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
Lowell City of Learning is made possible thanks in part to support from the Greater Lowell Community Foundation.