Friends of Aurora Studio & Gallery are excited to announce the fifth annual Zelda Fitzgerald Celebration. This year’s week long series has a little something for everyone.
The kickoff is Monday, March 9, 6pm at Pack Memorial Library, Lord Auditorium, 67 Haywood St, Asheville, with “Z – A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald” by Therese Anne Fowler.
Therese Anne Fowler is the New York Times bestselling author of “A Well-Behaved Woman” and “Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald”. “Z” has been adapted as an original television series for Amazon Studios, starring Christina Ricci. “A Well-Behaved Woman” is currently in development with Sony Pictures Television.
This event is FREE to the public and includes an interview by Dr. Lisa Nanney, professor of literature and American Studies at U.N.C. affiliates.
Tuesday, March 10, 5pm – The Reading of the Proclamation, that Tuesday, March 10th is Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald Day, City Hall Meeting starts at 5pm, 70 Court Plaza, Asheville, 28801.
Tuesday, March 10, 6pm – The Thomas Wolfe Memorial, 52. N. Market St., Asheville, 28801.
“Amid the Rubble and Ashes: The Highland Hospital Fire”
In recognition of Asheville’s annual Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald Day The Thomas Wolfe Memorial staff will take a look at the events surrounding her tragic death. This event is being presented on the 72nd Anniversary of the hospital fire.
FREE OF CHARGE.
Friday, March 13, 12 noon, Asheville Art Museum, 2 South Pack Square, 2nd Floor Gallery, Asheville, 28801.
“In Conversation: Zelda Fitzgerald”
Zelda (actor Terry Darakjy) and “reporter” (actor Carol Anders) have created a thought provoking interview which takes place in March of 1948, days before the tragic Highland Hospital fire. The interview explores Zelda’s the therapeutic sustenance she receives from the arts. This imaginary interview is based on historic research.
Free for Museum Members or included with general admission.
(Buncombe County Library card, holders can go online to reserve a ticket).
Saturday, March 14, 12 – 3pm, Phil Mechanic Building, Stand Gallery, 109 Roberts Street, Asheville 28801
The Story of Zelda – As told through Mixed Media by artists from Aurora Studio & Gallery, ART OPENING.
Scraps of ceiling tin, copper and aluminum siding forged into a colorful palette of texture and design to create silhouetted pieces that capture milestones in the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald. This exhibit will be on display for the month of March. Presented by Aurora Studio, a nonprofit art space for artists who have been impacted by mental health needs or addiction. Aurora Studio & Gallery is the host of the week long Zelda Event series. Light refreshments will be served.
FREE OF CHARGE.
The week closes on Saturday, March 14, 8 – 11pm, with A ROARING 20’s Party with Queen Bee & the Honeylovers at Ginger’s Revenge, 829 Riverside Drive, Suite 100, Asheville, NC 28801.
Queen Bee and the Honeylovers are an unabashedly joyful swing band that performs all-original compositions with a dedicated ‘nod’ to the small-jazz-combo and ‘hot club’ legends who first defined the genre. Their debut album, ‘Asheville’, celebrated their hometown’s history and won them #41 on WNCW’s listener-voted poll of Best Albums of 2019 among other honors. Their video for “Beacham’s Curve” won Best Soundtack at the 2019 Music Video Asheville Awards. The Honeylovers are: Whitney Moore, Mattick Frick, Trevor Stoia and James Posedel.
Come decked out in 20’S PERIOD APPAREL, and you may win a PRIZE FOR BEST COSTUME! This event is free of charge with any donations going to Aurora Studio & Gallery.
This year members of the committee have put together the first ever ‘SPIRIT OF ZELDA AWARD” which will go to a woman in the community who has demonstrated both community spirit and artistic strength in the face of adversity. This award will be announced at the Roaring 20’s Party (applicants have until February 14th to apply, the application can be found on Zelda Fitzgerald Day in Asheville’s Facebook page.
The Zelda Fitzgerald events are the brainchild of James MacKenzie who had a desire to have the city of Asheville offer an annual remembrance for Ms. Fitzgerald. Each year a proclamation is written and read to proclaim March 10th Zelda Fitzgerald Day.
Zelda Fitzgerald, born Zelda Sayre in Montgomery, Alabama on July 24, 1900, had a zest for life and the arts. In 1920 she married F. Scott Fitzgerald and together they became early 20th century celebrities. In fact, Zelda was coined the first American Flapper and early on, was the muse for F. Scott.
Zelda began her painting career somewhere around the time she and her husband moved to France in 1924. Her passion for ballet began a few years later in 1927. A published writer, it is said that her husband may have stolen much of her writings from her diaries for his own novels. This and other infidelities drove a wedge in the couple’s relationship. Within ten years of marriage, her relationship with F. Scott and her own health severely deteriorated and Zelda had her first “break down” and hospitalization around 1930.
Zelda’s mental health needs eventually brought her to Asheville, where she received treatment on and off for about ten years at Highland Hospital. She tragically died in the Highland Hospital fire, March 10, 1948.
Aurora Studio & Gallery is a supportive art space for artists who have been affected by mental health needs, homelessness or addiction. A part of offering this series is to shed a light on the powerful healing aspects the arts have on wellness. If you would like to find out about how to get involved, the web-site is: www.aurorastudio-gallery.com.
More information on the EVENTS can be found by checking out the Zelda Fitzgerald day in Asheville Facebook Page.
Aurora Studio & Gallery 