Fresno Town Hall marks 90th season with Quinn, O’Donnell, Boykins lineup

Fresno and Clovis will get another season of national names when San Joaquin Valley Town Hall opens its 90th year with comedian Colin Quinn, journalist Norah O’Donnell and NASA chief engineer Kobie Boykins on the calendar.

The 2026-27 lineup pairs six Daytime Talks with two Twilight Talks, spreading the series across familiar Valley stages. Daytime talks are set for 10:30 a.m. at the William Saroyan Theatre, while Twilight Talks will begin at 7 p.m. at the Paul Shaghoian Concert Hall or the Clovis Veterans Memorial District.

The season begins Sept. 16 with Quinn, followed by O’Donnell on Oct. 14 and Boykins on Nov. 18. The schedule then continues with celebrity chef Tyler Florence on Jan. 27, 2027, Benjamin Boone on Feb. 17, retired four-star Gen. Paul Nakasone on March 2, Lucy Cooke on March 17 and Christine Baranski on April 14. Town Hall says O’Donnell’s talk will focus on women who shaped America in connection with the nation’s 250th anniversary, while Florence will discuss fresh trends from California’s food scene.

For Fresno County audiences, the appeal is partly practical. Individual tickets are listed at $70, a daytime season package costs $240 and an early-bird bundle is $320 through July 4. The group has also kept local students free of charge and offers live streaming and certified sign-language interpreters for all talks, giving the series a broader reach than the people in the room.

The lineup comes after the organization recently brought “Jeopardy!” legend Ken Jennings to downtown Fresno, a reminder that the Town Hall format still pulls recognizable names into local venues. That matters in a region where many marquee events are tied to sports, fairs or one-night entertainment dates. Town Hall is offering a different draw: a steady season of live talks that mix comedy, journalism, science, food and public life.

The group traces its roots to 1937, when Clio Lee Aydelott helped bring the lecture format to Fresno after seeing it in San Francisco. The first Fresno Town Hall Forum was presented Jan. 10, 1938, at the Hardy Theater. The series became San Joaquin Valley Town Hall, Inc. in 1961 and now says it is run by an all-volunteer, 25-member board of directors. More than longevity, this season’s mix suggests the organization is still trying to match the Valley’s current interests, from national politics and space science to food and stage and screen.