The Understory

Are you tired of the stories on offer? Do you long to see a Christianity that’s beautiful and believable?

Save the Date for THE UNDERSTORY, Comment’s inaugural festival to be held at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, from Thursday, May 28 to Saturday, May 30, 2026.

Underpinned by the hope we have articulated in the Comment Manifesto, a hope embodied in the lives of thousands and residing in the hearts of millions, this festival will activate the Christian humanist imagination that has been simmering ever more insistently beneath the surface of our divides. It is an imagination bent on building, healing, reckoning, and reconciling. It is an imagination capable of cohering a diverse community of common good actors and sparking a more just and generous world.

This festival will be an expression of these convictions. It will bring together an uncommon mosaic of civil society leaders, public intellectuals and cultural influencers, weavers and bridge-builders, young professionals and students – all of whom care about the common good, all of whom long for new frameworks and a way to reimagine our institutions. Through carefully crafted opportunities for encounter and engagement—including feasts, musical performances, debates, roundtables, exhibits and artistic workshops—each participant’s gifts and animating context will cross-pollinate, ultimately seeding a healthier understory in the public square and our civil society.

To learn more about the festival—including speakers and schedules as they are announced—please provide your information in the form below. For general questions, or if your organization is interested in partnering or sponsorship opportunities, please email team@comment.org.