The Carter Arts & Lecture Series

Lloyd Wheeler as Benjamin Franklin

Thursday, September 17, 2026 l 7:00 P.M | Charles H. Kirbo Regional Center, ABAC Bainbridge

Did you know that Ben Franklin was a printer, newspaper publisher, bookstore owner and retailer, almanac publisher, organizer of the first subscription library, promoter of environmental cleanup, organizer of one of the earliest franchise systems, first organizer of various civic activities including a hospital, fire department, and fire insurance policy company, inventor of the heat-efficient Franklin stove, bi-focal reading glasses, and much more? He entered politics, helped draft the Declaration of Independence, signed the Constitution, was ambassador to France, and helped prepare a plan for the united colonies more than 20 years before the American Revolution. Join us as Lloyd Wheeler brings one of our most beloved founding fathers to life in front of your very eyes!

Quarteto Nuevo

Tuesday, October 6, 2026 | 7:00 PM | Charles H. Kirbo Regional Center, ABAC Bainbridge Site

Quarteto Nuevo merges western classical, eastern European folk, Latin and jazz with an organic feel that packs a wallop! The ensemble’s razor-sharp precision is enhanced by jazzy interludes, lightly-rumbling percussion motifs and mesmerizing rhythms. They effectively meld the music of ancient worlds and faraway places with a contemporary groove that enchants audiences of all ages. Winners of the Beverly Hills National Auditions, and recipients of South Arts’ Jazz Roads Touring and Jazz Roads Creative Residency Grants, Quarteto Nuevo’s master musicians create emotionally-charged soundscapes with instruments and sensibilities that represent very different world cultures.

Jeff Weddle, poet

Monday, November 23, 2026 | 7:00 PM | Charles H. Kirbo Regional Center

Jeff Weddle is a poet and writer living in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. His recent poetry collections include High on Rose (Keeping the Flame Alive Press, 2026), The Things We Do to Protect Our Own (Meat for Tea Press, 2025), and Letter to Xhevdet Bajraj (Uncollected Press, 2025). He won the Eudora Welty Prize for Bohemian New Orleans: The Story of the Outsider and Loujon Press and has received honors including a Pushcart nomination, multiple President’s Book Awards, and a Feathered Quill Book Award. In 2024, he was named Alabama’s inaugural Beat Poet Laureate by the National Beat Poetry Foundation. His work has appeared in Albanian and Spanish translation, and he is an Associate Professor at the University of Alabama’s School of Library and Information Studies.

Dana Ridenour, author

Monday, February 15, 2027 | 7:00 PM | Charles H. Kirbo Regional Center

Dana Ridenour is a distinguished retired FBI agent and celebrated author based in Beaufort,
South Carolina. Known for her gripping FBI undercover novels, she has captivated readers with titles such as Behind the Mask, Beyond the Cabin, and Below the Radar. Her latest work,

All the Hidden Pieces, is eagerly anticipated and set for release on August 26, 2026.
Dana's diverse career includes roles as a first mate on a tour boat—her favorite job—lawyer,
and Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Joining the FBI in November 1995, she dedicated over twenty years to service, tackling complex narcotics cases, domestic sex trafficking, and violent crime investigations.

As a proud member of the FBI's Evidence Response Team, Dana responded to critical events
such as the 9/11 World Trade Center attack. Her career highlight came in 2003 with her
certification as an undercover FBI agent, leading to profound experiences alongside her husband, also an FBI agent.

Dana's passion for writing stems from her mother's encouragement and her own experiences.
Her mother's love for books inspired Dana from a young age, fostering a desire to journal her FBI experiences, which eventually formed the basis for her novels. Influenced by southern literary greats like Pat Conroy and Dorothea Benton Frank, Dana's work reflects her rich life experiences and admiration for her favorite novel, The Prince of Tides.

The Atlanta Shakespeare Company presents Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet

Tuesday, March 9, 2027 | 7:00 PM | Charles H. Kirbo Regional Center

The Atlanta Shakespeare Company comes to the stage in an incredible abridged version of
Shakespeare’s immortal romantic tragedy Romeo and Juliet. This timeless tale of star-crossed
lovers was one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays during his lifetime and remains so with
today’s audiences as one of the most frequently performed of all the immortal bard’s works. It is
a tragic story of sublime, but thwarted romance between two Italian youths from feuding families
and remains one of the world’s most beloved works of theater.

Javier Nero Jazz Ensemble with the ABAC Jazz Ensemble

Friday, April 16, 2027 | 7:00 PM | Bainbridge Town Square

Dr. Javier Nero is an award-winning trombonist, composer, arranger, and educator based in the Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) area. At the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Nero teaches the jazz trombone studio, arranging, harmony, ear training, and graduate composition, and has previously served as director of the Peabody Jazz Ensemble.

Dr. Nero holds the lead trombone position with the United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own,” performing as a member of the U.S. Army Blues, an elite, audition-only ensemble of 18 musicians dedicated to performing jazz at the highest artistic level. The band presents public concerts, appears at major jazz festivals nationwide, and performs for high-profile civic and governmental events, including those at the White House and the United States Capitol, connecting audiences across the country with America’s military service members through music.

In addition to his work with the Army and Peabody, Dr. Nero is the lead trombonist, composer, arranger, and bandleader of the Javier Nero Jazz Orchestra (JNJO). The ensemble performs monthly at An Die Musik in Baltimore, Maryland, and has appeared in sold-out performances at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club in New York City, Keystone Korner Baltimore, Blues Alley, and other prominent venues. His compositions and arrangements have been performed by the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra in collaborations with Wynton Marsalis, Titus Burgess, Veronica Swift, and Ashley Pezzotti, as well as by Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra (NYO) programs.

Dr. Nero and his ensemble will be the featured artist along with the ABAC Jazz Ensemble in an exciting evening of pure jazz joy!

Jasmin Arakawa, piano

Thursday, February 12, 2026 l 7:00 P.M

Hailed by Gramophone for her ‘characterful sparkle,’ Jasmin Arakawa has performed widely in North America, Central and South America, Europe, China and Japan. A prizewinner of the Jean Françaix International Music Competition, she has been heard at Carnegie Hall, Salle Gaveau and Victoria Hall, as well as in broadcasts of the BBC and Radio France. She has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Philips Symfonie Orkest in Amsterdam, Orquestra Sinfonica de Piracicaba in Brazil, and numerous orchestras in the United States and her native Japan. Arakawa released her debut solo album Klavierabend on MSR Classics to critical acclaim, praised by American Record Guide for her ‘rich lyricism’ and ‘supreme clarity’. Arakawa is Associate Professor of Piano and Piano Area Coordinator at the University of Florida, as well as Director of the UF International Piano Festival.

Skip Horack, author

Tuesday, March 31, 2026 l 7:00 P.M Charles H. Kirbo Regional Center, ABAC Bainbridge

Skip Horack is the author of the story collection The Southern Cross (2009), winner of the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference 2008 Bakeless Fiction Prize; and the novel The Eden Hunter (2010), a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice. His work has also appeared in Oxford American, the Saturday Evening Post, Epoch, The Southern Review, Narrative Magazine, and elsewhere. Horack is a former Jones Lecturer at Stanford University, where he was also a Wallace Stegner Fellow. His novel The Other Joseph was published by Ecco/HarperCollins in 2015, and he is currently director of the Creative Writing Program at Florida State University.