SummerScape 2025



The Lewes Public Library presents SummerScape 2025, featuring fifteen live events in the library’s new outdoor pavilion, celebrating performing arts, history, literature, and science!

Wilmington’s Serafin Ensemble brings performances from their summer festival – chamber music performed by nationally renowned classical artists. Beautiful music under the magical summer skies.

Serafin Ensemble, “The Serafins,” is a group of internationally acclaimed performing artists (string, wind, brass, piano, and vocalists) devoted to collaborative chamber music performances of repertoire for up to eight players. The ensemble evolved from the former Serafin String Quartet and continues the nearly two-decade-long Serafin legacy of passionate commitment to presenting exceptional performances of small ensemble repertoire.
Register

Wilmington’s Serafin Ensemble brings performances from their summer festival – chamber music performed by nationally renowned classical artists. Beautiful music under the magical summer skies.

Serafin Ensemble, “The Serafins,” is a group of internationally acclaimed performing artists (string, wind, brass, piano, and vocalists) devoted to collaborative chamber music performances of repertoire for up to eight players. The ensemble evolved from the former Serafin String Quartet and continues the nearly two-decade-long Serafin legacy of passionate commitment to presenting exceptional performances of small ensemble repertoire.
Register

Wilmington’s Serafin Ensemble brings performances from their summer festival – chamber music performed by nationally renowned classical artists. Beautiful music under the magical summer skies.

Serafin Ensemble, “The Serafins,” is a group of internationally acclaimed performing artists (string, wind, brass, piano, and vocalists) devoted to collaborative chamber music performances of repertoire for up to eight players. The ensemble evolved from the former Serafin String Quartet and continues the nearly two-decade-long Serafin legacy of passionate commitment to presenting exceptional performances of small ensemble repertoire.
Register

A sneak peek at excerpts from Delaware Shakespeare’s summer festival premiere of a new musical adaptation of Twelfth Night. The region’s premiere professional Shakespeare troupe in an evening of compelling Shakespeare as you’ve never heard it before.

Inspired by Shakespeare’s creative vision and the broad societal mix of audiences of his era, Delaware Shakespeare brings our community together for vibrant theatre and learning experiences. DelShakes envisions a Delaware where people from all walks of life celebrate and explore their shared humanity through the lens of Shakespearean works.
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Linda Harris and David Cole of Maryland’s Harriet Tubman Museum & Educational Center present an evening of songs, stories, and information about this remarkable woman.

The Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center, located in Cambridge, Maryland, is dedicated to preserving and celebrating the life and legacy of Harriet Tubman. Established in the 1980s by dedicated local volunteers, the museum aims to educate visitors about Tubman’s extraordinary contributions as an Underground Railroad conductor, Civil War spy, nurse, suffragist, and humanitarian.
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Experience Lewes’ history first-hand as Individuals and luminaries from Lewes’ past come to life to share stories and engage you in conversation. The Lewes Historical Society‘s Tavern Talks bring history to life by re-creating the energy of early American tavern culture.

The Lewes Historical Society promotes and advocates the preservation, interpretation, and cultural enrichment of the Lewes region through museum exhibits, educational programs, historical research, and publications.
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They have been called the greatest musical theater writing team of all time. They transformed Broadway and in the process left a legacy of some of the most memorable musicals of the 20th century: Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, and The Sound of Music, are just some of their collaborations. Paul Sparrow will explore their accomplishments in conversation with Tina Maria Casamento, a well-known Broadway singer and producer. Tina is an expert on the history of Broadway and will sing excerpts of some of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s most beloved songs accompanied by the pianist David Libby.

This program is sponsored by The Inn at Canal Square.
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Come hear Dr. Aaron Carlisle, Associate Professor at University of Delaware, School of Marine Science and Policy, talk on everybody’s favorite beach topic – sharks!

The School of Marine Science and Policy (SMSP) is committed to advancing knowledge critical to the understanding, stewardship, and conservation of estuarine, coastal and ocean environments. An internationally-recognized faculty and multidisciplinary curriculum offers SMSP students exciting opportunities in the classroom, lab and beyond.
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An engaging and enlightening evening on Philosophy and its place in a world of Artificial Intelligence.

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“Get your feet wet” with Delaware’s Inland Bays! Join Lisa Swanger, Director of Outreach & Education at the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays, for a fun and interactive presentation exploring the amazing habitats and wildlife that call the Bays home. Discover how this unique ecosystem supports both wildlife and our communities, some of the challenges it faces, and simple ways—even the smallest hands—can help protect this natural treasure. This presentation is perfect for curious kids, nature-loving families, and anyone ready to dive into the wonders of the Inland Bays!

The mission of the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays is to preserve, protect, and restore Delaware’s Inland Bays and their watershed. The Center achieves this through science-based: research, restoration, education, outreach, public policy, and advocacy.
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Alan Jensen of the Lewes Historical Society brings the power of Jack Lewis’s work to life in a compelling talk on Lewes’ most renowned visual artist.

The Lewes Historical Society promotes and advocates the preservation, interpretation, and cultural enrichment of the Lewes region through museum exhibits, educational programs, historical research, and publications.
Register

The region’s premiere ballet company, First State Ballet, brings its newest piece to our stage. A premiere Lewes happening!

First State Ballet Theatre is a performing arts organization dedicated to the idea that diversity strengthens our community. Their mission is to present ballet boldly to Delaware, enrich our community with live professional performances, inspire and educate dancers and audiences of the future, and connect local youth with a creative, inclusive movement experience.

For this event only, all seating will be on the grass surrounding the pavilion. Please bring a lawn chair or blanket to sit on. No seating will be available under the pavilion.

NO REGISTRATION IS NECESSARY. In case of inclement weather, this performance will be cancelled.


Lewes’ favorite daughter, star of stage and screen, premieres her newest one-woman piece, The Book of Poissy. Christine de Pizan’s The Book of Poissy, written in 1400, is the lively retelling of a jaunt on horseback from Paris to Poissy. Along the way, Christine asks the reader to judge a “who’s saddest” competition between two tragi-comic lovers and slyly compares the life of women in a Dominican cloister with that of noble ladies living in the Age of Chivalry. The tale takes surprising and sometimes hilarious turns, as in moments when the lovers describe their paramours like prized racehorses, down to the set of their ears and noses. This is the first English translation of an overlooked Medieval French masterpiece, accompanied by lutenist Gaven Dianda.
Suzanne Savoy has made a career of performing on TV and in film and onstage in regional theatres, playing Shakespeare’s Desdemona, Emilia, Rosalind, Viola, and many other classical roles. Lately she has been translating the works of Christine de Pizan for performance and publication.

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World Renowned and local favorites Gerald Dickens and Suzanne Savoy team up to do a staged reading of A Child’s Journey with Dickens. In the late 1860s, a young Kate Douglas Smith, later Kate Douglas Wiggin, the author of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, had a chance encounter on a train with her very favorite author, Charles Dickens. They spent the ride in conversation, and this is the memoir of that event.

After the reading, Gerald and Suzanne will engage the audience in discussion of a life in the arts and on the road.

Gerald Dickens is an actor, director, and producer, and the great-great-grandson of the author Charles Dickens. In 1993 he created his first one-man show, a theatrical performance of A Christmas Carol inspired by Charles Dickens’ own energetic readings of the 1860s. A fascination with the life and works of Charles led him to write and direct further one-man shows including Mr. Dickens is Coming!, Nicholas Nickleby, and Sketches by Boz. Dickens regularly performs in major theatres and arts centres, arts and literary festivals in the UK, as well as at hotels, stately homes, and on cruise ships.

Suzanne Savoy has made a career of performing on TV and in film and onstage in regional theatres, playing Shakespeare’s Desdemona, Emilia, Rosalind, Viola, and many other classical roles. Lately she has been translating the works of Christine de Pizan for performance and publication.
Register

World famous and local favorite Gerald Dickens presents a one-man performance of his great-great grandfather’s immortal Nicholas Nickleby.

Gerald Dickens is an actor, director, and producer, and the great-great-grandson of the author Charles Dickens. In 1993 he created his first one-man show, a theatrical performance of A Christmas Carol inspired by Charles Dickens’ own energetic readings of the 1860s. A fascination with the life and works of Charles led him to write and direct further one-man shows including Mr. Dickens is Coming!, Nicholas Nickleby, and Sketches by Boz. Dickens regularly performs in major theatres and arts centres, arts and literary festivals in the UK, as well as at hotels, stately homes, and on cruise ships.

Thank you to Byers’ Choice Ltd. for bringing Gerald Dickens to the United States.
Register


Download the schedule


To reserve a seat under the pavilion, each individual must register. Once all seats are reserved, walk-ins are welcome to sit on the grass surrounding the pavilion but must provide their own lawn chair or blanket.

In case of inclement weather, please check with the library on whether the offering will be moved to the large meeting room. Those who are registered will be guaranteed a seat in the large meeting room.


Thank you to the generous sponsors who made this series possible:

Groome Church and Browseabout Books

LPL Braithwaite Endowment Fund, Coastal Concerts, M & T Charitable Foundation, and The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company

Becker Morgan Group, The Inn at Canal Square, and The Lee Ann Wilkinson Group
Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The Division promotes Delaware arts events on DelawareScene.com.