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Libralind2
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Libralind2
Post Number: 117
Registered: 09-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, June 08, 2005 - 10:16 pm: | 
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From Orlando Sentinel
Street fest's plan to move sparks anger in Eatonville
Maitland's Lake Lily would host the event, which celebrates author Zora Neale Hurston.
By Christopher Sherman
Sentinel Staff Writer
EATONVILLE -- Plans to move the Zora Neale Hurston Street Festival of the Arts to Maitland's Lake Lily is sparking anger in Eatonville, its hometown for 16 years.
The street fest, the most recognizable part of the larger festival celebrating the town's literary icon, has drawn hundreds of thousands of visitors to the town of 2,400 since it began in 1990.
N.Y. Nathiri, the Zora festival's general manager, said the move would incorporate other locations from Hurston's writings, including Lake Lily, known to the author as St. John's Hole, to fit the festival's 2006 theme "Community Crossroads." The new location would also provide more space, which was a problem for vendors at this year's festival, she said.
But the switch, approved Tuesday by The Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community, ignited a firestorm this week in Eatonville Town Hall.
"They want to attract an additional market of clientele," said Eatonville Mayor Anthony Grant after meeting with three P.E.C. board members Thursday. "What you're simply saying is that Eatonville isn't good enough to attract people not of color."
Nathiri called Grant's comment "unfortunate."
The five-day festival celebrating the legacy of Eatonville's most celebrated citizen has never been touted as an ethnic or racial attraction, Nathiri said.
"Please don't tell me we are in any way obligated to circumscribe that legacy," she said.
The festival has for years had events in other locations, including Maitland, Winter Park and Orlando, but the street festival of artisans, food vendors and entertainment is the most visible segment.
Maitland Mayor Sascha Rizzo said he welcomed the event, but it was not a done deal.
"Staff met with them today, trying to resolve certain logistical issues to try to accommodate them," he said.
Grant called the impact "catastrophic" for one of the nation's oldest incorporated black communities.
"We're known for two things: our history and our Zora Neale Hurston Festival," he said.
Nathiri said Grant didn't "get it."
"It is not a street party. It is an arts and humanities event," Nathiri said.
Eatonville will continue to play an integral role in the festival and remain the seat of the Hurston Museum, Nathiri said. She stressed that plans are complete for only 2006, but could not say for certain when or if the street festival would return to Eatonville's Kennedy Boulevard after that.
That could depend on Eatonville's ability to redevelop its downtown corridor as a cultural destination, Nathiri said. The city began a $3 million streetscape along Kennedy Boulevard and opened a new branch of the Orange County Public Library there this year.
The festival is also competing for a national attendance, Nathiri said. To keep it viable and make it a "destination" event, she said, "the marketplace demands that you continuously reinvent yourself."
The idea for the Community Crossroads theme emerged at a 2003 meeting of the festivals' national planners at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Nathiri said. The group began planning the five-year cycle of themes that began this year, and concluded that "what we needed to do was take the opportunity to discuss and present Zora Neale Hurston in a global perspective," Nathiri said.
The plan to move the Street Festival of the Arts to Maitland was approved by P.E.C.'s executive committee in April, and by the full board this week.
But a months-long exchange of terse letters between the town and Nathiri seemed to build to this week's explosion.
Grant was preparing a pitch to Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty for tourism dollars to fund a new Hurston museum and had requested Nathiri's help in drafting the letter. Nathiri took the request to her executive board, which said that although it supported the goal of getting a new museum, it was not prepared to assist without a firm agreement outlining the partnership.
Grant responded by questioning the nonprofit's willingness to partner with the city.
"[I]f we can't count on our community organization that has the experience and expertise to help draft such a document that perhaps may secure funds to construct a museum facility, then perhaps we never had a legitimate partnership," he wrote in a March 25 letter.
An exchange followed regarding the cost of permits that would be required for next year's festival.
But a May 25 letter from Eatonville Chief Administrative Officer Ruth Barnes to Nathiri was the first indication that the town knew something was up concerning the street festival.
"This information came most unexpectedly in a public meeting, which caused embarrassment and confusion because of our previous discussions with you and my staff on the needs for the 2006 Zora Neale Hurston Festival," Barnes wrote.
Nathiri responded that she had been trying to meet with the town since May 9. Her letter laid out two big changes: an extension from five days to nine and the relocation of the street festival to Maitland.
"As you can see, we have the ability to expand the reach of ZORA! Festival," she wrote. "Of course, we will extend the courtesy tickets to Eatonville residents, as we always have, and we'll provide shuttle transportation to those who need it."
Grant responded in a letter Wednesday that he will not attend the festival if it is moved out of his town.
Christopher Sherman can be reached at csherman@orlandosentinel.com or 407-650-6361.
Copyright © 2005, Orlando Sentinel
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Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 3280
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, June 08, 2005 - 11:16 pm: |
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LiLi,
Follow the money. 'Cause THAT will tell you what's REALLY going on here.
Follow the money. |
Solomonjones
Veteran Poster
Username: Solomonjones
Post Number: 71
Registered: 02-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 12:38 am: |
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ABM -
You're absolutely right. My question is, is Maitland a town where people of color are the majority? And how much money was Eatonville making on the festival? |
Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 1204
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 12:22 pm: |
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What's to stop Eatonville from still having its own festival? |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 3290
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 12:55 pm: |
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Chris,
BRAVO!
Again. Your mastery of that which seems most obvious is without parallel.
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