“Gift of the Spirit” Arts Festival May 12th
CORVALLIS, OR - 12 May 2007 - The first Annual Arts Festival “Gift of the Spirit” sponsored by the Bahá’ís of Benton County took place on May 12, 2007. Various local artists showed and performed their artistic creations to over 150 visitors. The event took place the entire day at the Corvallis Public Library. A special dramatic presentation “Zaynab” with the theme of courage in a world that is falling apart, was presented twice. A DVD is being prepared of the dramatic presentation and will soon be offered for sale in order to raise funds for future presentations and equipment. The schedule during the day looked like this:
10am Festival opens – roam the art on display all day
11am Poetry reading - April King
12pm Short story - Axel Anders
12:30pm Poetry reading - Suzy Conway
2pm Play, “Zaynab” *
3pm Vocal and guitar solo - David Hunt
3:30pm Violin solo - The Red Square string quartet
4pm Acoustic guitar and bass duo - Rob Siegel and Matt Slaughter
5pm “Notions of Now” vocal and bass - Melissa and Matt Slaughter
7pm Red Square string quartet - featuring Talia Lindsley, Han Jun Lee, Valerie Nelson and Jayme Kurland.
7:30pm Play, “Zaynab” * (repeat)
* Zaynab centers on an obscure episode in the early history of the Bahá’í Faith where a group of believers in mid-19th century Persia were forced to defend their lives against assault – among them a young woman (Zaynab) who disguised herself as a man in order to assist her fellow religionists. Through a series of brief scenes, the play explores the nature of courage and commitment to one’s Faith, as well as the relationship of the modern believer to the heroes and heroines of one’s spiritual heritage.