On Saturday, May 6, 2017, Free Spirit Freedom will host A Freedom Book Festival, in order to launch its first book of historic photographs. The book, Freedom through Knowledge, incorporates images of the one and two-room schoolhouses and the larger consolidated schools operating in Orange County during the days of segregation. Free Spirit Freedom will also highlight the students, parents, teachers and community members who played critical roles in the struggle and path to freedom, a struggle that continues to this day.
This day-long community event will be held at the Jerry M. Passmore Center, 103 Meadowlands Drive, in Hillsborough, NC. Activities will begin at 10am and continue until 4pm. All activities are free and open to the public.
In the morning, from 10am to 12pm, children will have an opportunity to hear stories from community elders, and then compose and create their own books. Candace Midgett, Executive Director of the Orange County Historical Museum, will lead this book writing session for children ages 7 through 13. Registration is requested; please contact the Museum at 919-732-2201.
In the afternoon, A Freedom Book Festival will feature local authors and their literary and creative works. An open house and reception, from 1:00pm until 2:00pm, will kickoff the afternoon activities. Guests and visitors will be able to browse the new book of photography by Free Spirit Freedom as well as publications by local authors. This will be a time to mix and mingle, and have books signed by authors.
From 2:00pm to 4:00pm, Free Spirit Freedom will host an afternoon of readings, recitations and presentations from the new book by Free Spirit Freedom, as well as from authors, poets and artists with similar interests.
This event is made possible by a grant from the Orange County Arts Commission, and a grant from the Hillsborough Tourism Board. Co-sponsors include: the Hillsborough Arts Council, the Jerry M. Passmore Center/ Orange County Department on Aging, the Orange County Historical Museum, and the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau.
Free Spirit Freedom is a cultural arts initiative within the Hillsborough Arts Council, a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Its mission is to use the arts and humanities to promote a shared history, establish social bonds, celebrate cultural traditions and build bridges of cross-cultural understanding among diverse populations for all generations.
For further information, please contact FSF co-founders: Renee Price, at 919-591-1904 or reneeprice2012@gmail.com; and Thomas Watson at 919-451-1844 or thomaswatson30@yahoo.com.
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For more information about the Hillsborough Arts Council or Free Spirit Freedom, please call 919-643-2500, visit the Hillsborough Arts Council Gallery and Gift Shop at 102 N. Churton Street in Hillsborough visit on-line at www.hillsboroughartscouncil.org, or email programs@hillsboroughartscouncil.org.