Madeline Matson and Taneum Fotheringill traveled to Granite Falls, Minn., to host Rural Assembly Everywhere live from The YES! House, in partnership with the Department of Public Transformation (DoPT). The conversation below is a reflection on their experience hosting live, participating in an open mic night, and celebrating the hundreds of people who joined together to uplift our rural communities across the country during Rural Assembly Everywhere 2026.
TF (Taneum Fotheringill) So, Madeline, this was our biggest Everywhere that either you or I have been part of – we had hundreds of people join us online for the virtual broadcast and hundreds more who gathered locally in their own rural places to stream the program and talk about local issues. What is your view of why moments like Everywhere matter?
MM (Madeline Matson) As a rural person, I know how easy it is to feel completely alone in community-building work. We love our places so deeply but the wins are often few and far between. Moments like Everywhere matter because it’s a rare moment where we can hear, see and feel other rural people across the country pulling on the same strings.
TF I agree. And I think that having a moment where all of us – spread out across so much land – can collectively gather and declare how much our rural communities and voices matter makes a statement. Everywhere is designed to push out a wave of energy, inspiration, and share ideas. That’s definitely how I felt when we got to (finally!) be at an in-person gathering in Granite Falls, Minn.
MM Right, last year we hosted from my parent’s backyard (shout out to Mom and Dad) and when it was over we just logged off – like many of the people who join us online do! For us, after months of organizing the whole thing it was sort of anticlimactic. This year it was much more fun to log off and then move into a fantastic local event!
TF Our partners at Department of Public Transformation hosted last year, too, and I loved joining them for their second year of Everywhere because we met people who had attended two years in a row in person. Because Everywhere started as a completely virtual program during the pandemic, it feels pretty cool to bring it into the real world while also maintaining our online connections. I like the balance of low-barrier participation online but having a presence in communities that people can gather around. It feels meaningful to reach people in place because each local event can cater to the specific needs of that unique area.
MM At The YES! House we got to listen to two amazing panels as part of the day’s programming. The first, The Geography of Care, was about neighboring in hard times and some of the local response to the surge of federal immigration and customs enforcement officers posing a real threat to community members.
TF That was one of the best panels I have ever heard. I really appreciated the level of care each panelist conveyed in discussing their work. Panels like that one remind me that each person brings with them their own talents, skills, and values which then flare out to create a supportive network for neighbors.
MM I loved walking across the street afterwards to the Bluenose Gopher Public House Cooperative, for the second panel, The Courage to Be Heard: Why Open Mics Matter in Rural Places. I had never been to or experienced an open mic so this was really new territory for me. But I was so struck by how having a space to express ourselves can be so critical to our overall well being and building community. I wrote down so many quotes during that panel but one of my favorites was from Brice Dempcy, “We’re all up here, bearing our souls. How do you not make connections when you do that?” After the panel, we got to enjoy an evening of open mic and well… you and I came prepared.
TF Getting up on stage for an open mic – even in the friendliest room ever – was completely nerve wracking. But I did love getting to play a tambourine and kazoo for our own rendition of Johnny Cash’s I’ve Been Everywhere (Man)! That was so fun and such a fitting way to shout out all the places who were partners this year in place of the original lyrics.
MM So much of this work to me is just about showing up for rural people and rural places in a vast variety of ways when we are called to. And we really showed up for that open mic. Everywhere and the expansion of our site partners, has really felt like we are figuring out how to weave the stories and work of rural people and places into a national network and onto a national stage that helps other people understand why the work and livelihoods matter. I’m so excited to see what comes next.
TT Me too! Right now, we’re sifting through all of the feedback received from our site partners and figuring out how to work it into our future plans. Hearing about all the activities folks built into their gathering has been outstanding. In Cosby, TN, the group we partnered with there – Clean Water Expected In East Tennessee (CWEET) – welcomed people into the space they have been renovating following flooding from Hurricane Helene. They have a huge focus on flood recovery and future resilience and they used day as an opportunity to invite community members in to learn about what’s going on throughout recovery. They have their eye toward future pop up markets in the space and Everywhere was a kick off and relationship building moment to kick that off as the longer-term projects continue.
MM That’s such a good example of why I think Everywhere is so special. Each community gets to tailor it to what makes sense for their own place and the amount of creativity that’s gone into these events is inspiring. I can’t wait to see where Everywhere takes us next year! We need to be sure to pack our kazoos!
Watch a replay of the Rural Assembly Everywhere 2026 national broadcast on the Rural Assembly Youtube Channel.
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Rural Assembly is a program of the Center for Rural Strategies dedicated to championing a movement that celebrates and empowers rural people and places. Our goal is to reshape perceptions, foster healing, and forge unity in a divided nation by amplifying rural voices through advocacy, partnerships and gatherings. Learn more about our mission to connect diverse voices, challenge harmful narratives, and recognize the untold stories, opportunities, and interconnected futures that bind rural and urban communities together.
