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National Black Theatre Festival Leaves behind Money and Memories
By MARK R. MOSS
Chronicle Sttff Writer
From the city's economic inter
ests to the guardians of law and
order, the National Black Theatre
Festival, which ended last Saturday,
was an overwhelming success.
Thousands of people came to
town and collectively spent millions
of dollars during the week-long
affair that included plays, work
shops, readings and celebrating with
celebrities.
"I thought it was a marvtastic
festival," said Larry Leon Hamlin,
the festival's founder. "We had more
productions, more performances,
more celebrities - more celebrities
who stayed longer - more work
shops and more seminars.
"Somehow the spiritualness of
this festival was heightened," he
said. The love and respect every
body had for one another was at it
pinnacle."
Fred Nordenholz, executive
director of the Winston-Salem
Chamber of Commerce, said that
although he couldn't provide a dol
lar amount on what festival -goers
spent, the "anecdotal" evidence
seems to point to an economic
windfall for local businesses.
"Based on what people I've
talked to said ... the hotel and hos
pitality people are delighted," he
said.
Nordenholz said that since the
evenr wasnTa convention, -the
Chamber had nothing to do with
booking hotel rooms. Knowing the
number of booked rooms helps offi
cials come up with an estimate of
the amount of money a group
spends, Nordenholz said.
However, he said, "anybody
who just used their two eyes and
went to the productions" would con
clude that all was going well eco
nomically.
Nordenholz said that one of the
"intangible" consequences of the
festival was that the city got "good
pubty; relations."
"The name 'Winston-Salem' got
out there in a prominent way," he
said. "It. (the festival) is something
to put in our basket of things to use
when we sell Winston-Salem."
Alderman Robert North ington
Jr. concurred that the festival was a
public-relations bonanza.
"Winston-Salem is being iden
tified in the press on a national
basis," he said, "and that's not some
thing you can go out and buy. Any
body who thought that this was not
economic development was either
comatose or unconscious."
Northington, chairman of the
board'of alderman's Finance Com
mittee, $aid the committee on Mon
day night approved a $35,000 grant
to help fund the 1995 festival.
Northington said that he
attended the opening night gala and
the production ? Celebrations: An
African Odyssey ? that followed
and was impressed by the quality of
the performance.
Police Sgt. C.E. Vance, who
works out of the downtown foot
patrol office on Fourth Street,
described working the festival as
"very easy duty." "Everybody was
in a partying mood," he said. Extra
officers were assigned to work the
festival, Vance said, some directing
traffic and offering directions to out
of-towners.
When asked what she enjoyed
most about the festival, Kathy Lee,
production supervisor at the Win
ston-Salem Chronicle , mentioned
"Mother Gospel," a production star
ring Delia Reese.
"It was one 6f those plays that
left you with a smile on your face,"
she said. "It left you feeling good."
She also was impressed with
the actors she met: Ted Lange and
A1 Freeman.
"The festival gave everybody a
chance to mingle ftith the stars,"
said Larry Butler, an assistant vice
president at Wachovia. "Winston
really flourished. I thought the
whole festival was fantastic."
He said that he and his wife,
Diane, haven't missed a festival
since it started in 1989,
Blanche Carter, manager of
university relations at Winston
Salem State University, served as a
volunteer usher at the production of
"Last Night at Ace High," which
starred members of the New York
based Negro Ensemble Co.
Carter, a native New Yorker,
said, "It was just great to feel the
energy that was emanating from all
these talented people. The festival is
something that I think we should be
proud of."
Photos by C.O . Matthews
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