provided to The Santiva Chronicle
Following the resounding success and sold-out houses for last year’s Conversations Speakers Series, the 2027 program will feature some of our nation’s most well-respected thought leaders from a variety of fields: journalism, foreign affairs, humanities, arts, health, politics, and more. Conversations offers a healthy exchange of facts and ideas, free from political grandstanding or campaign rhetoric. Each event includes a robust Q&A, a post-talk reception with beverages and bites, and an opportunity to meet the speakers. “The Conversations Speakers Series offers something unique: a place where people can come together to listen, learn, and exchange ideas in a respectful and engaging setting”, said BIG ARTS Executive Director Lee Ellen Harder.
The 2027 speakers will include Margaret Hoover in conversation with Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster on Wednesday, January 14, 2027. Margaret Hoover, journalist, commentator, granddaughter of President Herbert Hoover, and host of Firing Line, the popular weekly PBS long-form interview program, will join United States Army Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster, the 25th United States National Security Advisor under President Trump. He is also known for his leadership roles in the Gulf War, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. McMaster is a New York Times bestselling author of several books, including At War with Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House, and Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World. He frequently analyzes the geopolitical threat of Iran, the enduring impacts of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the necessity of confronting extremism.
Chris Christie will appear on February 10, 2027. He is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018, and is a Republican who served in a traditionally Democratic state. President George W. Bush appointed him U.S. Attorney for New Jersey. Among other topics, Mr. Christie will discuss “Reaching Across the Aisle: Lessons Learned as a Red Governor in a Blue State.”
On Wednesday, March 10, 2027, BIG ARTS welcomes Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer Jon Meacham, a distinguished visiting professor at Vanderbilt University and a fellow of the Society of American Historians. He is the author of the New York Times bestsellers: And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle, Thomas Jefferson: The Art of
Power, The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels, and His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope, among many others.
All Conversations events begin at 7:30 p.m. in BIG ARTS Christensen Performance Hall, 900 Dunlop Road, Sanibel Island, FL. Click here or call 239-395-0900 for tickets. As last year’s Conversations talks were sold out, BIG ARTS encourages early reservations.