As part of our efforts to become a Learning City, the Lowell City of Learning initiative hosts an annual Lowell Learning Festival. Celebrating learning in a festival atmosphere brings the whole city to life and encourages people to discover the lifelong learning opportunities that are all around them. Lowell City of Learning has a broad perspective on learning, and past festivals have featured programs on cooking, dancing, STEAM, civic engagement, climate change, etc.
The 2021 Festival events include: (more detail is available for each event on our events pages)
- Sunday, October 10 The Stilt House Zine Reading and Open Mic, presented by the Cambodian American Literary Arts Association
- Monday, October 11 Lowell Walks: Indigenous Peoples’ Day, presented by the Lowell National Historical Park
- Monday, October 11 Avery Makes Lasagna presented by Avery
- Monday, October 11 We CAN Have Nice Things! presented by Lowell Litter Krewe
- Tuesday, October 12 Breaking the Barriers for Success in Education for Latinos in Lowell presented by Fortaleza Inc.
- Tuesday, October 12 The Pandemic Story Project: Oral Histories from Lowell and Lawrence presented by UMass Lowell Department of Sociology and the Lawrence History Center
- Tuesday, October 12 Lockdown Letters: Poetry Reading and Discussion, presented by Loom Press
- Tuesday, October 12 Critical Race Theory, presented by the UMass Lowell School of Education
- Wednesday, October 13 Acting Out: Voices from the Theatre in Palestine facilitated by the UMass Lowell Global Studies Program, Peace and Conflict Program, and Department of Political Science
- Thursday, October 14 Climate and community, what can we do about it? presented by the UMass Lowell Climate Change Initiative and ASTM International
- Thursday, October 14 Mosaic Lowell Listening Session
- Thursday, October 14 The Power of Empathy: Reduce Stress and Build Better Adult/Child Relationships presented by the Mahoney Family Event Fund in partnership with the Greater Lawrence Community Action Council
- Thursday, October 14 From Ice Age to Industrial Age: Merrimack River Evolution presented by the Merrimack River Watershed Council
- Friday, October 15 Friday at the Farm with Mill City Grows! presented by Mill City Grows
- Saturday, October 16 Instrument Petting Zoo at Hawk Valley Farm presented by Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust and Lowell Learns
- Saturday, October 16 Storytelling Workshop: How to find and develop a personal story presented by Lowell Storytelling
- Streaming Cooking with Sitto Yvette presented by Yvette and Lisa Ansara
- Streaming Contradictory Place: Cotton Mills Alongside Anti-Slavery Efforts in Lowell, Massachusetts presented by Professor Robert Forrant and Maritza Grooms
- Streaming Landscapes of Memory: Celebrating the Merrimack River and the River Lee presented by UMass Lowell, Merrimack River Watershed Council, Cork Folklore Project
The 2021 Lowell Learning Festival thanks its supporters:
Lowell Five
Moses Greeley Parker Lecture Series
Mr. and Mrs. John Carson
Eastern Bank
Lowell City of Learning is made possible thanks in part to support from the Greater Lowell Community Foundation.