‘Exeter Goes Gatsby’: 1920s speakeasy fundraiser kicks off LitFest weekend

Special to Seacoastonline
·2 min read

EXETER — Tickets are now on sale for “Exeter Goes Gatsby,” a 1920s speakeasy-themed fundraiser that kicks off Exeter LitFest weekend.

The cocktail party style affair will take place Friday, March 31, from 7 to 9 p.m., at Mila of Exeter, the town’s newest function facility at 1 Franklin Street, which has generously agreed to co-sponsor the evening’s festivities.

Guests arriving at the event may wonder why they find themselves in a bookstore, as opposed to a speakeasy, but don’t despair, if you produce the right password, you will be transported back a century. Guests are encouraged to wear 1920s attire for the evening, which will feature live jazz by the David Limina Trio and a cash bar.

Tickets are now on sale for “Exeter Goes Gatsby,” a 1920s speakeasy-themed fundraiser which will be held on Friday, March 31.
Tickets are now on sale for “Exeter Goes Gatsby,” a 1920s speakeasy-themed fundraiser which will be held on Friday, March 31.

Limina is a contemporary pianist, Hammond organist, keyboardist, composer, producer, educator, and chair of the piano department at Berklee College of Music. He has performed or recorded with such notable artists as the award-winning Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters, Bernard Purdie, Chuck Berry, B.B. King, Gloria Estefan, Pee Wee Ellis, Martha Reeves, Brooke Benton, Scott Hamilton, Ernie Watts, Lori McKenna, Fred Wesley, Joey DeFrancesco, Mighty Sam McClain, Lenny Pickett, Hamish Stuart, Steve Forbert, Courage Brothers, and many more.

Tickets to the event can be purchased at the Exeter LitFest website at www.exeterlitfest.com.

Previous story:New York Times bestselling author Rabia Chaudry to headline Exeter LitFest 2023

Fundraisers such as Exeter Goes Gatsby help the nonprofit Exeter LitFest produce their annual weekend literary festival in Exeter. This year’s LitFest on Saturday, April 1, will feature New York Times bestselling author, attorney, and advocate Rabia Chaudry as the keynote speaker.

Rabia Chaudry
Rabia Chaudry

Held for the first time in 2019, the Exeter LitFest is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that hosts an annual event the first weekend of April. The inaugural festival included a keynote by “Da Vinci Code” author Dan Brown, as well as events with Joe Hill, Brendan Dubois, and NH Teen Poet Laureate Cate Dixon.

The Exeter LitFest’s mission is “To leverage our wealth of local literary treasure, in an environmentally sustainable way, to connect both residents and tourists to the diverse literary voices and places of greater Exeter, N.H. for the benefit of children and adults, the local arts community, and local businesses.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: ‘Exeter Goes Gatsby’: 1920s speakeasy fundraiser kicks off LitFest