August 26, 2021
To Our Community:
After thoughtful consideration and with the health and safety of our community top of mind, the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities has made the decision to pivot to a fully virtual Celebration of the Humanities. While the Council held high hopes for this year’s Celebration to be a hybrid model with a return to an in-person gathering, the recent rise in transmission rates of the highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 and modeling suggest a likely peak in mid to late September that makes moving forward with an in-person gathering of this size unwise.
Although this is disappointing, we are committed to hosting a meaningful, engaging, and thought-provoking virtual event on October 7, so please keep the date on your calendar!
The virtual Celebration will feature interviews with each of this year’s honorees: Onésimo T. Almeida, PhD, Mixed Magic Theatre, the Rhode Island COVID-19 Archive, and Becci Davis; a roundtable discussion with honorees moderated by Joe Wilson, Jr., 2019 recipient of the Public Humanities Scholar Award; an exciting online auction; and some fun surprises for our sponsors.
Please, if you haven’t already done so, purchase your sponsorship or tickets and continue to promote the event by encouraging participation among your circles.
We will share much more in the coming weeks. Thank you to the Event Committee and staff for switching gears so quickly to still bring us all together in support of the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities. That is a testament to our collective adaptability. We rely on and are so grateful for your continued support.
If you have any questions, please feel free to be in touch with Rachael Jeffers at rachael@rihumanities.org.
Thank you and we look forward to Celebrating with you through the virtual event on October 7.
Be well,
Elizabeth Francis, PhD
Executive Director, Rhode Island Council for the Humanities
