Kent Presents exceeded already large expectations

KENT — It was a huge success and is expected to be back next year. More than 300 people traveled to Kent from across the Northeast for the inaugural Kent Presents idea festival, which took place from Thursday, Aug. 13,  to Saturday, Aug. 15.

The event was held on the campus of Kent School and featured more than 60 presenters. It was organized by Kent residents Ben and Donna Rosen. The Rosens, inspired by the Aspen Institute programs in Colorado,  came up with the idea as a way to benefit the community. 

All proceeds from the festival will go to small local charities both in Kent and throughout the region. The recipients will be handpicked by a committee led by Kent resident Ken Cooper.

Only 300 tickets  were available. They started out at $1,750 but were selling so quickly  that the Rosens decided to raise the price to $1,950. The event sold out.

The weekend began Thursday afternoon with a cocktail reception for the speakers, who included world leaders in the arts, technology, medicine, politics and more. 

On Friday and Saturday, four blocks of lectures and panels in the morning were followed by lunch and then three more blocks of speakers in the afternoon. Each block ran for 50 minutes and offered three different speakers and topics to choose from.

Some of the seminars on Friday included “Election 2016: Assessing the Field” with Ed Rollins and Charlie Cook; “Race and Criminal Justice,” with New York Congressman Hakeem Jeffries,  Mitch Landrieu (mayor of New Orleans) and Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation; and “21st Century Art Museum: Better or Worse,” moderated by journalist Judith Dobrzynski with a panel that included Michael Govan of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Susan Taylor of the New Orleans Museum of Art and Rome Prize winner Richard Olcott.  

Saturday seminars included a conversation about GMOs and food between Corby Kummer of The Atlantic magazine and Whole Earth Catalog founder Stewart Brand; “The Future of Theater” with Tony Award winner Richard Maltby Jr., Ted Chapin (president of Rogers &  Hammerstein) and Jack Viertel of Jujamcyn Theaters.

The highlight of the weekend was a Saturday talk titled “World Order,” moderated by author (and Sharon resident) Christopher Buckley and featuring  Henry Kissinger (a Kent resident), who gave  a philosophical sketch of foreign policy today followed by a question-and-answer session. Every seat in the auditorium was filled. 

According to those in attendance, the weekend was a huge success. One woman, who came from nearby Roxbury, Conn., said she came because of the scope and relevance of the topics and the quality of speakers. When asked what her favorite part was she didn’t hesitate to answer: “The discussion on Iran with David Sanger and Bill Burns. That and also the discussion on climate change and whether there really is such a thing as global warming.”

Another man confessed that when he first signed up he had no idea what he had gotten himself into — but as soon as he showed up he was instantly glad he’d come. 

“A friend recommended it so I signed up, but it’s been great. The speakers and place are all first class and the discussions have been extremely stimulating.”

As another couple put it, the real question at the end of the weekend was not whether it should be held again next year but whether Kent School is big enough to hold it. 

“That’s how popular this is going to be,” they said. “The organizers thought of everything from hearing aids to rides from the parking lots. This was truly an enormous success and, as I’m sure everyone here will say, we’re definitely coming back again next year.”