Just a year after Beaufort was founded in 1711, an Englishman named Mark Catesby arrived in America obsessed with the discovery and description of the little-unknown flora and fauna of the Colonies. “The Curious Mister Catesby,” the story of his explorations in the New World, is the topic of Dinner &amp; A Lecture at the Verdier House, 801 Bay Street, October 22, at 5:30 p.m.
On his second trip in 1722, he set sail on a four-year excursion to the Lowcountry to record its native habitat. He traveled under the auspices of London’s Royal Society. He explored the Southeast colonies and the Bahamas, and spent the subsequent 20 years writing and illustrating his exhaustive two-volume “Natural History of Carolina, Florida and The Bahama Islands,” the first illustrated work detailing the plants, insects and birds he found here. “The Curious Mister Catesby” was produced and directed by Cynthia Neal, a leading filmmaker of the natural world in the U.S.
“Dinner and a Lecture” is open to Historic Beaufort Foundation members and non-members; the lecture series features a wine and hors d’oeuvres reception, 5:30 to 6 p.m. The program is 6 to 7 p.m., followed by audience questions. Admission is $15/$25 per member/member couple respectively, and $20/$30 per non-member/non-member couple respectively. Seating is limited; call 379-3331 to make reservations. A three-course dinner at Saltus River Grill is offered at $19 per person for attendees at the lecture. Call Saltus at 379-3474 directly to make dining reservations.