Appalachian State University

This annual conference will be held at App State in 2026 and will focus on the theme “Resilience in the Watershed,” highlighting the intersections of resilience and climate adaptation with ecology, community and economy. Hosted by New River Conservancy with support from several App State faculty and QEP.

This year’s workshop anchors itself in the urgent reality that the nonprofit sector is undergoing a massive shift, requiring organizations to simultaneously embrace rapid technological innovation and deepen human connection. Under the theme "The Future-Proof Nonprofit: AI-Driven Storytelling and Strategic Governance," participants will explore how to navigate an era in which funding landscapes shift rapidly and digital tools are redefining engagement.

Community members of all ages are invited to a virtual cooking class that blends delicious food, “digestible” science, and plenty of fun. The final session of this semester’s Cooking with Purpose program will be super-sized into the first annual Earth‑Month Cook‑In: Planet on a Plate. This free, open-to-all event is hosted by Carla Ramsdell.

Appalachian State University's Center for Judaic, Holocaust and Peace Studies (CJHPS) will hold a public reading of the names of Jews murdered during the Holocaust. The program is free and open to the public, and seating will be available.

The Common Reading Program is delighted to welcome StoryCorps CEO Sandra Clark to App State, in conjunction with the adoption of the StoryCorps book “Callings: The Purpose and Passion of Work” as the common reading book for 2025-2026. In this talk, Sandra will speak about the history, mission, and impact of StoryCorps, as well as her hope for the future, even in the face of crippling losses in federal financial support across all of American public media and broadcasting. Sandra’s talk will be followed by a Q&A session with the audience.

Based in Colorado, the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) is the U.S. Department of Energy’s primary national laboratory for energy systems. NLR recently partnered with Appalachian State University to demonstrate a hydrogen-based long-duration energy storage (LDES) system capable of providing up to 72 hours of backup power and supporting peak shaving.

Many moons ago in a far-off place, Queen Aggravain decreed no couples could marry until her son, Prince Dauntless, found a bride. Princesses came from far and wide to win the hand of the prince, but none could pass the impossible tests given to them by the Queen. That is, until the “shy” swamp princess, Winnifred the Woebegone, showed up. Would she be able to pass the Sensitivity Test, marry her prince and help Lady Larken and Sir Harry to the altar? Music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer, book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer

Gretchen Ernster Henderson is a body of water, an intermedia artist, and the Spence L. Wilson Distinguished Professor in Humanities at Rhodes College near the Mississippi River in Memphis, TN. Gretchen is interested in acoustic ecologies and communal practices that sound gaps of cultural and institutional histories to facilitate participatory spaces for exchanging ways of knowing to collectively support our human and more-than-human world.

Join us at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts to celebrate upcoming Earth Day as downtown Boone comes alive with creativity, community, and celebration! Explore our captivating galleries featuring contemporary art exhibitions, meet local artists, and enjoy free admission.

This year the showcase will be a pop-up festival-style tabling event taking place in the Plemmons Student Union Solarium. Featuring presentations of student visual projects set up on tables, along with performances on the main stage of the solarium, the showcase will focus on climate themed creative projects made in the context of course-based learning experiences during the 2025-2026 academic year.

Rhiannon Giddens imbues her brand of folk music with miles-deep historical roots and contemporary sensibilities, pursuing an authentic understanding of the country’s musical origins through art. A two-time Grammy Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning singer and instrumentalist, MacArthur “Genius” grant recipient, and composer of opera, ballet, and film, Giddens has centered her work around the mission of lifting up people whose contributions to American musical history have previously been overlooked or erased.

This is a great chance to support INTAPP and help raise money for the Landon Hill Memorial Scholarship, which helps App State students study abroad. Both walkers and runners are welcome.