FORT PIERCE – The fifth anniversary of Zora Fest this year, “Zora Fest! Dust Tracks in Florida,” features some new ventures in recognizing the literary achievements of the late author and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston.

The festival kicks off on Tuesday with a “Rent” party and re-dedication of the Hurston grave site at the Garden of Heavenly Rest Cemetery at 17th Street and Avenue S in Fort Pierce. The event is at 3 p.m. and is free and open to the public. In the tradition of the Harlem Renaissance, guests are asked to bring food to this party.

On Thursday, Women with Words will provide its annual book review at 5 p.m. at the Sunrise Theatre. The topic of the book review is “I Love Myself When I Am Laughing, Zora Neale Hurston Reader” edited by noted The Color Purple author Alice Walker. There is no fee for this event.

Zora Neale Hurston's grave site in Fort Pierce

Following the book review, guests will attend Zora Neale Hurston, starring Elizabeth VanDyke, an actress portraying the Harlem Renaissance author. The event is at 7 p.m. at the Sunrise Theatre. Tickets are $25-$29 and are available through the Sunrise Theatre Box Office at (772) 461-4775 or at www.sunrisetheatre.com.

Zora scholars start to gather on Friday for panel discussions on the Main Campus of Indian River State College in Fort Pierce. The day begins at 10 a.m. with free bus tours of the Zora Neale Hurston Dust Tracks Heritage Trail throughout Fort Pierce. A $10 box lunch is available at Lincoln Park Main Street. Literary panels begin at 2 p.m. with noted authors Stetson Kennedy, Pamela Bordelon and Dr. Deborah Plant reviewing their research on different aspects of Hurston’s life.

That evening at 7 p.m., a Florida Humanities Council grant provides Marjorie and Zora: A Literary Friendship, with Chautauqua scholars Phyllis McEwen and Betty Jean Steinshouer portraying Zora and Cross Creek author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. The program is in the Wynne Black Box Theatre on the Main Campus of Indian River State College in Fort Pierce. It is free, but reservations are requested by calling (772) 341-3845. The IRSC Foundation and WQCS / 88.9 FM will host the event.

The main festival is Saturday, April 4 between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. at Lincoln Park Academy in Fort Pierce, where Hurston taught English as a part-time teacher at what was then an all-black school. Music, vendors, youth activities, guided tours on the Dust Tracks Heritage Trail and scholarly presentations are all part of the festival day.

The Friends of the St. Lucie Library will distribute free books to children during the festival. On hand for the individual and panel discussions will be: Hurston’s niece Lucy Anne Hurston, the author of Speak, So You Can Speak Again, noted Hurston biographer Valerie Boyd, author of “Wrapped in Rainbows,” Dr. Deborah Plant, author of Every Tub Must Sit On Its Own Bottom, Lynn Moylan, author of her new book, Zora’s Last Decade – Uncovering Zora’s Final Years, author Pamela Bordelon discussing “Zora Neale Hurston’s Writing during the WPA Project in Florida,” and two new guests, College of William and Mary professor Joanne Braxton and Florida Atlantic University professor Johnnie Stover, both specializing in African-American women’s history.

Toward the end of the festival day, R&B singer Evelyn “Champagne” King, known for her career-launching performances of Shame and “I Don’t Know If It’s Right will perform on stage at Lincoln Park Academy. She was discovered in the ‘70s and had her first release in August 1977.

The day’s festivities conclude at the Sunrise Theatre with a red carpet premiere of that’s livin’! – The Zora Neale Hurston Story presented by the St. Lucie Film Society and the newly formed Zora Neale Hurston Florida Foundation. The documentary begins at 6 p.m. and is followed by a party at 8 p.m. at the Fort Pierce Community Center. Tickets for the documentary and after-party are available at the Sunrise Theatre Box Office.

The film tickets are $20 per person for adults and $10 per person for youth. Orchestra seats are $35 per person. Orchestra seats and the after-party event are $75. Tickets are available through the Sunrise Theatre Box Office at (772) 461-4775 or at www.sunrisetheatre.com.

The after-party will include a performance by The Coasters, backed up by Bobby and the Blisters. Original lead singer for The Coasters, Carl Gardner, and Lucy Anne Hurston will be guests of honor.

The week concludes with an Authors Brunch Sunday, April 5 between 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. at the Pelican Yacht Club, 1120 Seaway Drive in Fort Pierce. Brunch is $35 per person and reservations should be made by calling the Cultural Affairs Office at (772) 462-1767.

Hurston came to Fort Pierce in 1957 to work as a columnist for the all-black newspaper, The Chronicle, published by C.E. Bolen. She also worked part-time at Lincoln Park Academy, before suffering several strokes. She died in 1960 and is buried in the Garden of Heavenly Rest Cemetery in Fort Pierce.

The St. Lucie County Cultural Affairs Council, St. Lucie County, the Fort Pierce Redevelopment Agency, Friends of the St. Lucie County Library and the Zora Neale Hurston Florida Foundation are coordinating the weeklong events. Other partners and sponsors are the St. Lucie Film Society, Indian River State College, the IRSC Foundation, in conjunction with the Florida Humanities Council, public radio WQCS / 88.9 FM, The Sunrise Theatre, Tropicana, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, and the Children’s Services Council.

For additional details visit: www.zorafest.org.
By Eric Gill, St. Lucie County

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 at 3:53 pm and is filed under Fort Pierce, State, Stuart, Tradition, Weather, Weird News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.