Kingsley Heritage Celebration 2008 Press Release
The African Caribbean Dance Theatre will perform on February 23, 2008. National Park Service FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -January 23, 2008 Contact: Carol Clark, Park Ranger 10th Annual Kingsley Heritage Celebration: Special Events Each Saturday in February 2008 Featuring a Descendants’ Reunion The Kingsley Heritage Celebration has moved to February! The public is invited to join us for the tenth annual Kingsley Heritage Celebration each Saturday in February for a special afternoon event. One of the highlights of the event series will be a descendants’ reunion on February 23, 2008, which is open to the public. Sponsored by the National Park Service’s Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve and the Florida Humanities Council, the event series is free and open to the public. The goal of the Kingsley Heritage Celebration is to help the local community explore cultural traditions found in modern American society that originated during the plantation period. According to Timucuan Preserve Superintendent Barbara Goodman, “We are very excited to move the Kingsley Heritage Celebration to February and Black History Month. Each Saturday afternoon throughout February the presentations will offer unique insight into both the lives of the enslaved men, women, and children who toiled here on Fort George Island as well the lives of owner’s families, including the Kingsley family. History will be brought alive through a wide variety of entertainment. The month long celebration will culminate with a rare opportunity to hear from descendants of the people who lived at Kingsley Plantation. Descendants will gather on the last Saturday to share family stories.” The schedule includes storytelling, music, genealogy talks, historical presentations, dance, special exhibits, and a descendants’ reunion. Schedule (subject to change): Saturday, February 2, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. Living through a Time of Revolt: The Kingsleys and the War of 1812 Dr. James Cusick, Curator of the P. K. Yonge Library of Florida History at the University of Florida Learn about the “Other War of 1812” as Dr. Cusick describes Florida’s volatile situation in the years preceding Zephaniah Kingsley’s acquisition of the Fort George Island (Kingsley) Plantation. This political and social situation affected planters and slaves throughout northeast Florida on a daily basis. Dr. Cusick will also sign copies of his book The Other War of 1812: The Patriot War and the American Invasion of Spanish East Florida. Saturday, February 9, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. Shackles of Memory: Transatlantic Slave Trade Talk with Musical Presentation Jean-Marc Masseaut, Educational Director, Study Center of the Shackles of Memory Association, Nantes, France, and the University of North Florida Brass Ensemble Join us for a special exhibit and talk. A representative from Nantes, France will speak about that city’s role in the transatlantic slave trade. Visitors can also view a special exhibit from Nantes, and hear a brass ensemble performance by students from University of North Florida’s highly regarded music program. Presented through a partnership between the University of North Florida, Jacksonville Sister Cities Association, the City of Nantes (France), the City of Jacksonville and the National Park Service. Saturday, February 16, 2007 at 2:00 p.m. Archaeology Walk and Talk: Recent Discoveries at Kingsley Plantation Dr. James Davidson, Associate Professor of Anthropology and African American Studies, and the Florida Public Archaeology Network Join Dr. Davidson for a guided walk of the slave quarters. Hear about archaeological finds at the slave quarters and plantation grounds from the 2006 and 2007 archaeology field schools. Discover how the people who were enslaved at this plantation can still speak to us through the objects they left behind. Saturday, February 23, 2007, 12:00 - 5:00 p.m. Kingsley Heritage Celebration: Descendants’ Reunion During a full afternoon of activities, learn more about plantation history through storytelling, music, dance, and history presentations. Meet descendants of the families who lived at Kingsley Plantation between the 1790s and 1890s. Hear about their family history in their own words, as they tell family stories or read letters written by their ancestors. Also featured will be an exhibit displaying historical and modern photographs of descendants. Descendants will introduce each presentation and tell about their family history in their own words. NEW! 12:00 to 4:00 - Genealogy Fair 12:00 - Youth with Something to Sing About! Stage Aurora Theatrical Co., Inc. is a 501 c (3) organization whose mission is 'to enlighten the mind by way of the arts through the African-American experience'. The Children and Educational Outreach Series is the backbone of Stage Aurora. Youth are given exposure to the arts through a camp designed to introduce youth to music, song, and dance. They fully experience the joy of theatre. 1:00 - Researching Your Family History Ann Stoddard, Professor of Education, University of North Florida, Retired Learn how to research your ancestry. Dr. Stoddard will share the story of her quest to track down her Native American, African American, and White ancestors. She will explain how you can begin to discover your family’s genealogy. 2:00 - Stories That Fly! Deborah Strahorn, Kuumba Storytellers of Georgia Ms. Strahorn uses rhythm and rhyme to make stories come alive! Ms. Strahorn joins us at the Kingsley Heritage Celebration from Atlanta, Georgia. Audiences are invited to engage in multicultural stories through the use of song, sound, motion, and props. After the general storytelling performance, Ms. Stahorn will present a special children’s program where kids can learn more about storytelling, craft their own stories, and earn a Junior Ranger badge. 3:00 - Zephaniah Kingsley, World Traveler: A Guided Letter Reading Dr. Daniel Schafer, Professor of History at the University of North Florida, Retired Follow Zephaniah Kingsley on his journeys around the world through the letters he wrote during 1804-1806 and 1812-1814. Listen as the letters are read by Kingsley descendants. Dr. Schafer will narrate this story of Kingsley’s life and travels. 4:00 - Homage to the Ancestors African Caribbean Dance Theatre, Inc. Experience a dance performance by the Tallahassee-based African Caribbean Dance Theatre, Inc. Their presentation involves a lot of passion – African drumming and dance will end the day at the Slave Quarters. 12:00 to 3:00 - St. George Episcopal Church Tours and Fish Fry Don’t miss out on a rare opportunity to get a free guided tour of the National Register listed St. George Episcopal Church, built in 1882. The fish fry is provided by the church as a community event. Food will be available at the park on Saturday afternoon, February 23, 2008. Menu choices will reflect the foods eaten during the plantation period. Picnics are also allowed. We suggest that you bring personal comfort items such as blankets or chairs for the Saturday presentations. Kingsley Plantation, the location of the event, is a unit of the National Park Service’s 46,000-acre Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve in Jacksonville, Florida. It is named for Zephaniah Kingsley (and his African wife Anna), who owned and operated a 1,000-acre plantation during the first half of the nineteenth century. Today, the public can visit the grounds, which include Florida’s oldest standing (1798) plantation house, kitchen building, barn, and waterfront. The still-standing remains of 25 slave cabins offer perhaps the most graphic evidence of slave living quarters and daily life experiences in the state, if not the South. Located off Heckscher Drive/A1A one-half mile north of the St. Johns River ferry landing, Kingsley Plantation is open daily, at no charge, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. For more information, call 904.251.3537, or go to http://www.nps.gov/timu on the Internet, where you can access this full text press release and find detailed biographies of the presenters. ----------------------------------------------------- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - October 16, 2007 Kingsley Heritage Celebration Moves to February 2008 and Features Descendant Reunion
After nine years as an annual October event, the Kingsley Heritage Celebration is moving to February. The public is invited to join us for the tenth annual Kingsley Heritage Celebration each Saturday in February for a special afternoon event. One of the highlights of the event series will be a descendants' reunion on February 23, 2008, which is open to the public.
Sponsored by the National Park Service's Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve and the Florida Humanities Council, the event series is free and open to the public. The goal of the Kingsley Heritage Celebration is to help the local community explore cultural traditions found in modern American society that originated during the plantation period.
According to Timucuan Preserve Superintendent Barbara Goodman, “We are very excited to move the Kingsley Heritage Celebration to February and Black History Month. Each Saturday afternoon throughout February the presentations will offer unique insight into both the lives of the enslaved men, women, and children who toiled here on Fort George Island as well the lives of the owner’s families, including the Kingsley family. History will be brought alive through a wide variety of entertainment. The month long celebration will culminate with a rare opportunity to hear from descendants of the people who lived at Kingsley Plantation. Descendants will gather with the public on the last Saturday to share family stories.” The schedule includes storytelling, music, genealogy talks, historical presentations, special exhibits, and a descendants’ reunion.
Preview Schedule (subject to change):
Saturday, February 2, 2008 Learn about the "Other War of 1812" with Dr. James Cusick, Curator of the P. K. Yonge Library of Florida History at the University of Florida. He will highlight the personalities and ambitions of two owners of Kingsley Plantation, and describe how volatile Florida was before it became a territory of the United States. This political and social situation affected planters and slaves throughout northeast Florida on a daily basis.
Saturday, February 9, 2008 The University of North Florida (UNF), Jacksonville Sister Cities Association, the City of Nantes (France), and the City of Jacksonville partner with the National Park Service to present a special exhibit and talk. A representative from Nantes, France will speak about that city's role in the transatlantic slave trade. Visitors can also view a special exhibit from Nantes, and hear a performance by students from UNF’s highly regarded music program.
Saturday, February 16, 2008 Join Dr. James Davidson, Associate Professor of Anthropology and African American Studies, and the Florida Public Archaeology Network for a guided walk of the slave quarters. Hear about archaeological finds at the slave quarters and plantation grounds from the 2006 and 2007 archaeology field schools. Discover how the people who were enslaved at this plantation can still speak to us through the objects they left behind.
Saturday, February 23, 2008 During a full afternoon of activities, learn more about plantation history through storytelling, music, and history presentations.
Highlights include:
Kingsley Plantation, the location of the event, is a unit of the National Park Service’s 46,000-acre Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve in Jacksonville, Florida. It is named for Zephaniah Kingsley (and his African wife Anna), who owned and operated a 1,000-acre plantation there during the first half of the nineteenth century.
Today, the public can visit the grounds, which include Florida’s oldest standing (1798) plantation house, kitchen building, barn, and waterfront. The still-standing remains of 25 slave cabins offer perhaps the most graphic evidence of slave living quarters and daily life experiences in the state, if not the South.
Located off Heckscher Drive/A1A one-half mile north of the St. Johns River ferry landing, Kingsley Plantation is open daily, at no charge, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. For more information, call 904.251.3537.
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