UCF will salute Eatonville’s annual Zora! Festival by holding two horticultural events on campus Wednesday, Jan. 25.
The Zora! Festival commemorates the life of African-American author Zora Neale Hurston, who lived in Eatonville. This year’s Jan. 21-29 event coincides with the city’s 125th anniversary.
As part of the festival, UCF will offer:
A guided tour of the Arboretum and its newly developed section featuring foliage that needs no watering from Africa and Mexico. The free two-hour tour will start at 1 p.m. Participants are to meet at the Live Oak Room behind Market Place on the south side of campus. Arboretum environmental educator Tina Richards will lead the tour. Those attending Zora! Festival can participate in the UCF tour by taking advantage of a $5 round-trip shuttle made available just for the event.
A panel discussion on gardens and landscapes in African-American culture. The free program, “Landscapes and ‘Place’: Their Roles in Community, Locally and Globally” will be 7:30 to 9 p.m. in UCF Library Building 2. The program will focus on gardens and their value in society, with particular emphasis on the role of gardens in African-American communities.
Moderator Everett L. Fly, a licensed landscape architect, will lead the discussion with panelists Patrick Bohlen, professor of Biology and director of the UCF Arboretum, and Bruce B. Janz, chair of Philosophy and a professor of Humanities. They will be joined via Skype by Kimberly Smith, associate professor of Political Science and Environmental Studies at Carlton College in Northfield, Minn.
For more information about the Zora! Festival, go to www.zorafestival.com.
