UNCA to Host Festival for Chiapas;
Peggy Seeger and The Muses Headline Benefit Concert

Peegy Seeger

UNC Asheville’s Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs and Sociology Department will host the Festival for Chiapas Saturday, July 12, in UNCA’s Lipinsky Auditorium. The festival will include free family activities, a benefit concert featuring top acts, and a silent auction. Proceeds from all events will benefit the Fray Bartolome Center for Human Rights in Asheville’s sister city of San Cristobal de las Casas in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. All events are open to the public.

Family events will be held from 2-5 p.m. Activities will include puppetry, a magic show, juggling performance and workshop, face painting, balloons and a moonwalk. Documentary films on Chiapas will be shown and hand-crafted textiles made by a Chiapas weaving cooperative will be on sale. Donations will be accepted.

The benefit concert will include performances by renowned musicians, dancers and poets. Musical acts will include Peggy Seeger, The Muses, Chris Rosser, Kellin Watson, Jen Hamel and Mosby, the Ribtips, Daniel Rojas Davila, Josh Bulla and Doug Smith. Dance performances will be given by Rhythm of Isis, Blue Ridge Ballroom and Ira Bernstein. Poets Mendy Knott and Carrie Gerstmann are also included in the lineup. Sign language interpretation for The Muses’ performance will be provided by Rachel Schlafer-Parton. Tickets, on sale at the door, are $10 for adults and $4 for children.

The evening event will also include a silent auction of goods and services donated by local businesses. Items include massage gift certificates, artwork, CDS and books.

The festival is held in conjunction with "Portraits of Chiapas," an exhibition of 20 intimate color portraits of the indigenous Chiapas people by Spanish photographer Javier Nicolas. The exhibition will be on view through July 25 at UNCA's Blowers Gallery. Located on the main floor of UNCA's Ramsey Library, the gallery is open during regular library hours. For hours of operation, call UNCA's Ramsey Library at 828/251-6546.

Click here for more information about the Fray Bartolome Center for Human Rights.

For more information in English or Spanish about the Festival for Chiapas, call 828/279-4577 or 828/645-1558.

Media Contacts:

• Gail Forsyth, festival organizer, 828/279-4577
• Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526