North Carolina Humanities

Fall African American Walking Tours
2026-02-21 10:00 - 11:00, 2026-02-22 10:00 - 11:00, 2026-02-28 10:00 - 11:00, 2026-03-01 10:00 - 11:00, 2026-03-07 10:00 - 11:00, 2026-03-08 10:00 - 11:00, 2026-03-14 10:00 - 11:00, 2026-03-15 10:00 - 11:00 (America/New_York) and 4 more dates | Pope House Museum, 511 S Wilmington St, Raleigh, NC, NC, 27601, United States
Autumn is perfect for walking! Explore Raleigh’s historic, influential Black neighborhood, the Third Ward, near Shaw University—a hub of culture, business, and education.
Registration is required. $10 per adult and $5 per child (ages 5-17)

NOTE: Saturday tour times are 10 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm. Sunday time 2 pm

September: Saturday 20th, 27th and Sunday 21st, 28th
October: Saturday 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th, and Sunday 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th
November: Saturday 1st, 8th, 22nd and Sunday 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd,
December: Saturday 6th, 13th, 20th, and Sunday 7th, 14th, 21st

Teen Museum Market
2026-02-21 11:00 - 14:00 | City of Raleigh Museum, 220 Fayetteville Street, Raleigh, NC, 27601, United States
Teen vendor art & craft market
• DIY craft activity tables
• Snacks available
• Live teen band performance

NC Reads - Morningside Book Event
2026-02-25 18:15
Join North Carolina Humanities on February 25, 2026 at 6:15, for its first North Carolina Reads book club discussion of 2026. This discussion will examine themes and topics from the North Carolina Reads book selection “Morningside: The 1979 Greensboro Massacre and the Struggle for an American City’s Soul.” This discussion features author Aran Shetterly in a moderated conversation. Please note: you do not have to read the featured book(s) to attend a North Carolina Reads book club discussion. North Carolina Reads is North Carolina Humanities’ award-winning, virtual, statewide book club.
From February – June 2026, NC Humanities will host free, virtual, monthly book club discussion events where participants will hear from guest speakers, including book authors and topic experts. Libraries, community groups, and individuals across North Carolina are encouraged to read along with NC Humanities, attend NC Reads book club discussion events, and then host their own local book discussions to further conversation, camaraderie, and community. NC Reads events will be held on the following dates, all events start at 6:15 PM:

February 25, 2026 – Morningside: The 1979 Greensboro Massacre and the Struggle for an American City’s Soul by Aran Shetterly
March 30, 2026 – Daughters of Green Mountain Gap by Teri M. Brown
April 28, 2026 – The Devil’s Done Come Back: New Ghost Tales from North Carolina edited by Ed Southern
May 27, 2026 –The Caretaker by Ron Rash
June 23, 2026 – Night Magic: Adventures Among Glowworms, Moon Gardens, and Other Marvels of the Dark by Leigh Ann Henion

Dr. M.T Pope House Presents: Evelyn's Book Club
2026-02-25 18:30 - 20:00, 2026-03-25 18:30 - 20:00 | Pope House Museum, 511 S Wilmington St, Raleigh, NC, NC, 27601, United States
This program honors Evelyn Pope by reading books.
Evelyn, a college librarian born in 1908 and died in 1995, loved a variety of books from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer to Shakespeare and James Baldwin. The program brings community members together monthly at the museum to discuss books, focusing on works by Black writers or featuring Black subjects, including fiction and non-fiction. Discussions will use questions to facilitate conversation.
“Mama Day” by Gloria Naylor
Wednesday, Feb. 25
“The Black Angels: The Untold Story of the Nurses Who Helped Cure Tuberculosis” by Maria Smilios
Wednesday, April 22
“A Visitation of Spirits” by Randall Kenan
Wednesday, June 24
“Becoming Lunsford Lane: The Lives of an American Aeneas” by Craig Friend
Wednesday, Aug. 26
“Ring Shout” by P. Dejeli Clark
Thursday, Oct. 29
An optional book bundle will be available to purchase at registration. Books can be picked up at the Dr. M.T. Pope House Museum.

Stories that Connect Us: A Community Conversation on Telling the Full Story
2026-02-26 17:30 - 19:30 | Passmore Center, 103 Meadowlands Dr, Hillsborough, NC, 27278, United States
Discover the stories that shape our community in a special four-part conversation series! Hosted by the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough and the Telling the Full Story committee, each session dives into the history of local sites from our interactive map, with engaging video presentations and oral histories that bring these places to life. Join us for lively discussions and reflections on the impact of these spaces in Hillsborough.
Mark your calendar for Thursday evenings in February 2025, 5:30–7:00 PM at the Passmore Center in Hillsborough, NC. Come to learn, connect, and be inspired—see you there!
February 6th- Entrepreneurship in the 20th Century
February 13th- The Land Remembers
February 20th- Community Institutions
February 27th- Navigating Freedom
What is Telling the Full Story: The Alliance for Historic Hillsborough’s Telling the Full Story program seeks to uncover and share the diverse, often untold histories of Hillsborough. Through community conversations, interactive maps, and oral histories, this program invites everyone to explore the people, events, and places that have shaped our community, fostering a richer understanding of our shared heritage.
Funding for this program series is generously provided by North Carolina Humanities.

The 25th Annual African American Cultural Celebration
2026-02-28
RESCHEDULED!
The 25th annual African American Cultural Celebration has been rescheduled for February 28 due to weather-related concerns, at the North Carolina Museum of Art.
This year marks 25 years that this celebration has brought together African American community members, organizations, authors, artists, musicians, filmmakers, scholars, and more, around a central theme to highlight the contributions that African Americans, past and present, have made to North Carolina’s history and culture. Multiple demonstrations, presentations, and performances reach thousands of people.
A virtual Education Day for the Cultural Celebration on the preceding Friday was added in 2022.

Poet Quartet features poet U.S. Cultural Ambassador Ronald Rand at Asheville's Malaprops Bookstore/Cafe Reading from "The Marsh in May and 30 Poems with 29 Paintings by Ronald Rand"
2026-03-01 16:30 - 17:30 | Malaprops Bookstore/Cafe, 55 Haywood Street, Asheville, NC, 28801, United States
Come and experience the healing grace of poetry!!! U.S. Cultural Ambassador Ronald Rand will read his poetry at Asheville’s Malaprops Bookstore/Cafe’s monthly Poet Quartet reading series on Sunday, March 1st, 4:30pm-5:30pm, 55 Haywood Street, curated by Mildred Barya. This month’s Poet Quartet features Ronald Rand, Maureen Sherbondy, Rosalynn Cimino, and Kelly Riedesel reading from their newest collections. The event is free, but registration is required to reserve your seat. RSVP at: https://malaprops.com/event/2026-03-01/poet-quartet
Ronald Rand’s newest book, “The Marsh in May and 30 Poems with 29 Paintings by Ronald Rand” is his debut poetry and paintings book and includes thirty-one full-color luminous paintings, described by North Carolina Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green as…“a deeply immersive, poetic exploration that captures our daily collective witness and powerful pauses “as the gong of life dances in the breeze. Ronald Rand delivers an image-rich quiet explosion of vibrant art and poems that become universal offerings of solitude, wisdom, healing, joy, and empathy.”
The collection is found at: https://www.sunburypress.com/collections/ronald-rand and includes odes about Thomas Wolfe, Edwin Booth, Jean-Claude van Itallie, and to the poet’s mother; and transforming experiences inspired by landscapes from Mostar to Fez, Olympia and Kathmandu.
Readers are invited to float along the Tennessee River, step back to the dawn of cave art, witness the moment Helen Keller recognized water, and sit quietly in a field with a single chimney—resting, reflecting, and soaring within Rand’s heartfelt visual and poetic landscapes.
For readers who love poetry, art, nature, and the gift of life, come and experience a deeply moving and transformative experience in “The Marsh in May and 30 Poems with 29 Paintings by Ronald Rand!!!
Ronald Rand is a U.S. Cultural Ambassador, award-winning Solo
Performing Artist, and the author of four books: “Solo Transformation on Stage”, “CREATE! How Extraordinary People Live to Create and Create to Live”, with 130 interviews, “Acting Teachers of America”, and his newest book, “The Marsh in May and 30 poems with 29 paintings by Ronald Rand”.
He has toured around the globe for 26 years in his award-winning performance as Harold Clurman in his internationally-acclaimed solo play, “LET IT BE ART!” to 28 countries. and 21 states. The State Department and Fulbright Program awarded Ronald Rand four Fulbright Awards as a Fulbright Specialist Scholar/Visiting Guest Professor in Malaysia, Uruguay, Greece, and Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Ronald is the Founder & Publisher of “The Soul of the American Actor.” He is the Librettist of “IBSEN”, the first opera ever written about Henrik Ibsen, and the screenwriter of “GROUP PARADISE”, the first feature film about the famed 1930s Group Theater. He has appeared in several Off-Broadway plays and regional productions, and in over two hundred films and TV shows. An internationally acclaimed Stage Director, he has been a Master Acting Teacher and Visiting Guest Professor at more than fifty universities, colleges, acting schools, and festivals on five continents.

Family Fun Day - Space!
2026-03-14 11:00 - 14:00 | City of Raleigh Museum, 220 Fayetteville Street, Raleigh, NC, 27601, United States
Come join the City of Raleigh Museum for Family Fun Day! We will celebrate NASA’s Space Exploration Program.
This year, we celebrate the 65th anniversary of Americans in space, as well as our upcoming return to the Moon with the Artemis Missions. You can try your hand at a simulated Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) and launch a “Squeeze Bottle Straw Rocket” into orbit around a Lunar target. A limited number of NASA stickers and posters are available while supplies last.

Away with the Fairies
2026-03-21 10:00 - 14:00 | Mordecai Historic Park, 1 Mimosa Street, Raleigh, NC, 27604, United States
Join us for a festival of fantasy fun for all ages at Away With The Fairies in Mordecai Historic Park!
Enter a market full of fairies, dragons, mischief, and more at this themed event. Set in Mordecai Historic Park’s beautiful nature space, Paper & Stars Studio has gathered local makers, food vendors, and independent businesses to bring together the best of what Raleigh has to offer.
Enjoy free crafts and activities, find the perfect handmade treasures, and celebrate Spring all while enjoying great food and fun. New this year, make your own fairy or dragon garden to take home! Don’t forget to wear your best fairy or fantasy attire!

Spring Black Neighborhood Walking Tour
2026-03-21 11:00 - 2026-03-22 03:00, 2026-03-22 11:00 - 2026-03-23 03:00, 2026-03-28 11:00 - 2026-03-29 03:00, 2026-03-29 11:00 - 2026-03-30 03:00
Put some spring in your step as you explore Raleigh’s historic and influential Black neighborhood, the Third Ward, just around Shaw University, a wonderful place full of culture, business, and learning.
Be sure to register to join in the fun! Saturday tour times are 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and Sunday tour time 2 p.m.
Dates & Times
Saturdays and Sundays, March 21 – June 21
Saturdays, 10 a.m. & 2 p.m.
Sundays, 2 p.m.
Ages: All
Cost: $10 per adult / $5 per child (5- 17)
Register on RecLink

Lunchbox Lecture with Cheetie Kumar
2026-03-26 12:00 - 13:00 | City of Raleigh Museum, 220 Fayetteville Street, Raleigh, NC, 27601, United States
Cheetie Kumar is the chef/owner of Ajja, and one of the operators behind the future Big Cat restaurant in Raleigh’s East Mordecai neighborhood. She has been profiled in The New York Times, Southern Living and The Wall Street Journal, and many other national publications.
Join us for an in-depth Q&A on Cheetie’s career, food advocacy work, and upcoming projects in the Raleigh restaurant scene.

NC Humanities Board Meeting
2026-03-27 09:00 - 14:00

NC Reads - Daughters of Green Mountain Book Event
2026-03-30 18:15
Join North Carolina Humanities on March 30, 2026 at 6:15 pm, for its second North Carolina Reads book club discussion of 2026. This discussion will examine themes and topics from the North Carolina Reads book selection “Daughters of Green Mountain Gap.” This discussion features author Teri M. Brown in a moderated conversation. Please note: you do not have to read the featured book(s) to attend a North Carolina Reads book club discussion. North Carolina Reads is North Carolina Humanities’ award-winning, virtual, statewide book club.
From February – June 2026, NC Humanities will host free, virtual, monthly book club discussion events where participants will hear from guest speakers, including book authors and topic experts. Libraries, community groups, and individuals across North Carolina are encouraged to read along with NC Humanities, attend NC Reads book club discussion events, and then host their own local book discussions to further conversation, camaraderie, and community. NC Reads events will be held on the following dates, all events start at 6:15 PM:

February 25, 2026 – Morningside: The 1979 Greensboro Massacre and the Struggle for an American City’s Soul by Aran Shetterly
March 30, 2026 – Daughters of Green Mountain Gap by Teri M. Brown
April 28, 2026 – The Devil’s Done Come Back: New Ghost Tales from North Carolina edited by Ed Southern
May 27, 2026 –The Caretaker by Ron Rash
June 23, 2026 – Night Magic: Adventures Among Glowworms, Moon Gardens, and Other Marvels of the Dark by Leigh Ann Henion

Firefest 2026
2026-04-03 11:00 - 2026-04-04 23:00 | Starworks – 100 Russell Drive, Star, NC, 100 Russell Dr, Star, NC, 27356, United States
Firefest is two-day celebration of glass, ceramics, and metal arts, April 3 & 4 at Starworks! The lively event brings together esteemed artists and visitors from across the state for live demonstrations, hands-on activities, exhibitions, artist talks, and dramatic fiery finales. The event will also feature food trucks, live music, and more.
Admission is $10/day with kids 12 and under admitted for free. Hands on workshops require additional registration and payment. Tickets and workshop registration available at StarworksNC.org
Hosted by Starworks, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Firefest supports the organization’s year-round mission to promote community and economic development by providing outstanding artistic educational programs.

"By the People" Music from the Old North State – Elizabeth City
2026-04-03 19:30 - 21:00 | Arts of the Albemarle, 516 East Main Street, Elizabeth City, NC, 27909
Join NC Humanities and Arts of the Albemarle in person for a fun-filled event celebrating the rich, soulful tunes of the eastern NC! Experience authentic music that brings Elizabeth City’s vibrant culture to life. Don’t miss out on great vibes, community spirit, and amazing sounds that’ll have you tapping your feet all night!
This event will incorporate music demonstrations and a conversation with artist Dennis Figgs, Jr. and local music historian George Jackson moderated by Douglas Jackson.
o By the People – Music from the Old North State is a series of events exploring NC’s music heritage. NC Humanities along with our partners; Arts of the Albemarle, the Earl Scruggs Center, and the NC Music Hall of Fame are hosting programs to foster dialogue and highlight NC’s music heritage and culture bearers.
o 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. The initiative was developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage as a complement to the 2026 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.
