Schedule of Activities
Note: This schedule is being regularly updated.
Thursday, June 27: Pre-Convention Activities & Opening Session
12:00 pm
Pre-Convention Activities
Register & pick up your materials (opens at noon)
See the Carthage College campus (guided tour)
Visit the Kenosha Civil War Museum (guided tour)
Visit the Convention Exhibition Hall (Field Leader and Braver Network)
Visit Braver Angels Photography Exhibit at the Carthage College Gallery of Art
Attend the College Debates & Discourse Alliance Symposium
Attend a welcome gathering led by Braver Angels Ambassadors
Dinner in Carthage Dining Hall (5:45 pm)
7:00 pm
Convention Opening Session: “Are You Ready?”
Call to Order. Opening prayer. Election and seating of Convention officers. Welcomes. Review of Convention rules, agenda, and goals.
Meet your fellow delegates.
Remarks by Braver Angels president David Blankenhorn on “Are You Ready?”
Singing of “America the Beautiful.” Closing announcements.
8:30 pm
Optional Evening Activities
- “Braver Angels Got Talent” – A Braver Angels talent show (you’re invited!)
- Screening of Braver Angels documentary & discussion
- Special group gatherings
Friday, June 28: “Where Are We?”
7:30 am
Breakfast
8:30 am
Plenary 1 (75 minutes)
Opening keynote on “American Hope.”
Presentations on “Two Approaches to Conflict.”
Presentations on the “American Hope” campaign and action steps for delegates after the Convention.
Why are we playing “Jenga” at the Convention?
Meet Sons of Serendip, our Convention’s house band.
9:45 am
Break
10:30 am
Break-Outs (90 minutes)
You’ll have many terrific break-outs to choose from!
- Some will focus on training and skills-building. (For example, “How to write a great op-ed.”)
- Others are deep dives into relevant questions. (For example, “Why are Americans so angry?”)
- Or you can debate those who disagree with you on a pressing issue. (For example, "Resolved: Immigration is the key to American prosperity." Do you agree or disagree?)
- Or you may want to join a Braver Angels song-writing workshop.
- Or learn how to get involved in our grassroot “American Hope” campaign coming out of the Convention.
Your choices! Over the course of the Convention, you’ll be able to attend four different breakout sessions.
12:15 pm
Lunch
1:30 pm
Plenary 2 (75 minutes)
Imagine there is a place called the Bipartisan Café. Who do you meet when you go there for coffee? What stories will you hear about what Americans are doing to help save their country? Now imagine that you can visit this café, during this plenary.
Well, you can. The people you meet will give you hope. And by the way, there really is such a place. The co-owners – a husband-wife team, one red and the other blue – are Braver Angels members who’ll help to lead this plenary.
Also at this plenary, you’ll hear from some key Braver Angels leaders about their work in the field and how you can get involved. And you’ll meet and hear the Sons of Serendip – our house band during the Convention.
3:00 pm
Breakouts (90 minutes)
The second round of breakouts works the same way as the first – see above (Friday, 10:30 am) for what your choices are and how the breakouts work.
4:45 pm
Special Opportunities
- You can visit the Exhibition Hall – learn more about what our many Field Leaders and Braver Network Organizations are doing.
- You can visit the Carthage Gallery of Art – view the “Braver Lens” photography exhibition.
- You can play “Jenga” with someone you don’t agree with about politics – and in the process help create outreach content for Braver Angels
- You can choose from any of a number of special gatherings dedicated to specific groups focusing on special aspects of our work (e.g. Braver Angels Red Caucus, leadership from partner organizations, Braver Angels Ambassadors, others).
6:15 pm
Dinner
7:30 pm
Marquee Events
- Populism and the Future of American Conservatism
- Progressivism and the Future of American Liberalism
- Vote Third Party!
- “Mind the Gap” – a play written and performed by Braver Angels leaders
9:00 pm
Optional Evening Activities
- Join a jam session with Sons of Serendip & the BA Music Team
- Attend a meeting of the Youngster Angels Society *
* For Millennial and Gen Z delegates – a raucous, grandiloquent, half-serious debate about something or other, showcasing the tradition from which BA Debates emerged.
Saturday, June 29: “Where Are We Going?”
7:30 am
Breakfast
8:30 am
Plenary 3 (75 minutes)
Monica Guzman, host of the podcast “A Braver Way.” will guide a discussion and Q & A with the leaders heading up three key initiatives:
- Taking our message to the RNC and DNC National Conventions and elected officials nationwide.
- Deciding on a Braver Angels’ priority issue coming out of the Convention.
- What we can do on Election Day – no matter who wins.
This plenary points toward making our Convention a national call to action.
9:45 am
Break
10:30 am
Break-Outs (90 minutes)
This third round of breakouts works the same way as the first and second – see above (Friday, 10:30 am) for what your choices are and how the breakouts work.
12:15 pm
Lunch
1:30 pm
Break-Outs (90 minutes)
This fourth and final round of breakouts works the same way as the first three – see above (Friday, 10:30 am) for what your choices are and how the breakouts work.
3:00 pm
Special Opportunities
- You can visit the Exhibition Hall – learn more about what many groups and leaders are doing.
- You can visit the Carthage Gallery of Art – view the “Braver Lens” photography exhibition.
- You can play “Jenga” with someone you don’t agree with about politics – and in the process help create outreach content for Braver Angels
- You can choose from any of a number of special gatherings dedicated to specific groups focusing on special aspects of our work (e.g. Braver Angels Red Caucus, leadership from partner organizations, Braver Angels Ambassadors, others).
4:00 pm
Closing Plenary (90 minutes)
Debate and vote on a priority issue for Braver Angels coming out of the Convention. The first vote will reduce the number of possible issues from 4 to 2 and the run-off voting will determine our priority issue.
Review of “American Hope” campaign and how delegates can be involved after the Convention.
Closing keynote on “Creating Hope Now.”
Closing song. Adjourn
6:00 pm
Dinner
7:30 pm
Braver Angels Concert
Featuring the Sons of Serendip and Braver Angels performers
Sunday, June 30: Post-Convention Activities
8:00 am
Breakfast
9:30 am
Interdenominational Chapel Service
11:00 am
Special Events
“Ask ‘Em Anything!” – Speak with BA Founders David Blankenhorn, Bill Doherty, and David Lapp about Whatever’s On Your Mind.
“Have I Got Talent?” – Learn How to Join Other BA Culture-Creators (Music, Photography, Theater, Story-Telling, more)
“What Did You Think of the Convention?” – Tell our Convention Evaluation Team the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly!
12:00 pm
leader lunch
Choose your table! At each table, there will be conversation and Q & A moderated by a BA leader.