North Carolina Humanities is excited to announce our participation in By the People: Conversations Beyond 250, 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 (the Center), which also produces the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C.
“NC Humanities is excited to be selected for this national effort to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary through an exciting series of programs highlighting North Carolina’s traditions and heritage” says Sherry Paula Watkns, Executive Director of NC Humanities.
Through the local initiative titled “By the People – Music from the Old North State” NC Humanities will curate three local programs held regionally in the state to foster intergenerational dialogue and highlight NC’s music heritage culture bearers. These programs across the country will explore the 2026 Smithsonian Folklife Festival themes of: remembering together, harmonizing together, moving together, and building together. Program details and times will be available on our website www.nchumanities.org in early 2026.
“This partnership amplifies the voices from communities nationwide and the cultural practices that define them,” says Phoebe Stein, the Federation’s president. “It’s a celebration of the humanities as a living, breathing force in our country—one that has brought people together to listen, learn, and create since the nation’s earliest days.”
Each North Carolina program will be locally produced by NC Humanities and a community partner and featured on a national multimedia story map produced by the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. To enhance the national nature of the commemoration, content from programs held across the country will be released throughout 2026 on Smithsonian’s media platforms through a series of articles, short documentaries, and podcasts.
“As the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, By the People invites communities to celebrate their stories and imagine a shared future grounded in creativity and cultural understanding,” says Halle Butvin, director of special projects at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. “With voices from every corner of the country, the initiative serves our mission by illuminating what it means to belong to each other, to history, and to the possibilities ahead.”
Learn more about By the People at www.statehumanities.org/bythepeople/
Press Contact: nch@nchumanities.org
About North Carolina Humanities: Through grantmaking and public humanities programs, North Carolina Humanities connects North Carolinians with cultural experiences that spur dialogue, deepen human connections, and inspire community. North Carolina Humanities is a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The North Carolina Center for the Book, the state affiliate of the Center for the Book in the Library Congress, is a program of North Carolina Humanities that promotes books, libraries, literacy, and reading around the state. To learn more visit www.nchumanities.org.