FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Heidi Durrow
Phone: 213-293-7077
Email: heidi@mixedremixed.org
Website: www.mixedremixed.org
Twitter: @mixedremixed
Instagram: mixedremixed
#mixedremixed
MIXED-RACE AND MULTIRACIAL AMERICANS CELEBRATE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF INTERRACIAL MARRIAGE
LOS ANGELES, CA– The Mixed Remixed Festival, the nation’s largest gathering of mixed-race and multiracial families and people, will take place at the Los Angeles Theatre Center in downtown Los Angeles (514 S. Spring Street), Saturday June 10, 2017.
The Festival celebrates stories of multiracial Americans and families, the fastest growing demographic in the U.S. This year the Festival–now in its fourth year–celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Loving v. Virginia, the Supreme Court decision that allowed people of different races to marry nationwide.
A free public event, the Festival brings together film and book lovers, innovative and emerging artists, and multiracial and multicultural families and individuals for workshops, readings, performances, and film screenings and family activities.
The Mixed Remixed Festival attracted close to 1,000 people from across the country last year and featured dozens of writers, scholars and performers including TV and film star Taye Diggs. The Festival, a non-profit arts organization — is produced by The New York Times best-selling writer, Heidi Durrow, and a talented team of entertainment professionals and artists.
“We are excited to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Loving and the diversity of our stories,” says Durrow, who calls herself an Afro-Viking because she is African-American and Danish. “The Loving anniversary and the Festival are important reminders that the mixed-race experience is very much the American experience. For our attendees, it’s a place where they can feel less alone. Many people say it feels like coming home for the first time.”
The event is free and open to the public. Registration is strongly encouraged. The complete Festival schedule can be found online at www.mixedremixed.org.
FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
- The Festival hosts the largest West Coast Loving Day Celebration, Saturday, June 10, 2017, at 6:30 p.m. with the annual Storyteller’s Prize presentation and live show. The Festival will present the Storyteller’s Prize to multiple Golden Globe and Emmy nominated actor and producer David Oyelowo (Selma/A United Kingdom) as part of a dynamic live show featuring comedians and performers Tehran, Sunda Croonquist, Joe Hernandez-Kolski, Joshua Silverstein and Kayla Briet and produced and directed by Rayme Cornell.
- Families can enjoy interactive craft activities, free face-painting and storytelling events led by the beloved Santa Monica bookstore, Books and Cookies, as part of the Festival’s family activities.
- The Festival will feature a special program hosted by 23andMe showcasing a family for whom the Loving v. Virginia decision came too late. Recently, a young law student in Virginia, Katrina Callsen, uncovered her own side of the story, with the help of modern science – a genetic test from 23andMe. Katrina and her father share her discovery and the ripple effect it’s had on the family. Serein Wu, a popular lifestyle blogger, will moderate the discussion.
- The Festival will present several notable short films including the award-winning Silences (dir. Octavio Warnock-Graham). Immediately following all the screenings there will be Q & A with the filmmakers and scholar-led discussions that connect a humanities perspective to contemporary storytellers’ work.
- The Festival includes author readings by New York Times bestselling-author Julie Lythcott-Haims (How To Raise An Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap And Prepare Your Kid for Success, and the forthcoming memoir Real American), award-winning writer May-lee Chai, poet Tara Betts who is the co-editor of the forthcoming The Beiging of America: Personal Narratives About Being Mixed Race in the 21st Century (2 Leaf Press) and many others.
- More than a dozen esteemed panelists will speak on diverse topics related to the mixed-race and multicultural experience, including one of the youngest TED Fellows, musician/filmmaker Kayla Briet; Tehran, comedian and host of the popular shows Comedy Bazaar and All-Star Comedy at The Laugh Factory, and professional actor and Master Teacher Rayme Cornell.
- Band of Vices, a popular art gallery and collective, will exhibit a dozen new works in the Festival’s Grand Lobby as well.
Festival sponsors and funders include: 23andMe, Mixed Chicks, Buntoppers, Final Draft, Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill, the Leo Buscaglia Foundation, the Puffin West Foundation, and Poets & Writers through grants it has received from the Irvine Foundation and the Hearst Foundations. This project was made possible with support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Visit www.calhum.org. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of California Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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