The Golden Thread
Hosted in partnership with Kentucky Performing Arts, The Golden Thread is an annual forum gathering visionary leaders from various sectors to foster unity across cultures and communities in the Commonwealth.
Crystal Fox & Valerie Horn onstage at The Golden Thread 2024.
Save the date!
Sunday, November 2, 2025
3-6pm ET
Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, Louisville, KY
About The Golden Thread
Since 2023, The Golden Thread has celebrated KY’s visionary thought leaders and artists. We’ve brought Charles Booker, SG Goodman, Secretary of State Michael G. Adams, and many others into conversation with each other and RUX’s mission.
In the past few years, we’ve gained a broader audience due to a recent feature in The New York Times and a tweet from President Barack Obama, and we are excited to share this conversation on one of Kentucky's biggest stages.
Special Performances
Special guests discuss Kentucky’s civic health and the importance of working together, while being joined onstage for performances statewide by musicians, dancers, and poets. We have previously been joined by S.G. Goodman, Affrilachian Poets Asha French & Jeremy Paden, members of Appalatin, KY Youth Poet Laureate Amy Roblero Perez, Carla Gover, Randy Wilson, Pones Inc., and Producing A Kind Generation.
The Long Conversation
The heart of the celebration is the "Long Conversation," a relay of short, unmoderated conversations stitched together by themes of commonality and a shared future. We’ve previously been joined by Secretary of State Michael G. Adams, John Bowman (Dream.org), Victor Calderon (Kentucky Refugee Ministries), Val Horn (Cowan Community Action Group), Lamont “Jack” Pearley (African American Folklorist Magazine), Dan Wu (Lexington Vice Mayor & Council At-Large), Hannah Edelen (Miss Kentucky & KY Youth Advocates), and Dr. Brittney Hernandez-Stevenson (Muhlenberg County NAACP) - in addition to countless RUX cohort members, alumni, and partners.
Meet the RUX network!
These speakers are joined by our network of more than 300 Kentuckians from 65 counties. Together, we tell the story of our progress in building relationships and collaborations across Kentucky's geographic, racial, and economic divides. Alongside these experiences, we host an unprecedented, agenda-setting conversation with some of Kentucky’s luminaries on the potential to advance our mission in the coming decade.
The Golden Thread is presented by the Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange and Kentucky Performing Arts, with support from many other organizations & individuals.
Relive the experience!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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The dress code is fun but not formal for this celebratory, connective evening.
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Park in the Kentucky Center garage. This will be the first garage on your left when you turn off of Main Street onto 5th. Learn more on the KPA website.
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After ordering tickets on the ticketing website, there will be a supplemental form to fill out and provide this information.
Wheelchair accessible seating is also available when booking your tickets.
Show your support and sponsor The Golden Thread!
For more information on sponsorship, please contact us at kentuckyrux@gmail.com.
Thank you, sponsors!
Presenting Sponsors
2024 Contributing Sponsors
2024 Supporting Sponsors
2024 Promoting Sponsors
2024 In-Kind Sponsors
About KY RUX
The Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange (RUX) was founded in 2014.
Since its founding, RUX has connected 300 Kentuckians from 65 counties in 17 host communities. RUX members are passionate about bridging divides across difference and distance and come together to learn about other communities and are ready to listen deeply, develop meaningful relationships, and lend their own expertise.
The RUX cohort in Owensboro, July 2023