The Mt Zion Memorial Fund for Blues, Music, and Justice (MZMF) will partner with the Mississippi John Hurt Foundation (MJHF) to present a two-day celebration of the life and musical legacy of Carroll County native Mississippi John Hurt on October 5-6, 2024. The event will take place on the former site of the Mississippi John Hurt Museum, which burned to the ground in February on County Road 109 in the Avalon community of Carroll County.
The celebration will include a Saturday afternoon Memorial Walk to Hurt’s gravesite and granite memorial located approximately one mile from the Mississippi John Hurt Museum site. Other events include a guitar playing workshop on Sunday afternoon, and a musical program featuring the songs of Mississippi John Hurt. We also will feature speeches about Hurt’s contributions to the Mississippi Blues. Held at St. James Missionary Baptist Church, which is located on the Hurt Museum site.
Featured performers at these events will include visual artist, quilter, and organizer Ravin Hill Lovett. She will lead a workshop on quilting at the event, and she will produce a collaboratively designed and fabricated quilt for MZMF reflecting the long history of Black Freedom Struggle.
Details of the celebration will be posted on the MZMF and MJHF website: https://mtzionmemorialfund.com/ and on the MJHF website: http://msjohnhurtfoundation.org/.
