Engage. Engross. Edify.
The Beacon Salon Speaker Series is the college’s educational outreach program. Channeling the spirit of the intellectual discourse of the French salons during the Enlightenment, the Speaker Series invites the Central Florida community to partake in lifelong learning at the feet of respected scholars, to enrich their souls through the beauty and vibrancy of visual and performing arts, and to weigh new perspectives on old issues through lectures from breakthrough authors and national speakers.
Speaker Schedule
2025-2026 Speakers
As the college’s educational outreach program, the Salon Speaker Series events are free and open to the public. Registration is required. Registration opens six weeks before each event.
For each event, food service begins at 6 p.m. and the speaker presentation starts at 7 p.m.
Opera del Sol
Sept. 8, 2025, at Lake Deaton United Methodist Church: "Scalia/Ginsburg: Harmony and Discourse"
Learn More!Dr. David Morton
Oct. 30, 2025, at the Venetian Center: "A Motion Picture Paradise: History of Florida's Film and Television Industry"
Learn More!Red Cedar Chamber Music
Nov. 6, 2025, at Lake Deaton United Methodist Church: "Cultural Passport"
Learn More!Dr. William Nesbitt
Dec. 3, 2025, at the Venetian Center: "Riders on the Storm: Rock Music of the Sixties"
Learn More!Dr. Dan T. Carter
Jan. 29, 2026, at the Venetian Center: "Klansman to Best-Selling New Age Author: The Strange Life of Asa 'Forest' Carter"
Learn More!Mike Wiley Productions
Feb. 12, 2026, at Lake Deaton United Methodist Church: "Breach of Peace: Stories of the Freedom Riders of 1961"
Learn More!Dr. Zachary Isrow
March 26, 2026, at the Venetian Center: "Blueprints of Life: Building Our World, One Value at a Time"
Learn More!Missed a Speaker? Check Out the Videos!
Missed a Salon Speaker Series presentation that you really wanted to see? Check out the Beacon College YouTube channel for videos of the Salon Speaker Series presentations.
Watch Now!Speaker Proposals
The Salon Speaker Series team invites historians, adventurers, visual and performing artists, writers, statesmen, poets, and others to educate, engage, and edify the Central Florida community. The Series is not looking for self-help or motivational speakers.
These are PAID appearances. Travel, lodging, and meals (where applicable) also are provided.
The Beacon Salon Speaker Series events are free and open to the public with a hot meal served to guests. Events typically draw 250-plus guests.
The Beacon Salon Speaker Series aims to support the college’s core mission and obligation as an institution of higher learning to educate our students and edify the community in which we live, work, and serve.
For additional information, email Darryl Owens at dowens@beaconcollege.edu or Mary Wymer at mwymer@beaconcollege.edu
Meet the Salon Speaker Series Team
Darryl E. Owens
Associate Vice President of Communication and Engagement
352-638-9789dowens@beaconcollege.eduMary Wymer
Digital Communications Manager
352-638-9709mwymer@beaconcollege.edu