Grit & Grace Presents The Way It Was. August 4-7

[Teresa]

Grit & Grace presents its 2011 production
The Way It Was

August 4-6 7pm
August 7 2pm
Walton High School Auditorium
DeFuniak Springs, FL
$10 Adults / $5 Students

Grit and Grace




The Official Folk Life Production of Walton County,Florida

Grit &Grace became a reality in 1999 as a way of taking the oral history of Walton County,Florida and translating it to the stage in the form of a folk life production. The Walton County Board of County Commissioners declared Grit &Grace the Official Folk Life Production of Walton County,and their support helps to ensure our continued success. Through partnering with Walton County’s Autumn Tides we have been able to reach larger audiences and continue to enhance our performances.
By providing performances of the history of Walton County,we’ve been able to bring positive change in our community. But the success we’ve enjoyed is not ours alone;it belongs to all of us who call Walton County,Florida home. We’re pleased to share this report with you,and hope it will serve as a reminder of the true value of Grit &Grace.​

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[Teresa]

Dinner Theater Package at Bogeys

Before opening your eyes to 'The Way It Was', this year's Grit & Grace production, open your appetite to an elegant Pre-Theater Dinner at Bogey's four star Restaurant & Bar.

Available August 4th through 6th Dinner & Theater Packages include a four course Dinner and bottle of house wine at Bogey's, and if you choose to stay over, a full breakfast at our Hotel Cafe the following morning. Dinner at 5pm, Curtain at 7pm.

Bogeys / Hotel DeFuniak
400 East Nelson Avenue
DeFuniak Springs, FL 32433



Please see details at Dinner & Theater Package

 

[Abby Prentiss]

I am looking forward to seeing some local history!

from the sun.................


Grit & Grace, Walton County's official folk life production, is moving forward with this year's production and tackling the previously untouched subject of segregation.

What better way to tackle fresh territory than with a new voice.

Jeanne Danielle Jackson, who wrote and directed the play, grew up in DeFuniak Springs but cut her teeth on film production in Los Angeles. She brings that experience to this 10th production of Grit & Grace, entitled simply "The Way it Was."

The play begins in 1910 with New Yorkers getting off the train in DeFuniak Springs. They were arriving for their annual winter trip in search of a warmer climate. While here the New Yorkers brought culture and sought to learn through Chautauqua.

The play time travels from that era on into the war-torn era of the 1940s before taking on the tumultuous 1970s.

Although she didn't experience these eras personally, Jackson said she interviewed several people who did to get a feel for the way it was. She speaks with passion and enthusiasm about history and the history of Walton County.

"My target in this production is young adults such as myself," said Jackson. "There are kids who don't know about human rights and historical events such as The Bay of Pigs. While most of the country desegregated sooner, it took until 1970 for Walton County to desegregate."

1969 was the last graduating class of Walton County's all-black Tivoli High School. Jackson's mother was in the Walton High School graduating class of 1970, the high school from which Jackson also graduated.

"I can't imagine going to my first day of class at a new high school and seeing armed National Guardsmen outside," she said. "But, actually, it went well here."

Thirty-five people from across the county will perform in the folk life production "The Way it Was" that opens Aug. 4 at Walton High School auditorium in DeFuniak Springs. Performances are Aug. 4-6 at 7 p.m., and Aug. 7 at 2 p.m.

For more information visit www.gritandgrace.org. Tickets are available online, at Sundog Books, at Walton County Chamber of Commerce, or at the door.

 

[Teresa]

We wouldn't miss it!