online sales have ended. The Dogwood Center Box Office is open Tuesday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Tickets are available online at www.dogwoodcenter.com, at the Dogwood Box Office, or at NCCA-Artsplace in downtown Fremont. For more information, phone 231.924.8885.

Friday, February 2 – January Series of Calvin University - PEARL SHANGKUAN 12:30 P.M.
2024-02-02 12:30 - 13:30
PEARL SHANGKUAN
TUNING OUR MINDS, EARS, AND HEARTS TO SING GOD’S GRACE: REFLECTIONS OF A CONDUCTOR
Pearl Shangkuan is a highly sought-after conductor, lecturer, and clinician. She’s led performances, seminars, and workshops on six continents, and she is a beloved professor and the director of choral activities at Calvin University.
She’s conducted multiple performances at Carnegie Hall and other major concert halls throughout the U.S. She’s served on the jury of several international choir competitions and has led conducting master classes for the ACDA national conference, Chorus America conferences, the University of Michigan, the University of Illinois Choral Conducting Symposium, and many other prominent institutions. And, she is the national president-elect of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). Pearl will reflect on many of these experiences, and most importantly, the ways God’s grace was abundant throughout her conducting career.
Although she plans to retire from Calvin in the spring of 2024, Pearl will serve as the chorus director Grand Rapids Symphony and editor of Hinshaw Music. Pearl will also collaborate with the Calvin Institute of Christian Music and continue as the music editor of its choral series.
This lecture will be broadcast live at the Dogwood Center from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Admission is free.
For more information on the Calvin University January Series click here.
The Dogwood Center, a remote site for the Calvin University January Series, is supported in part by the Fremont Area Community Foundation.

Thursday, February 1 – January Series of Calvin University - TIM DALRYMPLE 12:30 P.M.
2024-02-01 12:30 - 13:30
TIM DALRYMPLE
Timothy Dalrymple is a former national champion gymnast who turned to academia following an accident in college where he broke his neck. He’s studied at Stanford University, Princeton Theological Seminary, and Harvard’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, where he made suffering a key theme of his research and teaching in modern Western religious thought.
He was a key player in the launch of patheos.com, an online marketing place of religious ideas, and he pioneered many of the techniques that led Patheos to become the world’s largest platform for multi-religious conversations. In 2013, Dalrymple founded Polymath, a creative agency that services businesses and nonprofits serving the world.
Dalrymple currently serves as Christianity Today’s President and CEO, the flagship evangelical media ministry founded in 1956 by Billy Graham.
This lecture will be broadcast live at the Dogwood Center from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Admission is free.
For more information on the Calvin University January Series click here.
The Dogwood Center, a remote site for the Calvin University January Series, is supported in part by the Fremont Area Community Foundation.

Wednesday, January 31 – January Series of Calvin University - ABRAM VAN ENGEN, JOANNE DIAZ AND MARILYN NELSON 12:30 P.M.
2024-01-31 12:30 - 13:30
ABRAM VAN ENGEN, JOANNE DIAZ AND MARILYN NELSON
A LIVE RECORDING OF THE PODCAST, “POETRY FOR ALL” WITH MARILYN NELSON
Marilyn Nelson is a three-time finalist for the National Book Award and one of America’s most celebrated poets. She has written or translated 20 poetry books for adults and children and five chapbooks. Her poems embrace numerous themes about growing up in an African American military family, love, racism, motherhood, marriage, and more.
Her verse memoir, How I Discovered Poetry, was named one of NPR’s Best Books of 2014, and her numerous works have received a combined 20 awards and nominations. Nelson’s many other honors include two NEA creative writing fellowships, the Poetry Foundation’s Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, the Connecticut Arts Award, and ACLS Contemplative Practices Fellowship, the Department of the Army’s Commander’s Award for Public Service, a Fulbright Teaching Fellowship, a fellowship from the J.S. Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the Wallace Stevens Award from The Academy of American Poets, and the Frost Medal.
She is also a professor emerita of English at the University of Connecticut; the former, founder, director, and host of Soul Mountain Retreat; the State of Connecticut’s Poet Laureate from 2001–2006.
Joanne Diaz and Abram Van Engen are podcast co-hosts Poetry for All, where they read a poem, discuss it, see what makes it tick, learn how it works, grow from it, and then read it again. During the January Series, they’ll do a live recording of their show with guest Marilyn Nelson.
Joanne Diaz is an English professor at Illinois Wesleyan University and the author of two poetry collections, The Lessons and My Favorite Tyrants.
She is the recipient of fellowships from the Illinois Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ragdale Foundation, and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. Her recent poems have been published in American Poetry Review, Colorado Review, New England Review, Poetry, River Styx, and Waxwing.
Abram Van Engen is a humanities professor and chair of the English Department at Washington University in St. Louis. He is also the executive director of The Carver Project, a non-profit organization of Christian faculty designed to serve and connect university, church, and society.
His writings on religion and literature have been supported by multiple fellowships and awards, including two book prizes for City on a Hill: A History of American Exceptionalism. His next book, Word Made Fresh: An Invitation to Poetry for the Church, will be available in April 2024.
This lecture will be broadcast live at the Dogwood Center from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Admission is free.
For more information on the Calvin University January Series click here.
The Dogwood Center, a remote site for the Calvin University January Series, is supported in part by the Fremont Area Community Foundation.

Tuesday, January 30 – January Series of Calvin University - DANIEL BOWMAN JR. 12:30 P.M.
2024-01-30 12:30 - 13:30
DANIEL BOWMAN JR.
NEURODIVERGENT STORYTELLING
Daniel Bowman Jr. is a novelist, poet, and professor, who received an autism diagnosis at age 35 after experiencing crises in his personal and professional life. The diagnosis shed light on his experience in a new, life-giving way.
Bowman shares his experience in On the Spectrum: Autism, Faith, & the Gifts of Neurodiversity. In this memoir, he offers insights on autism, relationships, faith, and the gift of neurodiversity through stories of his heartbreaks and triumphs.
Along with being a professor of English at Taylor University, Bowman is also the editor-in-chief of Relief: A Journal of Art & Faith, and the faculty advisor to Students for Education on Neurodiversity (SEND). His work has appeared in several anthologies and publications, including The Adirondack Review, American Poetry Journal, Art House America, Books & Culture, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, The Cresset, Christianity Today, Image Journal’s Good Letters, The Midwest Quarterly, The Northern Agrarian, The Other Journal, Pyrta, Rio Grande Review, Saint Katherine Review, Seneca Review, and Volume 1 Brooklyn.
This lecture will be broadcast live at the Dogwood Center from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Admission is free.
For more information on the Calvin University January Series click here.
The Dogwood Center, a remote site for the Calvin University January Series, is supported in part by the Fremont Area Community Foundation.

Monday, January 29 – January Series of Calvin University - JACOB GOLDSTEIN 12:30 P.M.
2024-01-29 12:30 - 13:30
JACOB GOLDSTEIN
TECHNOLOGY, LUDDITES, AND THE FUTURE OF WORK
Jacob Goldstein is an NPR correspondent and podcast host. His interest in technology and the changing nature of work has led him to stories on UPS, the Luddites, and the history of light. He graduated from Stanford University and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
His current work looks at the big picture of new technologies such as AI and the future of work. In the short term, these new advancements may put people out of work. However, Goldstein looks at the history of technology breakthroughs and social revolts to tell a story of a more optimistic future.
Goldstein currently co-hosts the podcast What’s Your Problem? and is the former host of Planet Money. His work has appeared in New York Times Magazine, This American Life, and Morning Edition. He is also the author of the book, Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing.
This lecture will be broadcast live at the Dogwood Center from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Admission is free.
For more information on the Calvin University January Series click here.
The Dogwood Center, a remote site for the Calvin University January Series, is supported in part by the Fremont Area Community Foundation.

Friday, January 26 – January Series of Calvin University - FELICIA WU SONG 12:30 P.M.
2024-01-26 12:30 - 13:30
FELICIA WU SONG
RESTLESS DEVICES: CHRISTIAN FORMATION IN A DIGITAL WORLD
Felicia Wu Song is a cultural sociologist who studies the place of digital technologies in contemporary life. She’s trained in history, communication studies, and sociology from Yale, Northwestern, and the University of Virginia.
Her research focuses on the rapidly evolving digital technology industry and how the adoption of social media and digital devices alters the landscapes of family, community, and organizational life. Song has written two books on the topic: Restless Devices: Recovering Personhood, presence, and Place in the Digital Age and Virtual Communities: Bowling Alone, Online Together.
Song regularly speaks on digital practices, social media, the digital media industry, parenting in the digital age, and spiritual formation. She’s provided her expertise to a wide range of organizations, including BioLogos, The Vatican, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Trinity Forum, Thinq Culture Summit, National Association of Evangelicals, Notre Dame University, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Asian American Christian Collaborative.
This lecture will be broadcast live at the Dogwood Center from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Admission is free.
For more information on the Calvin University January Series click here.
The Dogwood Center, a remote site for the Calvin University January Series, is supported in part by the Fremont Area Community Foundation.

Thursday, January 25 – January Series of Calvin University - TOMMY CALDWELL 12:30 P.M.
2024-01-25 12:30 - 13:30
TOMMY CALDWELL
ROUTE FINDING FOR SUCCESS
Tommy Caldwell is a talented rock climber, with numerous accomplishments in sport, traditional, and free climbing, big wall first ascents, and speed records. He’s known for his creative vision, skill, and fortitude.
He reflects on his most harrowing expedition in the memoir The Push: A Climber’s Journey of Endurance, Risk, and Going Beyond the Limits. During the trip to Kyrgyzstan, Caldwell and three fellow climbers were taken hostage. They survived for six days with no food and little water. They eventually escaped when Caldwell pushed their remaining captor off a cliff and ran 10 miles to a military outpost to find help.
A year after his hostage epic, Caldwell cut off his index finger with a table saw doing home renovations. With resolve, he moved forward with the ethos of no excuses and proceeded to establish the Dawn Wall and climb the 3,000-foot Nose route on Yosemite’s El Capitan in less than two hours.
Today, Caldwell climbs as much as possible and works as an advocate and industry representative to preserve natural spaces and lobby for climate initiatives.
This lecture will be broadcast live at the Dogwood Center from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Admission is free.
For more information on the Calvin University January Series click here.
The Dogwood Center, a remote site for the Calvin University January Series, is supported in part by the Fremont Area Community Foundation.

Wednesday, January 24 – January Series of Calvin University - NIALA BOODHOO 12:30 P.M.
2024-01-24 12:30 - 13:30
NIALA BOODHOO
LESSONS I’VE LEARNED FROM LISTENING
Niala Boodhoo ’96 is an Axios journalist and podcast host, as well as guest host for 1A on NPR. She graduated from Calvin University in 1996 and has worked as a journalist for publications such as Reuters, the Associated Press, the Miami Herald, and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Her broadcast career includes being the founding host of Axios Today as well as the founding host and executive producer of The 21st and WBEZ’s The Afternoon Shift. Niala believes it is critical to live outside of an echo chamber and that the human voice is one of the few things that helps us change our minds about something.
Niala is also a past vice president and emerita board member of the Asian American Journalists Association and a current member of the Board of Trustees of Calvin University. She has a master’s degree in journalism from the Medill School at Northwestern University, a master’s degree in Latin American and Caribbean studies from Florida International University, and a certificate in spiritual direction from St. Thomas University. A Veriditas-trained labyrinth facilitator, Niala is also an ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA).
This lecture will be broadcast live at the Dogwood Center from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Admission is free.
For more information on the Calvin University January Series click here.
The Dogwood Center, a remote site for the Calvin University January Series, is supported in part by the Fremont Area Community Foundation.

Tuesday, January 23 – January Series of Calvin University - LYDIA DUGDALE 12:30 P.M.
2024-01-23 08:00 - 17:00
LYDIA DUGDALE
THE LOST ART OF DYING: ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN FACING OUR MORTALITY
Dr. Lydia Dugdale is an internal medicine primary care doctor and a medical ethicist. She’s also a Columbia University professor and director of the Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. Her scholarship focuses on end-of-life issues, medical ethics, and the doctor-patient relationship.
In her new book, The Lost Art of Dying, Dugdale offers insight and thoughtful guidance on how to die well. She guides readers to recover their sense of finitude, confront fears, accept how bodies age, develop meaningful rituals, and involve communities in end-of-life care.
Dugdale is also the author of Dying in the 21st Century. And she previously worked at Yale University as the associate director of the Program for Biomedical Ethics and founding co-director of the Program for Medicine, Spirituality, and Religion.
This lecture will be broadcast live at the Dogwood Center from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Admission is free.
For more information on the Calvin University January Series click here.
The Dogwood Center, a remote site for the Calvin University January Series, is supported in part by the Fremont Area Community Foundation.

Monday, January 22 – January Series of Calvin University - KENDALL VANDERSLICE 12:30 P.M.
2024-01-22 12:30 - 13:30
KENDALL VANDERSLICE
TABLE CONVERSATIONS: BUILDING COMMUNITY AS WE EAT
Kendall Vanderslice is a baker, writer, and the founder of the Edible Theology Project, an educational nonprofit connecting the Communion table to the kitchen table. She earned her master’s of theological studies from Duke Divinity School and master’s in gastronomy from Boston University. She has committed her life to the study of food and is a professionally trained baker.
Through her work in food studies and theology, Vanderslice explores the ways God uses the table to restore communities and creation. In her most recent book, By Bread Alone: A Baker’s Reflection on Hunger, Longing, and the Goodness of God, she discusses her faith journey, shares recipes, and dives into the role of bread in church history.
In 2018, Vanderslice was named a James Beard Foundation national scholar for her work bridging food and religion. She is the author of Will Feast: Rethinking Dinner, Worship, and the Community of God, and her writing appears in Christanity Today, Christian Century, Faith & Leadership, and Religion News Service.
This lecture will be broadcast live at the Dogwood Center from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Admission is free.
For more information on the Calvin University January Series click here.
The Dogwood Center, a remote site for the Calvin University January Series, is supported in part by the Fremont Area Community Foundation.

Saturday, January 20 - Djangophonique 7:30 p.m. Black Box
2024-01-20 19:30 - 21:30
Djangophonique is an award winning project that delivers the infectious joy, and expressive freedom that is at the heart of Django Reinhardt’s jazz manouche. With respect for the tradition and a fearless creativity that bends the conventions of the style, Djangophonique is keeping the Hot Club revival alive and well. The result is a sound that’s unmistakable to fans of the music, and alluring to the uninitiated—a sound that can bring the lively energy of a Parisian dance hall to the quietest listening room or captivate a buzzing festival audience with the aching nostalgia of a shimmering ballad.
Djangophonique has been described as “…the cleanest, most genuine manouche jazz that can be heard in Michigan” (Local Spins). Led by guitar player Andrew Brown, a true disciple of the style, the project has cultivated a community of musicians who channel the tenacious agility that the music demands. In 2022 the group released their first studio album, “Introducing Djangophonique,” which featured Tyler Rindo on Clarinet and Jorian Olk-Szost on double-bass and won Best Jazz Album, Traditions Award, as well as earning them Artist Of The Year at the WYCE Jammies. In 2023 guitarist Nicholas Martin joined the ensemble on rhythm guitar and the group began a new chapter with the addition of vocalist Katie Smith, who’s soulful approach channels the mystery and appeal of an unplaceable era. With a second studio album and a full concert schedule in the works for 2024, Djangophonique is poised to forge a connection with an expansive audience through the resonance of their artistry.
Click here for tickets. Tickets are $17.50. General admission, Black Box. Tables can be reserved with the purchase of eight tickets; to reserve a table, please call the Box Office, 231-924-8885. The Dogwood Center is located one mile east of downtown Fremont. Doors open for seating at 7:00 p.m. Online sales close two hours prior to events, please call the box office for ticket availability if online sales have ended. The Dogwood Center Box Office is open Tuesday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Tickets are available online at www.dogwoodcenter.com, at the Dogwood Box Office, or at NCCA-Artsplace in downtown Fremont. For more information, phone 231.924.8885.
Website https://djangophonique.com/
YouTube https://youtu.be/7s4AfkGdFC8?feature=shared
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/djangophonique
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/djangophonique
TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@djangophonique
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/7ylOKGQ6ClCTXTpxhTVvVt
Bandcamp https://djangophonique.bandcamp.com/
Apple Music https://music.apple.com/us/artist/djangophonique/1492799498

Friday, January 19 – January Series of Calvin University - MATTHEW DESMOND 12:30 P.M.
2024-01-19 12:30 - 13:30
MATTHEW DESMOND
POVERTY, BY AMERICA
Matthew Desmond is a sociologist, MacArthur Fellowship recipient, and the founder and principal investigator of the Eviction Lab at Princeton University. He is the author of four books, each of which looks at socio-economic habits that perpetuate poverty and housing inequality.
His most recent book, Poverty, By America is a New York Times bestseller and explores why the U.S. has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Desmond draws on history, research, and original reporting to reach his conclusion: Poverty persists because the rest of us benefit from it. To become poverty abolitionists, Desmond argues that we must engage in a politics of collective belonging to usher in a new age of shared prosperity and true freedom.
Desmond is also the author of Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City and On the Fireline as well as the coauthor of two books on race and the editor of a collection of studies on severe deprivation in America. He’s written essays on educational inequality, dangerous work, political ideology, race, and social theory, and the inner-city housing market. You can find his works in the New York Times Magazine, The New York Times, The New Yorker, and the Chicago Tribune.
This lecture will be broadcast live at the Dogwood Center from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Admission is free.
For more information on the Calvin University January Series click here.
The Dogwood Center, a remote site for the Calvin University January Series, is supported in part by the Fremont Area Community Foundation.

Thursday, January 18 – January Series of Calvin University - CAROLINE RANDALL WILLIAMS 12:30 P.M.
2024-01-18 12:30 - 13:30
CAROLINE RANDALL
SOUL FOOD AND THE COLLECTIVE CULTURAL MEMORY
Caroline Randall Williams is an award-winning poet, young adult novelist, and cookbook author as well as an activist, public intellectual, performance artist, and scholar. She is constantly pushing the envelope with her poetry, cooking, and writing. Additionally, Williams is a writer-in-residence in medicine, health, and society at Vanderbilt University.
She wrote Soul Food Love with her mother, Alice Randall, to reclaim the narrative of health and body preservation through Black cuisine—and share recipes along the way. She seeks to dispel the myths that all of her culture’s food is unhealthy and the scope of their food is limited dishes traditionally labeled “soul food.”
Williams has two other books: The Diary of B.B. Bright and Lucy Negro Redux. She also wrote the viral New York Times piece, “You Want a Confederate Monument? My Body Is a Confederate Monument.”, which discusses Williams genealogical connections to the Confederate Army and the Ku Klux Klan and advocates for the removal of Confederate monuments.
Southern Living recognized her as one of “50 People Changing the South” for her work around food justice. Neiman Marcus named her a 2016 “Face of Beauty” because she personifies “beauty, brains, and passion.”
This lecture will be broadcast live at the Dogwood Center from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Admission is free.
For more information on the Calvin University January Series click here.
The Dogwood Center, a remote site for the Calvin University January Series, is supported in part by the Fremont Area Community Foundation.

Wednesday, January 17 – January Series of Calvin University - ROBERT GEORGE 12:30 P.M.
2024-01-17 12:30 - 13:30
Robert George
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY AND THE HUMAN GOOD
Robert George is a McCormick professor of jurisprudence and the director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University. He is also a prolific author and editor, having written or contributed to 8 books and several publications.
He is passionate about religious liberty and the human good and believes governments are obligated to respect and protect religious freedom as a basic right of their citizens. To defend this idea, George uses his extensive academic background, including a master’s of theological studies and juris doctorate from Harvard University. He also earned a doctorate of philosophy, bachelor’s of civil law, doctorate of civil law, and doctorate of letters from Oxford University.
George is a current member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is Of Counsel to the law firm of Robinson & McElwee. He is a former judicial fellow at the Supreme Court, where he received the Justice Tom. C. Clark Award. George has served on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, the President’s Council on Bioethics, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and UNESCO’s World Commission on the Ethics of Science and Technology. Additionally, he has received more than a dozen awards and 22 honorary degrees.
This lecture will be broadcast live at the Dogwood Center from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Admission is free.
For more information on the Calvin University January Series click here.
The Dogwood Center, a remote site for the Calvin University January Series, is supported in part by the Fremont Area Community Foundation.

Tuesday, January 16 – January Series of Calvin University - DAN TEPFER 12:30 P.M.
2024-01-16 12:30 - 13:30
Dan Tepfer
FROM BACH TO NATURAL MACHINES: ALGORITHMS AS THE SHAPERS OF MUSIC
Dan Tepfer is a pianist-composer. He has recorded and performed around the world and composed for various ensembles. He believes the best music exists at the intersection of the spiritual and the algorithmic.
His performances incorporate improvisation at the piano accompanied by a computer program he wrote to interact with the music—both musically and visually—in real-time. While Tepfer may have more technology available than classical composers, he has discovered algorithms and logical systems in other famous works, including those by Bach.
Tepfer takes a unique approach to his compositions. Additionally, his musical prowess is recognized across the world. His piano quintet, Solar Spiral, was premiered in 2016 at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, with Tepfer performing alongside the Avalon String Quartet. Tepfer has received commissions from the Prague Castle Guard Orchestra for his suite Algorithmic Transform and concerto The View from Orohena (2010). In the summer of 2019, Tepfer unveiled his jazz-trio arrangement of Stravinsky’s Baroque-channeling Pulcinella.
This lecture will be broadcast live at the Dogwood Center from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Admission is free.
For more information on the Calvin University January Series click here.
The Dogwood Center, a remote site for the Calvin University January Series, is supported in part by the Fremont Area Community Foundation.

Monday, January 15 – January Series of Calvin University - LERONE MARTIN 12:30 P.M.
2024-01-15 12:30 - 13:30
Lerone Martin
SOUL FORCE: THE CHALLENGE OF MARTIN LUTHER KING
Lerone Martin is an associate professor of religious studies at Stanford and an award-winning author. He has been recognized for his teaching and received numerous institutional teaching awards and nationally recognized fellowships.
In his most recent book, The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover, Martin discusses the historical and legal context of government surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr., its implications for the Civil Rights Movement, and lessons for today’s social justice efforts.
Martin is also the Martin Luther King Jr. centennial chair and director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University. Recently, he became the co-director of a $1 million grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to fund The Crossroads Project, a four-year, multi-institution project to advance public understanding of the history, politics, and cultures of African American religions.
His commentary and writing have been featured in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, CNN, CSPAN, and PBS.
This lecture will be broadcast live at the Dogwood Center from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Admission is free.
For more information on the Calvin University January Series click here.
The Dogwood Center, a remote site for the Calvin University January Series, is supported in part by the Fremont Area Community Foundation.
