Among the many things for which Thomas Jefferson was renowned are his “Feast of Reason” dinners, where people gathered at Monticello to respectfully discuss the civic issues of the day. Inspired by this precedent–and given the current polarized and inflammatory state of civic dialogue in our country–Carpenters’ Hall, in partnership with the Dialogue Institute at Temple University, will host a “Feast of Reason” dinner series reimagined for our time. Over a family style meal, participants will be guided through a brief history of our evening’s topic, followed by a respectful and thoughtful discussion, guided by experts. Each meal will include 24 participants and will be held at Carpenters’ Hall from 6-8 pm.

A short reading will be sent out before each gathering. Although we encourage you to read it beforehand, it is not required.

Our first dinner will be held on September 10th and will address public monuments and statues. We will discuss the question “How should communities decide what monuments should stand and what should be taken down?”  A representative from the Monument Lab will be present to help provide context to and guide the conversation.

Subsequent dinners will be held on October 1st, November 12th, and December 10th. More information on those topics will be forthcoming.

An application is required to ensure that we have a multitude of political backgrounds and prospectives present at the meal. If you are chosen to participate in our September 10th meal, you will be notified on Friday, September 4th. If you accept, you will be invoiced $40 for dinner including alcohol or $30 for dinner without alcohol. Please reach out to Alyssa Constad with any questions, alyssaconstad@carpentershall.org.

Thank you to The Kauders Foundation for their generous support of this project.

If interested, please apply by clicking here or the button below.