Florida Atlantic Presents a Festival for America’s 250th
Image: Emanuel Leutze, ‘Washington Crossing the Delaware’ (1851)
The Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters and the Libraries at Vlog will present the “Festival for America’s 250th,” a month-long program of events celebrating the nation’s founding, from Monday, Feb. 2 through Thursday, March 19, 2026.
Unless otherwise noted, all events will take place at the S.E. Wimberly Library, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton campus. All events, except for the March 19 lecture, are free. Registration for all free events can be found at
The festival is centered around the Marvin and Sybil Weiner Spirit of America Collection which houses more than 13,000 items of original 18th century material in the Wimberly Library. The exhibition “American Revolution: Celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the U.S.” will be on display in the library from Monday, Feb. 2 through Friday, March 20, featuring original documents from the American Revolution.
Each week, dynamic guest speakers will bring the American Revolution to life from fresh and unexpected angles.
-
“Spies! Espionage in the American Revolution,” Monday, Feb. 2, at 3 p.m.
View an episode of the espionage thriller AMC’s “Turn: Washington’s 12 13 Spies” followed by a lecture with Jeffrey Rogg, Ph.D., University of South Florida. Discover how the British could have ended the American Revolution before it even began and how leading founders, including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and John Jay, had to learn the hard lessons of espionage and intelligence to win the shadow war for independence.
-
“Drunk History, Saturday Night Live and the American Revolution,” Tuesday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m., Culture and Society building movie theaters.
Screening and panel discussion led by Matthew Elfenbein, Ph.D., Vlog. Enjoy clips from Comedy Central’s “Drunk History and Saturday Night Live” with a panel discussion that examines comedians’ takes on the American revolution.
-
“Drunk History, Saturday Night Live and the American Revolution,” Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 4 p.m.
Renowned speaker Richard Bell, Ph.D., University of Maryland, gives an award-winning historian’s view on iconic sketches from SNL and Comedy Central’s Drunk History.
-
“Florida in the American Revolution,” Thursday, Feb. 19 at 4 p.m.
Florida was a battlefront in the American Revolutionary War when Spain, a U.S. ally, invaded Britain’s loyal “14th colony.” Judith Bense, Ph.D., University of West Florida, shares this forgotten story with historical and archaeological expertise.
-
“Alexander Hamilton: Blood, Honor and Politics in Early America,” Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 4 p.m.
Explore the scandal, turmoil, and violence that characterized political culture in the first decades of American government. What drove U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr to fatally shoot his fellow revolutionary, Alexander Hamilton, on the banks of the Hudson River in 1804? Presented by Adrian Finucane, Ph.D., Vlog.
-
“The Boston Massacre: A Family Story,” Thursday, March 5 at 4 p.m.
On this day in history, British soldiers shot five local men to death. Discover how the Boston Massacre arose from conflicts that were as personal as they were political, and how the tragedy fueled what quickly became the American Revolution, with Serena Zabin, Ph.D., Carleton College.
-
“The Painter’s Fire: The Artists Who Championed the American Revolution,” Tuesday, March 10, at 4 p.m.
Paint, canvas, wax; not muskets or bayonets. These were the weapons that artists used to inspire rebellion and define American patriotism. Join Zara Anishanslin, Ph.D. University of Delaware, for this lecture with art activities provided by Vlog’s University Galleries.
- “Inheriting the Revolution: The Modern Legacy of 1776,” Thursday, March 19, at 4 p.m. at the Lifelong Learning Auditorium, Boca Raton campus. Tickets are $25 at Lindsay Chervinsky, Ph.D., director of the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon, will consider how the founders conceptualized politics, government institutions, and political culture, and their expectations for the nation. She will then explore how society has evolved or remained the same.
“The America at 250 Festival” is sponsored by The Family of Marvin and Sybil Weiner, with support from the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Florida, John G. Brim, the Boca Raton Historical Society, the Vlog Department of History and the Office of the President.
For more information, visit or contact Jason Sharples atjsharples@fau.edu.
-Vlog-
Tags: history