By the People: Conversations Beyond 250
By the People: Conversations Beyond 250 is a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils across the United States, its territories, and the District of Columbia in collaboration with local partners. Together, these programs explore 250 years of the nation’s cultural life and imagine its shared future.
Photo: Cinco de Mayo parade in Mount Vernon, WA. Photo courtesy of Humanities Washington/WACultures.
The By the People initiative was developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.
Programs from 51 participating humanities councils will take place from January to August 2026. More information will be added to this page in 2026.
Upcoming By the People Events
By the People: All Program Descriptions by Location
Programs will be added to this list as they are confirmed.
Alaska | Alaska Humanities Forum
“The FORUM Storytelling Fellowship”
A cohort of emerging Alaskan writers will produce non-fiction stories that explore defining moments in Alaska. What are stories from the last 250 years that have shaped this place? How are communities learning from the past and growing into the future? At the conclusion of the program, Fellows’ stories will be published in FORUM Magazine. We will also host a free public reading and storytelling event in August 2026.
Arizona | Arizona Humanities
“Blue Corn Festival”
Event will take place in February and early March 2026, with a final event on March 7.
The second annual Blue Corn Festival will serve as a celebration of varied local cultural traditions, with particular focus placed on blue corn as an integral crop to Indigenous foodways in Arizona and the American Southwest. Programming will strive to be economically and geographically accessible and promote Indigenous literature, foodways, arts, and storytelling. This year’s series of events begins with virtual and in-person programs throughout the month and culminates in the main festival on Saturday, March 7, 2026, at the historic Ellis-Shackelford House in downtown Phoenix.
Arkansas | HumanitiesAR
“By the People: Conversations Beyond 250”
Statewide cultural documentation, storytelling, and oral histories will be expressed through public events like panels and workshops, promoting shared dialogues and lived traditions. Example events include a songwriting event aimed at young people, a panel discussion on the evolution of slave spirituals to Civil Rights Era anthems, and July 4th music performances.
Delaware | Delaware Humanities
“Voices of the First Peoples”
Voices of the First Peoples celebrates Indigenous cultural traditions from pre-colonization to today. Explore traditional storytelling, native foods, agriculture, musical traditions, and more at two events: one hosted by the Lenape Indian Tribe of Delaware in partnership with the Kalmar Nyckel, and one hosted by the Nanticoke Indian Tribe in partnership with the Nanticoke Indian Museum. Both events are in collaboration with the Delaware Teacher’s Institute, encouraging community learning and dialogue in classrooms and beyond.
California | California Humanities
“Reclaiming Our Stories: Voices from the Indigenous Peoples of California”
A series of podcasts focused on California Native American speakers exploring what self-determination and sovereignty look like for California Indigenous communities in the face of America250. The series will be hosted by Native American speakers from Northern, Central, and Southern California, and aims to cultivate varied dialogues and promote historically underrepresented perspectives.
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands | Northern Marianas Humanities Council
“A250 Community Talks & My Marianas Writing Contest”
A250 Community Talks is a series of civic reflection conversations designed to engage youth and cultural practitioners in exploring various perspectives on the 50-year political union between the people of the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S., as well as its future. The A250 My Marianas Writing Contest invites high school students to craft personal narrative essays describing experiences that have made them feel connected to or separate from the U.S.
Idaho | Idaho Humanities Council
“By the People Idaho”
At a North Idaho community gathering, a two day film festival with scholar panels will also feature engagement stations for hands-on crafting, Native foods, musical traditions, storytelling, and other local traditions relating to how people have expressed themselves and passed down cultural knowledge. On the other side of the state, the Bringing War Home Project will collect generations together by documenting souvenirs from military service.
Iowa | Humanities Iowa
“Open Book & What Do We Stand For?: Dialogues on Democracy and Culture Across Iowa“
Humanities Iowa will present two statewide programs — What Do We Stand For?, a reflection series about the ideals behind the founding of the U.S. led by philosopher Scott Samuelson, and Open Book, a CultureALL partnership bringing Iowa culture bearers into classrooms. Together, these programs spark dialogue about democracy, identity, and lived experiences across Iowa. Through accessible, cross-cultural storytelling, these programs help Iowans explore shared values and engage meaningfully with the nation’s 250th anniversary.
Kanasas | Humanities Kansas
“Kansas Folklife: Celebrating Kansas Traditions”
Kansas Folklife: Celebrating Kansas Traditions connects Kansans with the state’s folklife traditions through engaging storytelling, food, music, and dance demonstrations in communities statewide.
Louisiana | Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities
“America the Beautiful: Celebrating Louisiana’s Vibrant Musical Heritage”
The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, in partnership with the Natchitoches-Northwestern State University Folk Festival, will host a pre-festival public program and two “informances” at the 2026 festival. In honor of America 250, the 2026 festival theme is “America the Beautiful,” and the festival will feature the traditional music of our nation – blues, gospel, Cajun, Celtic, country, bluegrass, and zydeco.
Hawaii | Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities
“Still Talking Story”
Event Date: January 24, 2026
Two interconnected events encouraging engagement with oral traditions and histories and intergenerational exchange on Molokaʻi. One session will feature a moderated panel of hula teachers and practitioners, and archived recordings of community elders sharing their stories about place. The second session will be a workshop highlighting ways all of us can continue to preserve and activate oral histories in our families and communities.
Maine | Maine Humanities Council
“Gather: A Celebration of Maine’s Music and Food”
Gather will showcase how musical traditions and foodways connect Maine cultures, and explore what they can tell us about our past, present, and future. The event will include performances, a panel discussion, and a community meal, featuring the Arab Music Community Ensemble, musicians from various Middle Eastern communities; musician Samuel James, who performs in the Black American Folk Tradition; and Jasmine Tintor, Katahdin Kitchen chef and member of the Penobscot Nation.
Michigan | Michigan Humanities
“Let’s Dish: Sharing Culture, Stories & Connection”
Let’s Dish: Sharing Culture, Stories & Connection is part of the 2025–26 Great Michigan Read, featuring Curtis Chin’s “Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant.” Across Michigan, four events held in collaboration with Chinese restaurants will foster conversations around Asian American identity and culture. Each gathering will highlight local visual artists and performers, and spark intergenerational reflection and discussion about the cultural power of foodways.
Mississippi | Mississippi Humanities Council
“Creative Traditions in Mississippi: Conversations Beyond 250”
Mississippi is home to rich creative and cultural traditions that have helped shape our nation, from our music and art forms to our cuisine and landscape. Through partnerships with cultural organizations across the state, Creative Traditions in Mississippi will celebrate Mississippi’s cultural contributions with a variety of public programs, including panel discussions, performances from local artists, and more.
Missouri | Missouri Humanities Council
“By the People Humanities Celebration”
Program Date: February 3, 2026
On February 3, 2026, join Missouri Humanities in the State Capitol for “By the People,” the 2026 Lieutenant Governor’s Humanities Celebration. The event will feature a short film showcasing Missouri Humanities folk art grantees and partners, including musicians, poets, and Native American dancers. Displays around the rotunda will explore Missouri’s cultural and historical impact. We will launch “The Story of US” a digital storytelling campaign celebrating Missouri’s role in the American story.
Montana | Humanities Montana
“Harmonizing Together at the Montana Folk Festival”
Humanities Montana will bolster humanities programming at the Montana Folk Festival in July. The festival’s programming centers on community interaction and the dynamic celebration of diverse Montanans throughout the state. Planned programming includes creating space for oral histories/storytelling, workshops, and panel discussions.
Nevada | Nevada Humanities
“Around the Table”
Throughout 2026, Nevada Humanities invites Nevadans across the state to share and celebrate their diverse food traditions through its new program called Around the Table. Around the Table is a series of public events and creative reflections that explore Nevada foodways, food traditions, and expressive culture throughout the Silver State.
New Hampshire | New Hampshire Humanities
“US@250: Big Watch“
Program Dates TBD, but events will take place between March 1-August 31.
US@250: Big Watch consists of 10 different screenings of Ken Burns’ new film, The American Revolution, directly followed by a community conversation about the film, the history of the American Revolution, and “remembering together,” moderated by trained facilitators. Additionally, each site hosting a screening will also plan and implement a separate community event based around these themes.
North Carolina | North Carolina Humanities
“By the People – Music from the Old North State”
Through this initiative North Carolina Humanities will curate three events exploring the musical traditions and heritage in each of North Carolina’s distinct geographic regions: the mountains, the piedmont, and the coastal plain. These events will be grounded by local partners and create space for community members to reflect and learn about impact of North Carolina’s music traditions, from traditional Appalachian bluegrass to funk and jazz on community and culture in the Old North State today.
Oklahoma | Oklahoma Humanities
“By the People: Conversations Beyond 250 in Oklahoma”
Up to ten living history programs featuring a Thomas Jefferson re-enactor, concerned with talking about remembering together, in communities. These programs will be followed by facilitated discussions to discuss the importance of the past for civic vitality in the modern age.
Oregon | Oregon Humanities
“Consider This and The Detour: Beyond 250”
As the centerpiece of our Beyond 250 initiative, Oregon Humanities will run four in-person and live-streamed onstage Consider This conversations. We will also adapt these conversations into episodes of our podcast, The Detour. Through these events and episodes, we will create opportunities for Oregonians to consider the cultural significance and impact of the 250th anniversary with particular attention to how the core values of the Declaration might shape our nation and state’s next 250 years.
Rhode Island | Rhode Island Humanities
“Revolutionary Rhode Island”
A new Rhode Tour designed for the 250th features political, cultural, and economic stories about people, places, events and ideas connected to the American Revolution in the Ocean State. A gathering in Spring 2026 will spark conversation and engagement. Rhode Tour is a free app and website that is a joint initiative of Rhode Island Humanities and the Rhode Island Historical Society.
South Carolina | South Carolina Humanities
“Harvesting Heritage: Gathering Ground”
Program Date: February 21, 2026
An all-day event focused on the cultural and agricultural heritage of South Carolina, with an emphasis placed on Black foodways and Gullah Geechee communities. This event will promote inter-generational conversation and reflection on shared local traditions.
“Harvesting Heritage: Gathering Ground” will be held on February 21, 2026 at the Penn Center on St. Helena Island. It will include a full day of conversations, immersive experiences, workshops, and, of course, SC-grown and curated dishes. The day’s activities will be free of charge and feature Charleston poet laureate Asiah Mae, Tendaji Bailey from the Gullah Futures Project, Ed Atkins, a founding member of the Gullah Geechee Fishing Association, the Communal Pen, and more. The ticketed evening event will include a panel discussion and a carefully crafted menu, courtesy of the Chef Amethyst Ganaway.
Tennessee | Humanities Tennessee
“Then. Now. Next?“
First Program Date: February 28, 2026
Includes a podcast series with TN curators sharing local artifacts related to the story of our independence, culminating in a digital exhibition, “Curating Tennessee, 1776-2076.” We’re hosting a discussion with crafters & growers about their role in shaping our democracy, and a speculative design lab for crafters & growers to workshop the future of their respective practices, resulting in a museum exhibition, “Designs from the Future of Crafting & Growing.”
The first By the People event in Tennessee is a “Growers and Crafters Panel” in Knoxville on February 28. Local practitioners and scholars will explore 250 years of the civic, social, and economic roles of craftspeople and growers in the creation and evolution of our nation. Panelists will also discuss how these groups stand to shape the next chapter of American democracy. What and how will Tennesseans be crafting and growing in the future?
Vermont | Vermont Humanities
“Charity and Sylvia”
Vermont Cartoonist Laureate Tillie Walden’s graphic biography, Charity and Sylvia, is the 2026 Vermont Reads choice for our state-wide reading program. The book focuses on Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake, who were recognized as a same-sex married couple in the decades between the Revolution and the Civil War. We will hold an in-person panel discussion to gather the author and local cartoonists to discuss how stories from our collective history are discovered, re-interpreted, and shared.
West Virginia | West Virginia Humanities Council
“Enhancing Folklife Materials on e-WV”
The West Virginia Humanities Council’s West Virginia Folklife Program will create educational content about expert practitioners of local music and craft traditions, utilizing filmed interviews and recordings of performances and demonstrations. This new content will enhance the West Virginia Humanities Council’s e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia Online.
