Flannery O’Connor Birthday Garden Party 2011 This annual celebration of the birthday of acclaimed author and Savannah native Flannery O’Connor will feature refreshments and heavy hors d’oeuvres. This event is open to the public. Friday, April 29, 2011, 5-7:30 p.m.207 E. Charlton Street
Savannah, Georgia

$20 donation requested. Hats optional.

Flannery O’Connor Childhood Home 2011 Spring Lecture SeriesAll lectures are free and open to the public. The lectures take place in the parlor at the Flannery O’Connor Childhood Home, located at 207 E. Charlton Street on Lafayette Square in Savannah, at 3 p.m.

Sunday, April 17 – 3 p.m.:“Flannery O’Connor and the Nature of Lupus,” a discussion and Q&A about the medical condition that plagued Flannery O’Connor throughout most of her adult life by John Demicco, M.D., an acclaimed Savannah internist.

Sunday, May 1 – 3 p.m.:"A Geography of Gender: Contextual Identity in O'Connor's Stories,” lecture by Jane Rago, Ph.D., instructor of English at Armstrong Atlantic State University and recipient of the university’s 2010 Dorothy Golden Award.

Sunday, May 22 – 3 p.m.:“When Evil Comes to Town,” lecture by Bill Dawers, Flannery O’Connor Childhood Home board president and Savannah Morning News columnist, about the drifters who wander into O’Connor’s short stories.    

Sunday, May 29 – 3 p.m.:“The Power of the Peacock,” a discussion about the history of the peacock motif in art and design by Scott Boylston, professor of graphic design and sustainable design at the Savannah College of Art and Design.