In honor of Women’s History Month, Weeksville Heritage Center is partnering with the Oral History Masters Program at Columbia University to host a community celebration inspired by the life and work of Zora Neale Hurston. The interactive, family-friendly event invites participants to explore storytelling, movement and cultural history while reflecting on Hurston’s lasting influence on literature and Black cultural preservation.
Hurston, best known for her landmark novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, was also a pioneering cultural anthropologist, folklorist, playwright and choreographer. Her work documented and celebrated African American folklore, rituals and traditions across the United States and the Caribbean. The upcoming gathering at Weeksville highlights these many dimensions of her legacy through participatory activities designed for audiences of all ages.
The program will be led by Tanya Birl‑Torres, creator of The Zora Project and a social practice artist-in-residence at The Shed, as well as a Broadway movement director and choreographer. She will be joined by multidisciplinary artist and educator Anya Andrews. Together, the artists will guide attendees through an immersive experience that connects Hurston’s research and storytelling traditions with contemporary artistic expression.
Throughout the event, participants will gather to share food and listen to selections from Hurston’s collected folktales. The stories offer a window into the oral traditions Hurston documented during her anthropological fieldwork in the early 20th century. After hearing these narratives, attendees will learn how folktales are structured and how they capture everyday wisdom shaped by lived experience.
The workshop portion encourages guests to create their own modern folktales, drawing inspiration from Hurston’s belief that such stories reflect the essence of human life and community knowledge passed down across generations.
Movement and dance will also play a central role in the celebration. Participants will experience reimagined choreography inspired by the Buzzard Lope and Crow Dance, pieces rooted in Hurston’s original choreographic work and references in Their Eyes Were Watching God. The performances highlight Hurston’s interest in ritualized movement and her efforts to document and preserve Black cultural practices.
By studying, participating in and reinterpreting these dances, the program offers a deeper look at how performance traditions helped shape Hurston’s broader cultural research.
Organizers say the event is designed to foster community connection while making Hurston’s work accessible to new audiences. The day’s activities encourage attendees to explore storytelling, history and movement in a welcoming environment that requires no prior experience. Families, student and community members are invited to participate, learn and celebrate together.
The program is presented as part of a year-long public series organized by the Oral History Master of Arts Program at Columbia University, which focuses on place-based oral history and community storytelling. Through events like this, the series aims to highlight how local histories, cultural traditions and personal narratives continue to shape communities today.
Admission to the event is free and open to the public.
