Welcome back to the Smithsonian's Stories from Main Street! It's the holidays, and for many of us, that means food. Our foodways connect us in intimate ways to our families, to history, and tradition. In this episode, we're going to hear from people around the country who see food as a way to remember the people they've lost, and to continue valuable traditions from their ancestors. You might even gest some ideas for some new recipes!

Sit back and cozy up for some wholesome goodness. Take a trip down memory lane that will have you ready to gather round with some good food with your friends and family this holiday season.

Your host and producer for Smithsonian's Stories from Main Street is Katie Marquette. To explore more stories from rural America, visit us at https://www.museumonmainstreet.org/stories. Want to join the fun and tell us about your experiences in small towns? Visitor our friends at The Peale Museum and use the Be Here Stories web app at https://beherestories.thepeale.org.

Welcome back to Smithsonian's Stories from Main Street! We're relaunching this series during an introspective time of year, with Halloween just around the corner. Come join us around the campfire for some spooky, eerie, enchanting stories from rural America. Our storyteller today is Joe Perry, a member of the Choctaw Nation in Poteau, Oklahoma. Joe was born in 1956 and remembers a childhood running in the woods and fields of his rural home. Joe takes us into a world of adventure and mystery where we encounter a number of unexplained incidents that will leave you wondering what really happened. Storytellers pull from their own experiences and traditions, and local folklore and legends to weave drama and thrilling moments into their stories. Joe Perry is a master of the art of the story. You'll be on the edge of your seat!

Your host and producer for Smithsonian's Stories from Main Street is Katie Marquette. The podcast is a production of the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program, in association with The Peale Museum. To explore stories from rural America, visit us at https://www.museumonmainstreet.org/stories. Want to join the fun and tell us about your experiences in small towns? Visit our friends at the Peale and use the Be Here Stories web app at https://beherestories.thepeale.org/.

Download a transcript of this episode at: https://museumonmainstreet.org/sites/default/files/shapeshiftersepisodetranscript_stories_from_main_street.pdf

Young people throughout the country bring new perspectives and attitudes to our history and our culture. But often, they don't feel welcome to the conversations that adults have about community and culture. Since 2012, the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street has been working with small towns that want to highlight youth perspectives. Young people explore topics related to history, culture, and change in their communities and then create multimedia projects that tell their hometown's story. The result is that youth get an important opporunity to show that they are interested in the direction of their communities and have constructive perspectives on how rural Americans can work together for a better future. Listen in as we talk with leaders of local youth projects and hear from students themselves as they talk about life in a rural community.

Here's a sneak peek at our next special episode! Give a listen to the voices and the work of the next generation of rural Americans learning about their communities. Young people living in rural America are just like other American youth: interested in change, thinking about their futures, and ... sometimes feeling like adults aren't interested in what youth have to say. Our episode celebrating youth voices in rural America will be released on March 27.

You've got to have friends! Personal and professional connections are critical to the development of healthy communities, whether they are rural or urban. In this final episode of our Spark! series, we're examing how two communities innovated around culture and heritage to overcome stagnation and division. In Helper, Utah, the city came together to design their own revitalized main street and plan a future after the coal industry left. In Franklin, North Carolina, the town had to face the past to reconcile with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians so the two communities could work together to preserve the past and build a mutually beneficial future.

In this episode, we're taking a closer look at two very different rural communities that embody technological innovation. In Taos, New Mexico, solar energy is used to power high-speed internet and a jobs training hub for locals that want to stay local. In Chenango County, New York, there's a long history of innovative companies, from aerospace parts manufacturers to Chobani, the famous yogurt brand.

Rural America is full of places of innovation--towns where people work together to conceive new ideas and spark engagement by the community to implement them. Journey with us in this first episode in our look at rural innovation to explore two stories of social innovation, visiting towns that took risks and dreamed big to revitalize their downtowns, and show the community what was possible when they worked together. First up, learn how Hillsboro, Illinois, brought energy and commerce back to Main Street. Then, hear about the creative ways Bethel, Vermont, reinvigorated a sense of community and place.

For many years, the conventional wisdom in the United States has been that rural America is hurting: facing impacts from outmigration, aging populations, and declining economies. The reality is remarkably different. America's small towns are not all the same. Yes, some are struggling, but many more are working together and utilizing the innovation and skills of their people to thrive. Stay tuned for a three-part series on rural innovation inspired by the Smithsonian's traveling exhibition Spark! Places of Innovation. Hear from people all over the country who have helped breathe new life into their communities.