Event: W.C. Handy Musical Festival
Time: Friday, July 22-31, 2011
Event Type: Community Festival
Location: Florence
Event Website: View Event Website www.wchandymusicfestival.org
Sponsor: Music Preservation Society, Inc.
Contact: info@wchandymusicfestival.org (256) 766-7642
Info: The W.C. Handy Music Festival is an annual ten day series of events held in the Northwestern part of Alabama. The Festival was named after William Christopher Handy, born in 1873 in the Shoals city of Florence, Alabama. Handy became known as "Father of the Blues" and was the first to present that genre to the world in the form of sheet music. The Festival has been endorsed by the family of Mr. Handy, who have participated several times through the years, and who still operates Handy Brothers Music in New York. Handy's music has been featured world wide, and his influence on modern music is unparalleled. The W.C. Handy Music Festival is scheduled each year around the last full week of July. The W.C. Handy Festival has been presented since 1982 by the Music Preservation Society (MPS), Inc. The first Handy Festival was a long weekend of music featuring Dizzy Gillespie as the headliner artist, and was presented with the help and encouragement of Willie Ruff, a professional musician born in Sheffield, Alabama. Since then, the Handy Festival has evolved from a long weekend into a ten-day annual celebration of approximately 300 events at locations throughout the Shoals. Music isn't the only entertainment to be found at the Festival. The schedule is a mosaic of diverse events that offers something for everyone, including music, art exhibits, theatre, educational programs, a Music Camp, car shows, and recreational and sports activities.