By Emily Enfinger | The Selma Times-Journal

Black Belt Community Foundation (BBCF) and the Alabama State Council on The Arts will be hosting the second workshop of a two part series on Saturday, Jan. 30 focusing on festivals.

The “Stronger Festivals in Alabama’s Black Belt” workshop will be held at Wallace Community College in the Hank Sanders Technology Building from 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.

Daron Harris, BBCF spokesperson, said the festival workshop is designed to help community arts and culture festivals of all different types to become stronger.

The workshop is free and also includes a free continental breakfast and lunch. Participation is limited to the first 25 registrants. Deadline for registration is Wednesday, Jan 27.

“We’ve got a good group of people coming that are statewide that have done festivals, worked with festivals and can go in and help people who are beginning… or who is even established,” said Jo Taylor, BBCF program manager for the arts.

BBCF is a nonprofit organization that services 12 counties stretching from Mississippi to Georgia. Their mission is to work with the residents within the Black Belt region to help improve their quality of life.

Representatives from various festivals including Collins Kirby with thecCity of Fort Payne Boom Days Heritage Celebration, Clay Carmichael with BlackBelt Benefit Group’s Rock n’ Ribs Benefit, Barbara Evans with the Okra Festival and more will be sharing their knowledge on operating successful festivals.

“These are some strong people with excellent information to share,” Taylor said.

Topics for discussion will include the do’s and don’ts of running a festival, conducting needs assessments, budgeting, fundraising, how to start a festival and finding and approaching sponsors.

The workshop will also include a presentation from The Alabama Department of Tourism on online marketing.

For more information about Stronger Festivals in Alabama’s Black Belt workshop or to register, contact Taylor at jtaylor@blackbeltfound.org.

For more information about the Black Belt Community Foundation, visit www.blackbeltfound.org.