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.

What in the World? How Walt Created Disney World

Virtual/Online

When Walt Disney realized cheap tourist traps were enveloping Disneyland, he began a nationwide search for enough land to hold every dream he could imagine. What happened next would require a heightened degree of CIA-level secrecy for Disney's undercover team, who launched a misinformation campaign that included dummy corporations and secret transaction. However, when a keen-eyed reporter cracked the code, Disney was forced to show his hand. Audiences will be

Key West Hand Print Fabrics: An Island Industry

Virtual/Online

In 1961, two friends from Broadway visited Key West. Peter Pell and Jim Russell fell in love with their surroundings: brightly-colored flowers, exotic fruits, and resplendent birds. Residents urged them to open a silk-screening factory, which became Key West Hand Print Fabrics. The company began printing and selling textiles to visitors, and hired an artists name Suzie dePoo who produced a marvelous array of tropical imagery on fabrics. One of

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

Southern Road to Freedom: Florida’s Underground Railroad

Virtual/Online

The nation's first Underground Railroad was established in Florida in the late 17th century, servings as a beacon of freedom for runaway slaves from the American south. Existing before the better-known Northern Underground Railroad, enslaved Africans gained their freedom by escaping and earning asylum in Spanish Florida. This presentation focuses on Florida's early history as a Spanish territory, the escape routes used by runaway slaves, and the black communities they

More Than Orange Blossoms: Feisty, Fabulous Women

Virtual/Online

Though not always in the history books, the women who helped build, form, shape, and develop the state have inspired hope and possibility. Stories of strong, courageous women like Julia Tuttle, known as the Mother of Miami, or Mary McCleod Bethune, daughter of enslaved parents who went on to become an advisor to several US presidents, and other brave women who influenced and impacted their communities, Florida, and the nation.

Pirates, Privateers, and the Fall of Spain’s Empire

Virtual/Online

Over 200 years ago, in the summer of 1817, a group of pirates and privateers invaded Amelia Island, Florida, a Spanish colony, in hopes of striking a blow for the Spanish American Revolutions. This presentation tells the stories of these revolutionary rogues and their leaders, how they planned to free Florida from Spanish rule, and how the United States intervened to stop them. This event is free to attend but

The Little Town that Unity Built

Virtual/Online

Punta Gorda has been described as a "unique sociology" because of its biracial settlement and development. In this presentation, Queen Andrews, an African-American pioneer describes the five factors that made Punta Gorda a model for interracial unity in the Jim Crow era of the early 1960s. Dr. Martha Bireda is the Director of the Blanchard House Museum of African American History and Culture of Charlotte County. For over 25 years,

Florida Talks Zoom In Series — Picturing Paradise: From John James Audubon to the Florida Highwaymen

Virtual/Online

The Florida landscape has provided aesthetic inspiration to artists for centuries. Titian Ramsay Peale and John James Audubon came in search of native flora and fauna, followed by Harriet Beecher Stowe, Martin Johnson Heade, George Inness, Winslow Homer, and Henry Ossawa Tanner, who were lured by its natural beauty and warm climate. This presentation offers a succinct and engaging history of Florida's landscape painters. Keri Watson is an associate professor

Florida Talks Zoom In Series—Florida and the Untold Story of the Cuban Missile Crisis

Virtual/Online

In this presentation based on the book Above and Beyond, New York Times bestselling author Michael Tougias chronicles the 13 harrowing days of the Cuban Missile Crisis and outlines the steps President Kennedy made to reach a decision on a course of action. Special emphasis is given to the heroes of the crisis: the U-2 pilots that flew from Orlando to Cuba to secure proof of nuclear missiles. Michael J.

Florida Talks Zoom-In Series: Fabulous Fictional Florida

Virtual/Online

Douglas. Rawlings. Hurston. Hemingway. These are not simply the names of iconic authors; they are the names of iconic Florida authors. This lively program invites the audience to listen to interpretive readings of passages from great Florida books, learn the life stories of their creators, and come to love Florida literature through a lively analysis of what makes these stories come to life. Caren S. Neile, Ph.D., M.F.A., has taught

Florida Talks Zoom-In Series: Florida Women, Advice, and Social Change

Virtual/Online

Newspaper advice columns started as lovelorn columns during Yellow Journalism as a way of showing that newspapers had a heart. These columns typically ran in the women's section of metropolitan newspapers, many in Florida, and included a mixture of content, from traditional to progressive. Learn how these columns affected Floridian women's lives and relationships in the 1950s and 1960s in this presentation. Kimberly Voss, PhD, is a professor of journalism

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