An anthropologist, folklorist and storyteller who authentically captured the life and lessons offered by African Americans in the rural south, Zora Neale Hurston’s legacy is still celebrated 135 years after her birth.
The annual ZORA! Festival Season captures the essence and importance of the author’s work through art shows, an outdoor festival and community tours, with opportunities to examine Hurston’s published work, explore the historic community Hurston was raised in and interact with descendants of the Hurston family.
The 2026 ZORA! Festival Season — including the two-day 37th ZORA! Outdoor Festival of the Arts held Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 — offers an opportunity to investigate the intersections of African American culture, history and art as it related to the foundations of the nation, said N.Y. Nathiri, executive director of the Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community.
“The first goal is the celebration of the life and work of Zora Neale Hurston,” she said. “In addition to that, we celebrate the significance of her hometown, Eatonville, the place she made known around the world as the oldest incorporated African American municipality in the United States. Third, we celebrate the cultural contributions that people of African ancestry have made to the United States and the world. Those are our three objectives and they’ve stood us in good stead.”
With the Florida Historical Society being a community partner for the 2026 ZORA! Festival Season, which has a theme of “Hurston, History & Heritage,” the festival is also part of the society’s America 250 celebration.
The society manned a table at the 37th ZORA! Outdoor Festival of the Arts with an educational display that included free children’s books by African American authors, said Chris Brotemarkle, Florida Historical Society communications and project manager.
“There is such a rich history in Eatonville, and Zora, who was an incredible anthropologist and folklorist, gives it even more significance,” he said.
Despite being considered one of the most important female authors publishing during the height of the Harlem Renaissance, an art movement of African American work from the 1920s to 1930s, Hurston’s work was mostly unappreciated until after her death in 1960, with at least six of her works being published posthumously.
Her first novel, “Jonah’s Gourd Vine,” was published in 1934, her most popular novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God” in 1937 and her final novel “Seraph on the Suwanee” in 1948.
Today Hurston is admired for always being her authentic self and never mincing her word or the words of her interview subjects.
Hurston’s refusal to alter the dialect of Cudjo Lewis, one of the last survivors of the slave trade and subject of “Barracoon: the Story of the Last ‘Black Cargo,’” caused the book that was completed in 1931 not to be published until 2018.
“By using the authentic dialect of the time in her work, in addition to writing fiction rooted in historical accuracy, her amazing work was able to preserve what life was like for African Americans in the 20th century,” Brotemarkle said. “It’s really incredible.”
Recordings of Hurston’s work as an anthropologist are available on the Library of Congress website, Brotemarkle said.
The 2026 ZORA! Festival Season started Jan. 7 with a virtual “Happy Birthday, Zora!” event, which coincided with the celebrated author’s actual birthday. The hourlong event included readings, reflection and performances of Hurston’s works by scholars, artists and authors of today.
One of the participants was Winnifred Hurston, a relative of Hurston and chair of development for the Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community.
“I think a lot of the youth today, I think there is a portion that don’t understand the sacrifices our ancestors made to afford us what we have today,” Winnifred said. “There are so many things that we take advantage of today and it didn’t happen through one person. As a representative of my family, I can say how proud we are of (Eatonville and Zora’s) legacy and what it signifies.”
Eatonville, located 60 miles south of The Villages, was the first incorporated all-black town in the nation founded in 1887. Zora’s father, John, served as mayor of the town three times.
In-person festival events included an art exhibit at the Hurston Museum, a Harlem Renaissance-themed gala, the two-day outdoor festival, and a community church service at a 145-year-old church.
Though major changes have occurred in the town over the years, the heart of the community is the same, said Cynthia Haywood, a member of the Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community and the Hurston Museum operations director.
“We were always a very close community,” Haywood said. “Everyone knew everyone and we respected our elders. It’s important because we have so many things taking away from our roots. We are important and community is still the backbone of Eatonville.”
While the outdoor festival has passed, people still have the chance to attend events that explore Eatonville and honor Zora’s art.
On March 12, the Conservation with the Curator event will commence as an afternoon art affair looking at the relationship between art and activism and Zora’s visionary legacy. Conversation during the cultural symposium will be led by artist, curator and educator Lonnie Graham. The free event will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Hurston Museum, 344 E. Kennedy Blvd., Eatonville. RSVP is required for the event.
On March 27, people will gather for the guided transportation Progressive Museum Tour. Inciting interactive discussions about historic Black communities with private tours from curators, stops will be at the Hurston Museum, the Art and History Museums of Maitland, and the Wells’Built Museum of African American History and Culture in Orlando. The tour will last from 10 a.m. to
4 p.m. and costs $30 per person, with lunch and transportation included.
The 2026 ZORA! Festival Season will end on Oct. 17 with the HATitude Cultural Flair Event. The event will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Hilton Orlando, 6001 Destination Parkway. Tickets for the event are $95 for general admission and $150 for VIP.
“Cultural heritage tourism being a multibillion dollar business globally provides a map for a small town like Eatonville,” Nathiri said. “We are an event that draws people from around the state, nation and increasingly outside the country of all different backgrounds. We try to present programming that’s suitable for the very very young to the very very old.”
All registration for upcoming events can be done at zorafestival.org.
Staff writer Brea Jones can be reached at 352-753-1119, ext. 5414, or brea.jones@
thevillagesmedia.com.
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