ZORA! Festival 2013 has Something for Everyone

Today, members of the media, sponsors and other guests got a peek into the many offerings at the formal opening of the ZORA! Festival 2013, which gets underway tomorrow, Saturday, January 26th.

Now into its twenty-fourth year, Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities, which includes live concerts, educational seminars, heritage tours, the HATitude Brunch and an Outdoor Festival of the Arts, will incorporate several new additions this year and according to N.Y. Nathiri, Director of Multidisciplinary Programs, is “content heavy.”

Among the special features are: an African Diaspora Pavilion where visitors will have an opportunity to interact with “tradition-bearers” and master crafters demonstrating their skills as quilters, musicians and woodcrafters; “Fabulous Foods” Demonstrations by celebrity chef and TV host Marvin Woods; Fine Art Lane, with contemporary master and guest artist Charles Bibbs; Question Bridge: Black Males and Eatonville Roots: A ‘Soil Bank’ with 300+ Years of Deposits,” which will include tours of gardens throughout historic Eatonville.

“To say that this year’s festival is content heavy is an under statement,” N.Y. Nathiri said.

Resident Curator, Professor Lonnie Graham, thinks that ZORA! Festival is really evolving, as it continues its outward looking mission.  He refers to not only the ongoing participation of Russian students in the program, but also to the kinds of art work which will be on display and artists participating in this year’s festival.

“In the past, traditionally in the Western culture, artists were introspective, examining self-issues….” he said. “Now-a-days, people are really beginning to understand that the traditional role of the arts has a lot more to do with how the artists fit into the culture, how the artists include other people in the process, how that is a much more vital process, rather than sitting alone in a studio making a picture where maybe one or two people can understand.”

Graham believes this shifting tendency to look outward and engage in a larger dialogue will bode well in helping to address society’s ills and ZORA! Festival is playing a unique role in that regard.

“…By establishing not only the personal dialogue, but also these methods which are inclusive of a larger dialogue, then we begin to be able to address the issues that impact the society and the culture at large and it has a deeper meaning for many, many more people,” he said.  “And this is the role the festival has played and one which the festival is taking very seriously in the kinds of events that are planned and the artists that it has on the program.”

Marie-Jose Francois, president of The Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community (P.E.C.), a non-profit organization and key sponsor of ZORA! Festival said, there is much to engage everyone’s interest, but the high quality of the festival could only be maintained if corporate and individual support is forthcoming.  “Times have changed… we need support and whatever support you can give to continue the legacy of ZORA!, we urge you to do so.”

Today’s press conference was attended by some of ZORA’s major sponsors as well as several state, county and city officials.  They included, Eatonville Mayor Bruce Mount; P.E.C. board member Reginald McGill, representing the city of Orlando; Chester Glover, representing Congresswoman Corrine Brown; Dean Jose Fernandez, UCF-College of Arts and Humanities; Johnny Rivers, P.E.C. past president and board member; Brian Martin of Visit Orlando and Tonya Easterling of Florida Blue.

The 24th Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities, which celebrates the life and work of 20th century writer, folklorist and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston, runs from Jan. 26 to Feb. 3, in Eatonville.

For additional information on ZORA! Festival 2013 events, visit zorafestival.org or call 407-647-3307.