Zora! Festival 2024 honors historic Eatonville author with education, celebration

EATONVILLE, Fla. – Zora! Festival 2024 is back and the town is gearing up for a busy weekend as both tourists and residents are taking the time to celebrate and learn more about a prominent local African-American historical figure.

You could see school after school represented walking along Kennedy Boulevard in Eatonville. Students were seen sitting and listening to Black authors.

News 6 spoke with students from Bridge to Independence Private School as they learned about Zora Neale Hurston, who the festival is named after.

Organizers say Friday’s purpose was to be an “Education Day.”

“She made Eatonville a literary destination because almost invariable Eatonville is a part of her storytelling,” said N.Y. Nathiri, who is the executive director of The Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community.

As one of the event organizers, Nathiri says Friday was just one part of the three-day outdoor festival, and “Education Day” is one of the most important parts.

“The children, no matter where they come from or what their background,” said Natheiri, “They need to know as much as they can about who we are as a country and who we are as a part of humanity.”

News 6 talked with Randy Nunoo, who owns Niiash Fashion, who says the annual free festival helps lift the town.

“It allows us to actually come out, support the town and the town actually supports us,” Nunoo said.

Zora! Festival is set to bring in nearly $2 million in cultural heritage tourism.

Nathiri says the impact of the event is not felt just on Kennedy Boulevard at the outdoor festival but on hotels, restaurants, and more.

“It brings us great exposure, not only does it bring us exposure to Eatonville, but also to Orlando,” Nunoo said.

“For us, this is the leading indicator of what can happen in Eatonville of a year-round concerted effort to develop cultural heritage tourism as a year-round activity,” Nathiri said.

The outdoor festival is set to continue over the weekend.

You can find out more about the festival or even Zora Neale Hurston herself by clicking the link here.

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