ZORAFEST 2005 A HOMECOMING Zora Neale Hurston Festival May 12th to May 15th, 2005 Location: Lincoln Park Academy 1806 Avenue I Fort Pierce, FL

Wednesday, May 11 -- Portrait Unveiling.

• 5:00-8:00 PM: Unveiling of mosaic portrait of Hurston by artist Anita Prentice during Art Walk. Picture Perfect Gallery, 124 N. Second Street, Fort Pierce. Prints of the artwork will be available for purchase.

Thursday, May 12

• 4:30-6:45 PM: Book Review Event, Fort Pierce Yacht Club, 700 N. Indian River Drive, Fort Pierce, FL. RSVP to FPWomenwithWords@aol.com. 4:30-5:30 PM Martini Hour opening (cash bar). 5:30-6:45 PM Book Review of Hurston's autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road, and games.
  **Copies of Dust Tracks on a Road are for sale at the Fort Pierce and Hurston Branch Libraries to encourage residents to join in this "1st Annual Community Book Review" hosted by Women With Words, Inc., Book Club. Paperback copies are being sold for $12.00. The Book Club would also like to encourage parents to read with their children Zora and the Chinaberry Tree, a biography for school age children by William Miller.**

• 7:00-10:00 PM: Fort Pierce Jazz Society’s (free) Jazz Jam at the Fort Pierce Community Center, 600 N. Indian River Drive, Fort Pierce (a short stroll from the Yacht Club ... be sure to stay for both events.)

Friday, May 13 -- Play and Humanities Lecture, Lincoln Park Academy Theatre, 1806 Avenue I, Fort Pierce.

• 6:30 PM: Theatre opens. Photographic exhibit of Zora Neale Hurston images on screens above stage accompanied by classic 1939 Alan Lomax recordings of Hurston singing work songs.

• 7:00-7:20 PM: Welcome remarks by committee chair Marjorie Harrell; introduction and remarks by special guest Lucy Anne Hurston, niece of Zora Neale Hurston and author of Speak Now So You Can Speak Again; presentation of City of Fort Pierce and St. Lucie County proclamations to Lucy Anne Hurston.

• 7:20-7:35 PM: Introductory remarks by Dr. Deborah Plant, Professor of Africana Studies, University of South Florida, author of Every Tub Must Sit on Its Own Bottom.

• 7:35-9:45 PM: Theatrical presentation of “Spunk” by Bob Carter's Actor's Workshop & Repertory Company, West Palm Beach, with remarks at the intermission by Dr. Deborah Plant.

• 9:45-10:30 PM: Reception and book signing by Dr. Deborah Plant and Lucy Anne Hurston.

Saturday, May 14 -- ZoraFest Street Festival and Lectures, Lincoln Park Academy, 1806 Avenue I, Fort Pierce.

Continuous street fest with food, music, art, souvenir vendors, book signings and T-shirt sales. Ongoing entertainment on the outdoor stage as well as in two indoor lecture halls. Children’s face painting and “Harlem Renaissance” costume dress up area open all day. Free guided bus tours of award-winning Zora Neale Hurston Dust Tracks Heritage Trail every 30 minutes, all day 10:00-5:00. Admission to all events is free. Parking is $2 per car. Gates open at 9:00 AM, events start at 10:00 AM.

Note: All book authors will also appear at the book signing tent in the vendor area at scheduled times during the day. Joe Murray, designer of the official ZoraFest poster and T-shirts will also be signing his work.

• 10:00-10:30 AM: Avenue D Boy’s Choir presents the National Anthem and mini-concert, Center Stage.

• 10:30-11:00 AM: Fort Pierce Jazz Ensemble, Center Stage.

• 10:00 AM: Lucy Anne Hurston, Lecture Hall 1.

• 10:00 AM: Vendors and street fest opens.

11:00 AM

• Tampa’s Kuumba Dancers on Center Stage.

• Musician-griot storyteller Madafo Lloyd Wilson in Lecture Hall 1.

• 2005 Florida Artists’ Hall of Fame inductee Stetson Kennedy, author of Palmetto Country and The Klan Unmasked on his experiences infiltrating and exposing the Ku Klux Klan, Lecture Hall 2.

• Ed Spruill, author of Jordan’s Hair, Children’s Gym Stage.

12:00 PM

• Zora humanities re-enactor Phyllis McEwen on Center Stage.

• The Local Hurston experience: Panelists Arlena Benton Lee (daughter of Hurston benefactor Dr. Clem C. Benton), Rose Fields (who accompanied Alice Walker to find Hurston’s grave) and others discuss their first hand experiences with Zora Neale Hurston. Panel facilitated by Lucy Anne Hurston in Lecture Hall 1.

• Fort Pierce Jazz Ensemble, Lincoln Park Academy Theatre.

• Avenue D Boy’s Choir; Community sing, Children’s Gym Stage.

1:00 PM

• Ossie Wright Group on Center Stage.

• Dr. Deborah Plant lecture on Zora’s philosophy and politics in Lecture Hall 1.

• Sarah Creech and Lynn Moylan lecture on Hurston and the development of the Black baby doll (with an exhibit of early prototypes) in Lecture Hall 2.

• Kuumba Dancers on Children’s Gym Stage

2:00 PM

• Judah Williams and Sankofa on Center Stage.

• Musician-griot storyteller Madafo Lloyd Wilson on Children’s Gym Stage.

• Florida Artists’ Hall of Fame inductee Stetson Kennedy and Dr. Pam Bordelon lecture on Hurston and the WPA writer’s project in Lecture Hall 1.

3:00 PM

• Ossie Wright Group on Center Stage.

• Valerie Boyd discusses her Hurston biography Wrapped in Rainbows in Lecture Hall 1.

• Phyllis McEwen as Zora Neale Hurston in the Lincoln Park Academy Theatre.

• Judah Williams and Sankofa on Children’s Gym Stage.

4:00 PM

• Kuumba Dancers on Center Stage.

• Fort Pierce Jazz Ensemble, Lincoln Park Academy Theatre.

• Panel on Zora Neale Hurston: Dr. Pam Bordelon, Dr. Deborah Plant and Lucy Anne Hurston in Lecture Hall 1.

5:00 PM -- Street Fest closes.

7:00-9:00 PM in Lincoln Park Academy Theatre

• Photo exhibit of Zora Neale Hurston; Alan Lomax recording of Zora singing work songs as audience enters the Theatre.

• Talk by award-winning author Valerie Boyd, “Wrapped in Rainbows,” with musical accompaniment by Judah Williams and Sankofa.

• Reception and book signing afterward.

Sunday, May 15 -- Jazz Luncheon and Finale

• 10:30 AM–1:30 PM: VIP Jazz Brunch featuring The Ryan Larson Group. Meet and greet ZoraFest presenters and entertainers over a great meal featuring incredible jazz entertainment. Location to be announced.

Official Host Hotel for ZoraFest: Comfort Suites, 6505 Metal Drive, Fort Pierce, FL 34945; Tel. 772.409.1420; Fax 772.409.1430; 1.800.4Choice; Choicehotels.com. Directions: From I-95, exit 129/Okeechobee Road. Go west. Turn left on Darter Court, make immediate left on access road to Metal Drive on right. Hotel located behind Red Lobster.