(Rain Date is Sunday April 26th) - Waterperry Farm (Free Union) – Private Guided Tour by Owner-Designer, Katherine Kane at 4:00. Prosecco and Hors D’oeuvres at the Pool House at the end of the tour (rest rooms available). One need not be a garden-lover to find these elegant gardens, their inspiration, glass in hand, to […]
The ESU National Shakespeare Competition returns to New York City for an unforgettable weekend of fun, education, and performance. From Saturday, April 25 to Monday, April 27, students, parents, teachers, and ESU members will gather for three exciting days in the Big Apple. Competition Weekend features a full lineup of activities, including a New York […]
The New York City Branch of the English Speaking Union invites you to join us on May 13, 2026 at 5PM EDT ESU National Board Member Mary Coleman Way in Conversation with Tamara Meneghini on Elizabeth I: in Her Own Words A critically acclaimed one-woman play, by Carole Levin, in collaboration with Tamara Meneghini and Sabin Epstein, […]
Wednesday, June 3, 2026 • 5:00 PM ETSponsored by the ESU Hawaii and Seattle Branches Did you know that Edwin Booth, brother of John Wilkes Booth (President Lincoln’s assassin), performed Shakespeare plays in the Kingdom of Hawaii in the 1850s? And he wasn’t alone. The Hawaiian Kingdom hosted many actors who came to the fabled islands to […]
June 7 – The Annual Garden Party, from 4:00 to 7:00. Venue TBD. More information to be communicated. Come toast the King with President Phil’s Pimm’s No. 1 cup. Secret judges (two men, two women) will determine, respectively, the best chapeau/hat of the day. The winners will receive a bottle of Champagne.
With the Commander of the American Forces from Virginia, four of the first five Presidents from Virginia, the authors of the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution from Virginia, an early Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from Virginia, multiple signers of the Declaration of Independence from Virginia and, indeed, the very […]
Dear Friends, Thank you again for being part of the truly special week in New York City this past April — a week that brought together the Annual General Conference, the National Shakespeare Competition, and, as its highlight, the Celebrate Legacy – Inspire the Future reception marking the 25th anniversary of the ESU House and […]
During the 250th Anniversary of the birth of our nation, many focus on the colonial activities centering around New England. A little-known event occurred in North Carolina in the little village of Halifax that helped turn the tide and create our nation. The Halifax Resolves and the three North Carolina Delegates that attended the Second Congressional […]
Step into a gripping dialogue with acclaimed prize-winning historical biographer Flora Fraser and Doug Bradburn, President and CEO of George Washington’s Mount Vernon, as they reexamine the American Revolution through a provocative lens. This conversation challenges the familiar narrative of unity and independence. It reveals a nation divided—neighbors, friends, even families torn apart by opposing […]
As ESU Happy Hours continue to salute America’s 250th birthday, we turn to the great state of Connecticut. By the mid-to-late 1700’s, western Connecticut had developed as a quiet, agricultural “backwater,” landlocked and insulated from the politics and secessionist turmoil of the big colonial cities. Nevertheless, during the Revolutionary War, Connecticut earned the nickname “The Provisions […]
Philadelphia, PA., America’s first capital, held a pivotal role as the cradle of American democracy. When George Washington took the oath of office in 1789, Philadelphia had the largest free and literate community of Africans in the entire British Atlantic. This community raised families, built institutions, created opportunities for self-emancipated Africans to continue north, fought for equal rights, and they participated in public […]
