DeKalb County Public Library Announces Doris K. Wells Heritage Festival Events for December

The Fes­ti­val Cel­e­brates the Rich Tapes­try of DeKalb’s Diverse Com­mu­ni­ties and Culture

DECATUR, Ga. – (Nov. 28, 2023) — DeKalb Coun­ty Pub­lic Library announced today its slate of Decem­ber events for the 2023 Doris. K. Wells Her­itage Fes­ti­val. Span­ning the months of Decem­ber 2023 and Jan­u­ary 2024, this two-month cel­e­bra­tion brings an array of pro­grams to the library.

“We invite every­one to join us in a two-month cel­e­bra­tion of sto­ries, tra­di­tions and shared expe­ri­ences,” said Ali­son Weissinger, direc­tor, DeKalb Coun­ty Pub­lic Library. ​“Our aim is to fos­ter a sense of com­mu­ni­ty and appre­ci­a­tion for the rich her­itage that makes DeKalb Coun­ty so spe­cial.”

The more than 20 pro­grams will fea­ture sto­ry­telling, food, crafts, infor­ma­tion­al work­shops and more. High­lights include:

• Gul­lah Tales & Sto­ries of Strength and Per­se­ver­ance on Sat­ur­day, Dec. 9 at 1 p.m. at Coun­ty Line-Ellen­wood Library. Sto­ry­teller LaDoris Bias-Davis will bring to life Gul­lah tales, African Amer­i­can folk­tales and more.
• First Fruits, Fam­i­ly and Com­mu­ni­ty Kwan­zaa Cel­e­bra­tion on Mon­day, Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. at Flat Shoals Library. Author, per­cus­sion­ist and sto­ry­teller Jer­ry G. White will enter­tain the audi­ence at this inter­ac­tive pro­gram with drums, danc­ing, music and storytelling.
• Fred­er­ick Dou­glas Reese Foun­da­tion Dis­cus­sion and Exhib­it on Sat­ur­day, Dec. 23 at 11 a.m. at Coun­ty Line-Ellen­wood Library. The grand­sons of civ­il rights activist Dr. Fred­er­ick D. Reese will edu­cate par­tic­i­pants about the Sel­ma Teach­ers’ March and how the actions of their grand­fa­ther and the ​“Coura­geous Eight” shaped the Vot­ing Rights Act. 
  

The Doris K. Wells Her­itage Fes­ti­val is an annu­al cel­e­bra­tion of the diverse com­mu­ni­ties that make up DeKalb Coun­ty. It is named in hon­or of DeKalb Coun­ty Pub­lic Library’s first African Amer­i­can librar­i­an, the late Doris K. Wells. The fes­ti­val orig­i­nat­ed in 1983 as the Kwan­zaa Aware­ness Fes­ti­val at Scott Can­dler Library. More than 1,000 peo­ple attend­ed this inau­gur­al event. Since then, the fes­ti­val has evolved into the annu­al, two-month cel­e­bra­tion we know today.

All events are free and open to the pub­lic. Find more infor­ma­tion and the sched­ule at dekalbli​brary​.org/​n​e​w​s​/​h​e​r​i​t​a​g​e​f​e​s​tival.