culture

In the tiny community of Cuba, Kansas, the annual 'Rock-A-Thon' features a unique and longstanding tradition: a rocking chair marathon.

McFadden performed for decades with his brother Lonnie McFadden. The two danced, sang and played instruments. "I love entertaining," Ronald McFadden told KCUR's Up to Date last year.

When the daughter of an American missionary returned from Japan in 1923, she brought along some of her most cherished possessions. Now, her collection has returned to the Japanese school where she grew up.

After a century, a collection of Japanese antiques has made its way from Kansas City back to a Christian girl’s school in Yokohama, Japan. Plus: Kansas native and opera star Joyce DiDonato is up for her fourth Grammy Award.

Shawnee Mission South High School is home to one of the country's oldest high school Arabic programs.

An iconic bakery in Kansas City, Kansas, is still selling same sweet bread that the owners' great, great grandmother brought from Croatia at the turn of the last century. Plus: The Easy Inn on Strawberry Hill looks like your average neighborhood dive bar, but to its regular patrons, it's a refuge.

Sinag-Tala, Tagalog for Starlight, began as a four-person dance troupe eager to showcase traditional Filipino dance. 50 years later, the group has welcomed hundreds of dancers and created a close-knit community.

Annually, Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 is National Hispanic Heritage Month in the United States. In addition to celebrating Hispanic history and culture, the month is a fun time to recognize Hispanic heritage through food.

Since opening in July 2021, the Palestinian restaurant and deli has quickly become a local favorite. This week, food magazine Bon Appétit ranked it among the very best in the country, thanks to its hummus and how it honors the Kamal family’s “Palestinian homeland and their life in the diaspora.”

Educators tout social-emotional learning as a way to make children into better students and more empathetic people. Critics see it as a way to push social justice issues.

Poet, musician, scholar and community organizer Lyla June focuses on a revitalization of the Diné nation and intercultural healing.

For some people born and raised in the middle of the country, it takes traveling to other parts of America to understand what Midwestern means. Others see the differences without ever leaving home.