The 25th Annual Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities takes place in Eatonville January 25 through February 2, 2014. The loyal fans of Zora Neale Hurston and her work, appropriately called Zoraphiles, are brimming with anticipation for this year’s Festival.
Zora Neale Hurston was a Founding Member of the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority at Howard University. Today, the Sorors honor her venerable legacy as an anthropologist, educator, and author by their active participation during the festival.
Zeta Phi Beta Soror LaShonda Royal says, “The Zora Festival is so much more than a street fair. It is a showcase of the beauty, complexity and excellence in African and African American art, history and music. It’s also about education. Zora Neale Hurston was a member of my great organization, and so we celebrate her legacy and her gift to the world by supporting this festival with our presence and with our work in the children’s education area. We continually support the festival so that we don’t forget how rich and important our culture is.”
Dr. Irina Morozova, professor of Comparative Literature Department, Institute of Philology and History, Russian State University for the Humanities, in Moscow, Russia, admirably affirms that Hurston’s work has resonated with her both privately and professionally.
“As an individual, I like her [literary] works because she is really a big writer, and like any great writer of any nation and cultural background, speaking locally she talks globally. I like her wonderful sense of humor, her inner independence, and her talent to make everyday troubles so moving. I prefer her short stories and consider her one of the best storytellers in Western Literature. For me – it’s an aesthetic pleasure to read her stories.”
Dr. Morozova considers Zora Neale Hurston to be an essential figure to introduce African-American Literature and Culture, Gender in Literature, and a formidable artist that paints a logical picture of the individual and national “self.”
“I have attended the festival 5 times since 2009. This [year’s] festival will be [my sixth time coming to Eatonville]. My visits could not [have] happened if not [for the] permanent support of the University of Central Florida College of Arts and Humanities and the Dean Jose B. Fernandez.”
The ZORA! Festival celebrates the life and work of 20th century writer, folklorist and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston; her hometown, Eatonville, the nation’s oldest incorporated African American municipality; and the cultural contributions people of African ancestry have made to the United States and the world. The mission of the Association to Preserve Eatonville Community (P.E.C.) is to enhance the resources of Eatonville, to educate the public about the town’s historic and cultural significance, and to use the community’s heritage and cultural vibrancy for its economic development.
The Presenting Sponsor for ZORA! Festival 2014 is Orange County Government through the Arts & Cultural Affairs Program. Major funding is also provided by these Community Partners: Florida Blue; Harper Collins Publishers, InGlur Inc, TeKontrol Inc., UCF Office of the President, UCF College of Arts & Humanities, the Zora Neale Hurston Institute for Documentary Studies, Visit Orlando and the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc.
by Yolanda Baruch
