University of North Alabama - Diorama Yearbook (Florence, AL)

Page 30 text:

' The Father of the Blues was bom in Florence 110 years a o. Ihis summer, thousands of people came to the second annual Handy Festival to wish a happy birthday To cMister Handy With Love. I 1 hate to see that evening sun go down, begins William Christopher Handy ' s most famous song, St. Louis Blues. North Alabama honored the late father of the blues, who was born in Florence in 1873, with a second annual birthday celebration this summer. The W.C. Handy Festival brought frolick- ing in Florence and sashaying in the Shoals. People from near and far flocked to Handy ' s hometown to join the celebration. The festivities began on August 12 with a concert featuring jazz-pop art- ists Manhattan Transfer and ended in Norton Auditorium on August 20 with a performance bv superstar Roberta Flack. In the meantime, other events were taking place all across the Muscle Shoals area. The Street Strut on Flor- ence ' s Court Street brought partici- pants of every age, adorned in festival colors of blue and green, and topped with parasols, bows, streamers, and spangles. They danced, sang, and ca- joled their way through town. On Sunday, the Greater St. Paul Church echoed with amens and the sounds of the choir, as grown men wept openly at the mass choir concert in the church where Handy ' s father was once a pastor. Another favorite Handy festival event was the Black Tie jazz [ubilee at the Holiday Inn in Sheffield. Wing-tip collars were starched so stiff they could stand by themselves, and flowing black silks sprinkled with sequins and edged with pearls caused a flutter of excite- ment in anyone who saw them. Other events of the festival includ- ed riverboat cruises, Handy ' s on the Plaza, Art in the Park, after party con- certs, and the Get Down at Listerhill HANDY ' S ON THE PLAZA, a temporary sidewalk cafe, is set up on cobbled Mobile Street in Florence for the duration of the Handy Festi- val. It is one of the celebration ' s most popular events. The food is good at Handy ' s, but it ' s the jazz music and New Orleans atmosphere that really bring in the customers. (Photo by Grant Lovett) Credit Union. Oh, I hate to see the evening sun go down ... begins St. Louis Blues, and in that same spirit, music lovers hated to see the festival come to a close. But as Peggy Clay, president of the Mu- sic Preservation Society said, As sure as the sun goes down, it ' s going to come up again, making the Shoals area the place to be next August. — Randy Nash GETTING ALL DRESSED up is part of the fun of the Street Strut on Florence ' s Court Street. Avid festival-goer Karen Gruber carried a ruffled pink parasol, while Bess Cox wore a flapper costume straight out of the Jazz Age. Ricky Cobb donned a top hat for the occasion. (Photo by Grant Lovett) GETTING INTO THE SPIRIT of the celebration is (uanita Reynolds of Florence. After participat- ing in the Street Strut, she shimmied around Wil- son Park to the strains of Handy ' s music, show- ing the crowd there what jazz is all about. (Photo by Grant Lovett)

Page 29 text:

40 ■ A. 111.? ' - student Life 27 m

Page 31 text:

M rif m ENIOYING LUNCH accompanied by live jazz music at Handy ' s on the Plaza are Andi Flip- pen, Nancy Flynn, and Jo Anne Thomas. Red- clothed tables were set up on the sidewalks of Mobile Plaza, but the street was left clear for dancing. (Photo by Grant Lovett) ENTERTAINING PASSENGERS aboard the riv- erboat cruise with a jubilee of jazz and blues tunes are Emil Orth and the River City Six. Musi- cal cruises on the Tennessee River were offered throughout Handy Festival week. (Photo by Lee Puckett) c3dli