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Penticton museum dishing up brain food

The Penticton Museum Brown Bag Lecture Series has been going for over 30 years
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For over three decades the Penticton Museum and Archives has been dishing up some delectable brain food Tuesday at lunch hour during the spring and fall Brown Bag Lecture Series.

The series resumes Sept. 17 with Ken Mather and his talk on the Drovers and the Brigade Trail and continues through Dec. 3 with a wide range of subjects from history to environment.

READ MORE: Brown Bag hosts Cowboy Goalie

“We aim for variety. If a particular topic doesn’t appeal to you, you can go a bit further down the list and you’re almost certainly going to find something that you like,” said museum manager Dennis Oomen. “It’s popular. First of all, the format is just right, it’s generally 45 minutes of talk and then 15 minutes for a question and answer period and that seems to be just about the right mixture overall.

“So they know at the end of the lecture they’ll have the opportunity for clarification or to ask the lecturer to enlarge on something.”

The popularity of the series over the years has resulted in an audience of regulars plus people interested in a specific topic and those who just curious.

“We rarely have less than 40, but for popular topics or a popular speaker, we’ve had as many as 80. I would say we average about 50 people,” said Oomen.

Along with the lecture, for the recommended donation of $2 for adults and $1 for children, there are also coffee, tea and confections.

The quality and calibre of the presenters are high, but Oomen said the door is open when it comes to people who would like to make a presentation.

“We don’t aim for professionals all the time, we welcome amateurs,” he said. “If you have a topic that you’re passionate about, and you can speak knowledgeably for 45 minutes, and if you have images to bring it along to provide visual interest, you’re more than welcome.”

READ MORE: Another season of Brown Bag Lectures begins

He added while the museum does not actively seek out controversial issues they also do not shy away from them. Amongst the topics this fall are the history of Twin Lakes and Marron Valley (Oct. 8), Love Your Lake Program (Oct. 15), the Pillars of Creation (Oct. 29), Mindful Eating During the Holidays (Nov. 12) and more.

The hour-long presentations begin at noon and take place in the museum auditorium.


 

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