As Black History Month begins this weekend, the historic Orange County town of Eatonville has kicked off its annual Zora Neale Hurston Outdoor Festival of the Arts.
A chilly start to Friday didn't keep crowds away from the festival, and organizers said they expect about 50,000 people in Eatonville over the course of the weekend.
The 26th annual event celebrates the life and work of one of the most influential The African-American authors of the 20th century.
Hurston, best known for her 1937 masterwork, "Their Eyes Were Watching God," was born in Alabama in 1891, but for her, home was always in Eatonville, one of the first all-black towns incorporated in the United States.
"Zora Neale Hurston is arguably the most important cultural figure to come from Central Florida," said Ben Brotmarkle, with the Florida Historical Society. "She lived here at the turn of the last century. She became a central figure of the Harlem Renaissance in New York, but she wrote about Eatonville. She grew up here. Her most famous work, 'Their Eyes Were Watching God,' takes place here in Eatonville."
"It's rich, because she did a lot of things to support history, and this is a part of us," said Irna Walker, from Sanford.
Friday's festivities are free and open to the public. Admission Saturday and Sunday is $10 per day for adults, and free for students 17 and under with a valid student photo ID.