Every year, South Carolina Humanities sponsors a Humanities Festival in a community in South Carolina. Established in 1993 in honor of South Carolina Humanities’ 20th Anniversary, the SC Humanities Festival has been held in 25 different communities. Each festival celebrates the local history and culture of the host community, engaging the citizens in lectures, discussions, films, and exhibits and facilitating partnerships among cultural organizations and community groups.
SC Humanities is now accepting applications from interested community organizations or government entities to host the 2026 SC Humanities Festival. The deadline to apply is Friday, February 13, 2026.
SC Humanities seeks a host that can provide Festival components that:
- preserve and promote knowledge and understanding of the histories, stories and cultures of the selected community.
- promote public awareness of the importance and pervasiveness of the humanities in daily life;
- build alliances and networks across the community through collaboration with local organizations including education, business, and federal, state and local governments;
- make a particular effort to reach underserved areas of the selected community
- cause people to analyze critically their values, beliefs, and attitudes relating to both the past and the present;
One community will be selected for 2026 and will receive an award of $10,000. No match is required.
For more than three decades, the SC Humanities Festival has been a joyful, educational, and enriching event that fulfills SC Humanities’ vision of strengthening connections, unleashing creativity, and fostering prosperity across our state. Learn more about the history of the SC Humanities Festival here. We look forward to celebrating the history and cultural assets of another community in 2026.
The application must be submitted through SC Humanities’ online grants management system. Organizations will need to create an account to access the SC Humanities Festival application. Please review the registration instructions HERE. You can preview the application questions HERE. If you have an questions or difficulties, please contact T.J. Wallace at tjwallace@schumanities.org.
The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Established in 1973, this 501(c)3 organization is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos, and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 250,000 citizens annually. South Carolina Humanities receives funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities as well as corporate, foundation and individual donors. The National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.