Annual Parks celebration features variety of activities

Voices of Glory, pictured on their album cover, is scheduled to perform at the Gordon Parks Celebration, Oct. 7-8. (Submitted Photo)

Organizers of the 8th annual Gordon Parks Celebration of Culture and Diversity, scheduled for Oct. 7-8, have packed four days' worth of activities into a two-day time frame.

The celebration was cut from four days to two due to a recent cut in funding after the elimination of the Kansas Arts Commission, but still includes many of the same events and activities that are part of the festival every year. The celebration honors Parks, a noted photographer, writer, musician and filmmaker who grew up in Fort Scott.

Gordon Parks Museum and Center Director Jill Warford said several new events have been added this year. All the daytime events, with the exception of lunches that are scheduled, are free of charge to the public.

"We have a really, really good program this year," she said. "It's a great thing that we can bring people in like this and offer it free to the community. We hope they take advantage of it."

A new event this year is a talk by Ralph Eubanks, director of publications for the Library of Congress, who will discuss his new book on Parks. The publication features more than 50 images taken by Parks when he was a photographer for the Farm Security Administration during the Great Depression and World War II.

Another new event this year will shed some light on a "lesser known part of his (Parks') legacy," Warford said. Mario Sprouse, musical assistant for Parks for more than 20 years who recently cataloged Parks' massive music and media collection, will discuss Parks' endeavors as a composer of music.

"Gordon never learned music notes so he scratched out his idea of what the music should be, and Sprouse helped him," Warford said. "Gordon did lots of composing."

Another new addition is a kids creativity workshop in which kids 8-12 years of age will learn about photography, filmmaking, acting, directing and writing during four hands-on sessions.

Warford said she has received about 10-15 entries so far, but there is space for 40 participants.

The fee is $10 which includes a T-shirt and lunch.

Warford said the only events that require tickets are the performance by Voices of Glory on Friday, a trio of siblings from the TV show "America's Got Talent" who will sing selections from their new CD and other popular favorites; and the Celebration Tribute Dinner, which includes the presentation of the 2011 Gordon Parks Choice of Weapons Award to photographer and publisher John Shearer.

During another celebration event, Shearer will discuss his career as a photographer and publisher, show slides of his photos and talk about his relationship with Parks.

A first for the celebration, four of the 15 finalists in the Gordon Parks International Photography Contest will be present to show and discuss their photos, as well as their reasons for entering the contest and Parks' influence on their photography.

Another presentation will feature Parks' longtime friend, local resident J.K. Graham, who will present his collection of photos taken while Parks was in Fort Scott to film "The Learning Tree." The collection of never-before-seen photos shows the filming, locations, actors and Fort Scott townspeople who were involved in the filming.

"I encourage people who follow 'The Learning Tree' to come out. They might see themselves in some of the photos," Warford said.

The celebration includes several other events and activities. For more information, contact Warford at (620) 223-2700.