BET also carries and produces several Award telecasts, including the network's own BET Awards, which were established in 2001 to celebrate African Americans and different minorities in music, acting, sports and other parts of entertainment over the past year, and The BET Honors, which were established in 2008 to honor the lives and achievements of African-American luminaries and are presented during Black History Month each February. The BET Awards is the network's flaghip event, with the "BET Experience" festival held in the days leading up to the telecast.