Word of South hosted their second annual festival with a mixture of literature and music at Cascades Park.
The festival began on Friday with a musical performance by Dawes, an American folk-rock band from Los Angeles and ended this Sunday.
Mark Mustian, the founder of Word of South, wants patrons to be able to experience all Tallahassee has to offer.
“We are thrilled to bring so many artists together at Word of South. Our diverse lineup of performers makes the festival a family-friendly, cultural experience in a beautiful setting. We’re committed to making our event accessible to everyone, so almost all events are free,” Mustian said.
Featured musicians included, The Bad Years, Donishisa Ballard, Blue Healer, Beverly Crawford and Sye Elaine Spence.
“I’m excited about being apart of an event that mixes all different types of art together. Music is something that brings everyone together, a kind of universal language. I want people to take in something natural and pure, my music is very stripped down and very organic. We want to experience a breath of fresh air with our music, for people to kind of exhale anything they have building up inside of them in terms of tension and just enjoy the performance,” Spence said.
Saturday featured environmental writer Leslie Poole, and musician Pal Garfinkel.
The pair performed their piece on issues with Florida water. Their performance featured Leslie’s words, Paul’s music and pictures for the audience to add visual quality.
Poole wanted people to know the importance of taking personal accountability of the resources afforded to us now, recognizing that our choices today affect our future.
“I want people to get a real sense of Florida, for them to know that we have a wonderful culture. People can come to this event and leave with a different viewpoint, maybe expand their minds. I want people to bare their souls with music,” Poole said.
Vendors lined the streets with food trucks, Boca Chuba Beer Stand and book sellers as well.
The festival also hosted a panel featuring the 2016 winners of the Florida Book awards. The panel was aligned with the fiction and poetry winners: Gracie Chandler, Brandi George, Bruce Thomason, Donald Morrill and Katherine Clark.
The panel was held at 12:15 p.m. and moderated by Mary Jane Ryals, author of Cookie & Me.
At 3:15 p.m., the 2016 Florida Book award winners, Diane Ochitree, Patrick Kendrick, Susan Cerulean, Andres Andreu and Tameka Hobbs, held another panel moderated by author and historian, Wayne Wiegand.
Saturday and Sunday, children festivities were held at the Story Fort sponsored by Florida Blue. Festivities included animal poems and scavenger hunts.