2026 Cleveland Humanities Festival: FREEDOM Events

Blue sky with clouds and opening door with the word Freedom across the middle
  • Liberating Knowledge: A Young Scholar's Symposium

    April 17, 2026

    11am-1:30pm     Mastery School of Hawken, Shiverick Hall, 10916 Magnolia Drive Cleveland, OH 44106

    Students in the Spring 2026 Art, Society, + Culture class at the Mastery School of Hawken will present panels of exciting research across the humanities.

    There is metered parking on Magnolia Drive and paid parking in the Cleveland History Center lot, which can be accessed from Magnolia Drive.  Upon arrival, please report to Shiverick Hall at 10916 Magnolia Drive.  Questions about the event? Email ailey.picasso@hawken.edu.

  • Artist Talk w/ Sky Hopinka

    April 23, 2026

    6 pm Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 

  • Hope Renewed: How eTMS Ohio transforms Mental Wellness

    April 28, 2026

    7 pm Cuyahoga County Public Library, Middleburg Heights Branch, 16699 Bagley Road, Middleburg Heights, OH 44130

    Discover how a free, state-funded wellness program is transforming mental health care for first responders, Veterans, and their families.

  • Be the Fire: Rewriting Stress With Science and Soul with author Libbey Pelaia-Krumhansl

    April 30, 2026

    7:00 pm Cuyahoga County Public Library, Independence Branch, 6361 Selig Drive, Independence, OH 44131

    Break free from stress with a dynamic approach that blends science and creativity.

  • Rose Wohlgemuth Weisman Women's Voices Lecture - Truly Seeing: Art, Freedom and Reckoning with the Past

    Black and white image of smiling African American woman  in front of a book shelf

    May 1, 2026

    6 pm Linsalata Alumni Center, 11310 Juniper Road, Cleveland, OH 44106

  • Free Comic Book Day

    May 2, 2026

    10:30 am Cuyahoga County Public Library, Brooklyn Branch, 7619 Memphis Avenue, Brooklyn, OH 44144

    Join us help celebrate the annual day celebrating comic books! Free Comic books will be available starting at 10:30 AM while supplies last.

  • Adult Rocky River Readers Book Group: Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

    May 7, 2026

    11:30 am Rocky River Public Library, Community Room,1600 Hampton Road, Rocky River, OH 44116    

    Joan Goodwin is among the few women accepted into NASA’s space shuttle program in the 1980s. As she and her fellow trainees prepare for their first flights, Joan embarks on a journey of self-discovery. Read this unforgettable bestseller and come share in the discussion.

    This event is sponsored by Rocky River Public Library and is free and open to the public.  

  • Understanding the School to Prison Pipeline  

    May 14, 2026

    7 pm     CCPL Bedford Branch, 70 Columbus Road, Bedford, Ohio 44146    

    Learn the root causes behind this economic phenomenon that disproportionally affects marginalized communities.

  • Suffragettes - USA!

    May 16, 2026

    11 am Cuyahoga County Public Library, Gates Mills Branch, 1491 Chagrin River Road, Gates Mills, OH 44040

    Celebrate Women's History Month and explore the friendship of two iconic women’s rights leaders.

    Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were close friends for 50 years.  They collaborated fighting for women’s rights and advocated for the rights of others. Join us to hear about their challenges, setbacks and legacies. Discover how their pioneering significantly contributed to the passing of the 19th amendment giving women the right to vote. 

  • Be the Fire: Rewriting Stress With Science and Soul with author Libbey Pelaia-Krumhansl

    May 19, 2026

    7:00 pm Cuyahoga County Public Library, Berea Branch, 7 Berea Commons, Berea, OH 44017

    Break free from stress with a dynamic approach that blends science and creativity.