A good idea can be a powerful thing. At the Pittsburgh Humanities Festival presented by Citizens — which comes to the Cultural District later this month — a whole host of ideas will come together to create a week of thought-provoking conversation. The Humanities Festival presented by Citizens is a co-production of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and The Humanities Center at Carnegie Mellon University.

At first glance, the Festival’s comprehensive lineup can be daunting — especially when it comes to the fourteen Core Conversation talks on March 26th and 27th. Many may find themselves gravitating towards one or two time slots in particular. But the Festival’s Core Conversation Pass gives attendees access to as many talks as they’d like, and for good reason.

See, the Humanities Festival is ultimately about new ideas. Visitors are encouraged to find new perspectives from new and unfamiliar voices. There are connecting themes woven all throughout the Core Conversation lineup, so if one talk sounds appealing there are others that will resonate.

Still not convinced? Maybe an example will help. Take Bill Campbell’s talk The Day The Klan Came to Town. Campbell will discuss his graphic novel of the same name, which recounts the story of when 30,000 Klansmen descended on Carnegie, PA in 1923. It’s going to be a fascinating talk, but where would you go from there?

Perhaps Campbell’s focus on Carnegie makes you interested in learning more about local history. Well, in that case there are numerous deep dives into how Pittsburgh Loves Pittsburgh. Ed Simon will explore his book An Alternative History of Pittsburgh. Local legends Rick Sebak and Brian Butko will celebrate everyone’s favorite local theme park in Kennywood: Behind The Screams. And audiences can learn even more about Pittsburgh’s celebrated son in Biographer Blake Gopnik on Andy Warhol.

Alternatively, Campbell is just one of many opportunities at this year’s Festival to hear from Black Voices. Learn about Pittsburgh’s First Lady of Drag, Kierra Darshell, in Becoming a Queen. Hear more about a new Heinz Endowments initiative in Cultural Treasures: The Importance of Funding Black-led Organizations in Pittsburgh. And learn from young voices that are forging their own narrative in We Got Power: Black, Young, and Educated.

For those interested in the Visual Arts, Campbell’s talk will provide insight into telling a story through the medium of graphic novels. In Spraycan Art: Vandalism, Murals, and the Gallery, Max "GEMS" Gonzales and Shane Pilster will discuss their journeys from graffiti writers to muralists. Biographer Blake Gopnik on Andy Warhol will pull back the curtain on the iconic artist’s life. And Cultural Treasures: The Importance of Funding Black-led Organizations in Pittsburgh will underscore why arts groups and cultural organizations representing communities of color are vital institutions.

Finally, for anyone who loves the act of creation, listen to Makers on Making. Campbell is not only a writer, but he also runs Rosarium Publishing, a publisher that supports fledgling authors. Writers will also enjoy Kathleen George’s How I Became A Novelist for some practical career-driven advice. If you love the culinary world, Josephine Caminos Oría’s Sombressa: A Memoir of Food & Love in Thirteen Courses will explore how food can lead to so much more than we know. And in Becoming a Queen, Kierra Darshell will tell us how she has spent three decades making both community and identity.

All that from one starting point — Bill Campbell’s The Day The Klan Came to Town. This flowchart-style planning process works with any single Core Conversation at this year’s Festival, whether you’re interested in climate change or comedy or changemakers. The Pittsburgh Humanities Festival presented by Citizens is your chance to learn something new from someone new. Now that sounds like a good idea.