Arizona Lecture Series in Apache Junction starts in January

Be introduced to the rich culture and history of the state at the Arizona Lecture Series Jan. 6-March 31 at the Performing Arts Center, 2525 S. Ironwood Road at Apache Junction High School.

In the first lecture. Monday, Jan. 6, Jay Mark presents “To Steal a Kingdom: Land Fraud in Arizona” — The description states: “In the late 19th century, Arizona was the center of one of the grandest land-fraud schemes in the U.S. The Peralta Grant was a fraudulent claim to over 12 million acres of land from central Arizona to western New Mexico. James Addison Reavis almost single-handedly stole most of central Arizona by declaring himself ‘The Baron of Arizona’ and claiming to inherit an 18th-century Spanish land grant. His outrageous scheme is one of the greatest land fraud stories in the United States.”

Doors open at 6 p.m. and lectures begin at 7 p.m. on Mondays (Tuesdays after Martin Luther King Jr. and Presidents Day holidays). There will not be a presentation on March 17, 2025.

Tickets are $10 for individual lectures and season tickets are $100, with sales starting Jan. 1 at https://ajpac.ludus.com/index.php. For information, call 480-982-1110 ext. 2250.

The speaker list for the upcoming series at the Apache Junction Performing Arts Center is at https://www.ajusd.org/page/the-2023-arizona-lecture-series-speaker-line-up