Friday, July 09, 2004

O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL...

Passing on a message someone forwarded me...

BIG EVENT IN ANDALUSIA

Andalusia, home of the celebrated author Flannery O’Connor in Milledgeville, Georgia, will be the site for Remembering Flannery: a special commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the death of Flannery O’Connor. The Flannery O’Connor – Andalusia Foundation will host the program, which will begin with opening comments and acknowledgements from O’Connor scholar Sarah Gordon at the exact time of the writer’s death, quarter past midnight, the early morning of August 3. Activities throughout the twenty-four-hour event will include, by permission of the Mary Flannery O’Connor Charitable Trust, readings of all the stories from the collection A Good Man Is Hard To Find by scholars, teachers, students, and fans of O’Connor’s fiction who wish to participate. The readings will take place at various locations in the Main House where O’Connor lived and worked and also around the house on the beautiful grounds shaded by majestic oaks and cedars, the place that inspired many of O’Connor’s stories.

There will be an outdoor Mass under a tent on the front lawn at 6:30 p.m. followed by a blessing of the Main House. Local choral groups and musicians will provide music before and after these ceremonies. The public readings will continue until quarter past midnight on August 4, the conclusion of the event. The PBS video of O’Connor’s story, “The Displaced Person,” filmed on location at Andalusia in 1976, will be shown in the Main House at regular intervals throughout the day and night. All activities are free and open to the public; however, the Foundation always welcomes donations, which are fully tax-deductible.

The gift shop in the Main House will be open during the event and features books, shirts, hand fans, bumper stickers, note cards by Frances Florencourt (O’Connor’s first cousin), prints of the Stan Strickland Andalusia painting, Josephine King’s O’Connor Perpetual Calendar, and other unique souvenirs. Guests are encouraged to bring folding chairs, snacks, and drinks and are welcome to drop in when they can or stay for the entire event. This special commemoration is already attracting national media attention and will likely be covered by newspapers, radio, and television throughout the state. Andalusia farm is located on Highway 441 North, directly across from the sign of the Ramada Limited, in Milledgeville, Georgia. For more iiformation, call the Foundation at 478-454-4029 or visit the website at www.andalusiafarm.org.

PLEASE MAKE PLANS TO ATTEND. WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU!

Craig R. Amason, Executive Director wiseblood@alltel.net
Flannery O'Connor - Andalusia Foundation
P.O. Box 947
Milledgeville, GA 31059
www.andalusiafarm.org
478-454-4029

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