The Mercantile Library hosts a Hearth & Home lecture with Luke Barr, author of Provence, 1970, a book about the winter that iconic culinary figures James Beard, M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child, Richard Olney and more found themselves together in the South of France. The Hearth & Home series features evenings with local chefs discussing books that influenced them and providing samples of their cuisine. Tonight includes an intro and refreshments from chef Jean-Robert de Cavel.
7-8:30 p.m. Thursday. $20 members; $30 general. The Mercantile Library, 414 Walnut St., Downtown, mercantilelibrary.com.