INTERESTED IN BOOKING KATE?
Lecturer on the Chesapeake’s heritage, landscapes, history & people
Kate Livie is a polished, engaging public speaker on the Chesapeake’s culture and heritage. Expert in the history of resources like crabs, oysters, fish, and waterfowl, Livie can connect these environmental stories to larger discussions around foodways, Chesapeake culture, and maritime traditions, providing historical context and evocative anecdotes.
An honorarium of $250 and round-trip mileage reimbursement is requested for the presentations below. Customized presentations can be arranged for an additional fee.
EXAMPLE LECTURE TOPICS*
*please let Kate know if you have a specific topic or interest in Chesapeake history not listed below
American Blues: the Diverse, Delicious Story of the Chesapeake Blue Crab
Chesapeake Oysters: History on the Half Shell
Chesapeake Oysters: Politics and Policy
Oyster Wars of the Chesapeake Bay
Carvers at the Crossroads: Decoy Carving in the Chesapeake
400 Years of Chesapeake Waterfowling
Steamboats & Swimsuits: The Resort Towns of the Eastern Shore
Dammed Land: Shad, Dams, and the Environmental Story of the Bay’s Barricaded Waterways
Navigating Freedom: Slavery, Place and Self Liberation in the Chesapeake
Showboat Days are Here Again: The Chesapeake’s James Adams Floating Theater
The Big Tomato: Picked, Packed, and Shipped in the Chesapeake
WATCH KATE’S WORK WITH LOCAL & NATIONAL TELEVISION
“Eatin’ Oysters Chesapeake-Style” co-host and presenter for Maryland Public Television
“Waterwomen” for Maryland Public Television
Featured oyster historian for “Taste of History” on PBS with Chef Walter Staib
“Chesapeake Beacons” guest expert for Maryland Public Television
Recent speaking engagements
Presenter, “Chesapeake Oysters,” Gibson Island Club, March March 9, 2024.
Presenter, “Oyster Wars of the Chesapeake,” Metropolitan Club, Washington, DC, February 23, 2024.
Moderator, “Sea Change in the Black Maritime World.,” Maryland Center for History and Culture, February 6, 2024.
Presenter, “The Oyster Wars of the Chesapeake,” Historic Christ Church and Museum, October 21, 2023.
Presenter, “Steamboats and Swimsuits,” Village Learning Place, October 11, 2023.
Presenter, “The World is Your Oyster,” Metropolitan Club, Washington, D.C., February 24, 2023.
Presenter, “A Dammed Land,” Cecil County Public Library, January 10, 2023.
Presenter, “The Big Tomato: Picked, Packed & Shipped in the Chesapeake,” Baltimore Museum of Industry, October 18, 2022.
Presenter, “Shad of the Dammed,” Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, October 6, 2022.
Presenter, “Showboat Days are Here Again: The Chesapeake’s James Adams Floating Theater,” Talbot County Historical Society, March 16, 2022
Presenter, “Chesapeake Oysters,” Metropolitan Club, Washington, D.C., February 25, 2022
Presenter, “Land of the Dammed,” Baltimore Museum of Industry speaker’s series, October 21, 2021
Guide/ Co-Lecturer, “Eastern Neck Island: A Microcosm of the Bay’s Oyster History,” ShoreRivers solstice expedition, June 25, 2021
Presenter, “Land of the Dammed,” Old Wye Mill lecture series, May 2021
Presenter, “Chesapeake Oyster Wars,” Baltimore Museum of Industry Bull & Oyster Roast, March 6, 2021.
Moderator, “Bay to Table: Rethinking Tradition,” Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, MD. June 11, 2020
Presenter, “Chesapeake Crabs: The Story of the Bay’s Most Iconic Seafood,” Village Learning Place, Baltimore, MD. June 10, 2020
Presenter, “Chesapeake Iconic Foodways,” and “Navigating Freedom: Slavery and Maritime Culture in the Chesapeake,” Maryland Dept. Of Tourism Watermen Heritage Training, Baltimore, MD. January 30, 2020
Presenter, “Chesapeake Oysters: The Bay’s Foundation and Future,” Smithsonian Museums on Main Street/ ShoreRivers, Cambridge, MD. Nov 14, 2019
Presenter: “Oysters: From Abundance to Aquaculture,” J. Millard Tawes Museum, Crisfield, MD. April 14, 2018
Chesapeake Oysters presentations
Presenter, Nabb Center for Chesapeake Heritage at Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD. November 29, 2017
Presenter, Maryland Humanities Council, Baltimore, MD. October 21, 2017
Presenter, Annapolis Maritime Museum, Annapolis, MD. February 2, 2017
Presenter, Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, MD. April 14, 2016
Presenter, Chesapeake Storytelling Festival, Wye Mills, MD. April 30, 2016
Presenter, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Easton, MD. March 31, 2016
Presenter, Calvert Marine Museum, Solomons, MD. March 11, 2016