Events Calendar

In local communities across Florida, humanities-rich programming is making a lasting impact in the hearts and minds of Sunshine State residents and visitors alike. Florida Humanities is proud to partner with local community champions to bring you high-quality public programming through Community Project Grants, Florida Talks, Museum on Main Street, and more.

Alert: Some events may be canceled or postponed. We work to ensure that our events calendar remains accurate. We strongly urge you to call the event contact for any program you are interested in to confirm that the event is still planned.

EXHIBITION: Figurehead: Music & Mayhem in Orlando’s Underground

Orange County Regional History Center 65 E Central Ave, Orlando, FL, United States

The Orange County Regional History Center has organized a new special exhibition titled Figurehead: Music & Mayhem in Orlando's Underground. Between 1985 and 2001, the Orlando concert promoter "Figurehead" invigorated the musical landscape in Central Florida. "Figurehead: Music & Mayhem in Orlando's Underground" tells the story of how the company helped grow the local scene with a focus on underground rock music and the club circuit. Utilizing the extensive Figurehead

EXHIBITION: Following Fernando’s Footsteps: A Tale of Tampa’s “Invisible Immigrants”

Ybor City Museum State Park 1818 E 9th Ave, Tampa, Florida

The Ybor City Museum Society is presenting a special exhibit on Spanish immigration that will be on display through November 2023. The exhibit is based on a semi-fictitious book by Tampa native, Tony Carreño, entitled Following Fernando's Footsteps: The Tale of Tampa's "Invisible Immigrants, which chronicles the life of a young immigrant from Asturias, Spain to Tampa via Havana, Cuba. Exhibit topics include the six phases of immigration beginning with

Broward County Libraries NEA Big Read Program 2023

Broward County Library hosts a variety of programming for all ages through 2023's NEA Big Read program occurring January and February 2023. Broward County Library selected Infinite Country by Patricia Engel as their Big Read title for adults and two titles for young readers. Programming includes book discussions, a keynote address with Patricia Engel, hands-on activities for families, artist and author discussions, exhibits, and more across all branches of Broward

St. Johns Reads 2023

St. Johns County Public Library System 1960 N Ponce De Leon Blvd, St. Augustine, Florida

Join the St. Johns County Public Library System for St. Johns Reads 2023. Now in its 18th year, St. Johns Reads is a county-wide "One Book, One Community" initiative held by the St. Johns County Public Library System that encourages patrons to read, discuss, and experience literature together. 2023's title is Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef's Journey to Discover America's New Melting-Pot Cuisine by Edward Lee. A variety of programming for

Shaping an Island: Key West’s Black History

Tropic Cinema 416 Eaton St, Key West, Florida

The Key West Art and Historical Society is building cultural equity by telling the stories of the Black community's significant contributions to local culture and industry, as documented in artwork and historic documents. This talk seeks to redress a serious omission: that the substantial contributions of people of color are under-represented Key West's historical narrative. From its beginnings in the 1800s, the maritime industry of Key West was dependent on

Early Cuban Exiles: Memories of Loss, Struggle, and Rebirth

Virtual/Online

From 1959 to 1973, more than 600,000 Cuban exiles came to the US in two waves and laid the foundation for the modern Cuban American community. Almost all arrived with only a few clothes and pocket money. Based on interviews with 54 persons about early Cuban exiles, this presentation tells how and why they left Cuba, what they found when they arrived here, and how they built new lives. Admission

The Kellogg Mansion & Dunedin Isles: A History of Dunedin through the Kellogg Mansion

Dunedin Public Library 223 Douglas Avenue, Dunedin, FL, United States

The Dunedin Public Library welcomes Vincent Luisi, Executive Director of the Dunedin History Museum, for a lecture on the Kellogg Mansion and its place in Dunedin history. This presentation will be given as a part of the Kellogg Mansion Immersive Experience. The Kellogg Mansion - 3D Immersive Experience brings together the history of one of Dunedin's most notable properties, the community efforts to preserve it and the digital documentation strategies

The Greeks of Tarpon Springs

Cape Coral Library 921 S.W. 39th Terrace, Cape Coral, FL, United States

Florida SouthWestern State College presents an exploration of the Greek cultural heritage of Tarpon Springs at the Fort Myers Regional Library in downtown Fort Myers. A screening of the classic 1953 Hollywood film "Beneath the 12-Mile Reef," shot on location in Key West and the Gulf Coast city of Tarpon Springs, will be followed by a Q & A session. Following a brief intermission, Florida scholar Dr. Tina Bucuvalas will

SpeakOut: Intersections of LGBTQ Identity and the Humanities

Gulfport Public Library 5501 28th Ave. S, Gulfport, FL, United States

The LGBTQ Resource Center at the Gulfport Public Library is pleased to present the final dialogue in its 2022-23 SpeakOut series. Beginning in April 2022, individual presentations and audience dialogues have explored intersections of LGBTQ identity and Humanities topics of Aging, Art, Faith, Law and Literature. Events of the past year have highlighted how critically important it is to be able to have informed, mutually respectful discussions of how Humanities

EXHIBITION: Bahama Village: Relics of a Fading Community

Key West Museum of Art & History 281 Front St, Naval Air Station, Key West, Florida

Key West Art & Historical Society will debut a new exhibition on January 13, 2023, that will explore the history and culture of the often-overlooked segment of the community - former and current residents of Bahama Village. In this exhibition, history and stories will be woven together through various events that shaped the Black and Indigenous cultures of Key West. In the early 1800s and 1900s, the Black and Indigenous

How is MADAMA BUTTERFLY relevant to contemporary cultural conversations in 2023?

Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach 411 Clematis St, West Palm Beach, Florida

Palm Beach Opera is hosting a series of panel discussions to explore the humanities-driven questions related to opera performances in their 2023 season. The first discussion will feature Puccini's masterpiece "Madama Butterfly." This production inspires mixed reactions among scholars and those in the opera industry because of the composer's depiction of Japanese culture and characterization of the central character, Cio-Cio-San. Panelists will explore the possibilities of sensitive, nuanced interpretation of

Pandemics and Protests: America in 1919 and 2020

Anderson-Price Memorial Building 42 N Beach Street, Ormond Beach, FL, United States

The Ormond Beach Historical Society is hosting their 2022-2023 live Speaker Series program. The fifth presentation will explore the ways in which the social climate of America in 2020 mirrors that of 1919, and examine the similarities and differences as well as the factors influencing the social conflicts in each year. Dr. Martha Bireda is a true "Grits", girl raised in the sun. She is a seventh generation Floridian and

St. Johns Reads 2023: Meet Chef Ed Lee

First Coast Technical College Character Counts Center 2980 Collins Ave # A, St. Augustine, Florida

Join the Friends of the Library of St. Johns County with the author of Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef's Journey to Discover America's New Melting Pot Cuisine Chef Edward Lee. Chef Lee will discuss his novel, host a Q&A, and sign copies of his book. Admission is free and registration is not required. Edward Lee is the Chef and Owner of 610 Magnolia in Louisville, Kentucky and the Culinary Director for

Weaving the Tension Between Nature and Urban Sprawl

HARTVEST PROJECT at Pinecrest Gardens 11000 S Red Road, Pinecrest, Florida

Aluna Art Foundation is organizing an interpretative guided tour of the exhibition Life at Street Level, which is part of the part of the first city-wide event THREADING THE CITY, a concurrence of Fiber Artist Miami Association (FAMA), and World Textile Art (WTA). The exhibition features local and international artists: Alissa Alfonso, Sharon Berebichez, Nancy Billings, RemiJin Camping, Maritza Caneca, Mabelin Castellanos, Alex De Yavorsky, Jocelyn Flores, Amy Gelb, Isabel

Conversations at MOCA: NorthStar – The Meaning of Haiti in Diaspora

The Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami is hosting Conversations at MOCA: NorthStar - The Meaning of Haiti in Diaspora. This panel discussion will the meaning of Haiti throughout history in the African Diaspora and the World. The African diaspora has influenced aspects of history, music, culture, and politics throughout the Americas, the Caribbean and beyond. Where does Haiti, the world's first free Black republic, fall into this line of

English for Families Palm Springs Public Library

Virtual/Online

Palm Springs Public Library is hosting English for Families once a week for ten weeks from January 19 through March 23, 2023. The ten-week virtual program includes interactive classes for parents and children that focus on developing English vocabulary and literary skills through strategic and fun story reading. Programming is designed to improve the language proficiency of individuals whose native language is not English by providing essential reading strategies needed

International Holocaust Remembrance Day / Genocide in the 20th & 21st Centuries Public Webinar

Tampa Bay Times Newspaper in Education/Florida Press Educational Services is hosting a webinar panel discussion to present new curriculum, "Genocide in the 20th & 21st Centuries: Historical and Cultural Perspectives," that examines the Holocaust and other genocides. January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Open to the general public, this webinar will explore how this new material can help examine the cultural, religious,

Ditch of Dreams: The Cross Florida Barge Canal

Palm Coast Community Center 305 Palm Coast Parkway NE, Palm Coast, FL, United States

This presentation examines the long, convoluted history of an effort to cross Florida by cutting a waterway from the Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico. Dr. Noll covers topics including steamboat tourism, the first attempted ship canal in the 1930s, the building of the canal in the 1960s, and the stoppage by an environmental movement led by Marjorie Harris Carr in 1971. Registration is not required to attend. Bathrooms are

Colombia Literaria: Identidad, Paz y Cultura

Virtual/Online

A panel of award-winning Colombian authors explore the impact of literature on Columbia's path to peace and discuss immigration, cultural identity, and assimilation through their works as part of Broward County Library's NEA Big Read 2023. Registration for this program is not required. Admission is free. Elvira Sanchez-Blake is a journalist and writer. She obtained a Ph.D. in Hispanic Literature and Latin American Studies at Cornell University. Gloria Munoz is

Artists and Thinkers: Kareem Fahmy’s Distinct Society

The Hermitage Artist Retreat is kicking off their virtual "Artists and Thinkers" series, which pairs leading artists with scholars in the field of the humanities to discuss the interplay between art and the human experience. James Monaghan, Hermitage Programs Manager and theater scholar, will be in conversation with Hermitage Fellow Kareem Fahmy to explore his play, "A Distinct Society." In Fahmy's play, a sleepy library that straddles the U.S./Canada border

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