The 2019 Gordon Parks Celebration to feature Jazz Singer Queen Bey

Celebration, scheduled for October 3 – 5, 2019, at Fort Scott Community College, will feature Jazz Singer Queen Bey, Kansas City’s Ambassador of Jazz in a music performance at 7:00 p.m. at the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center on Friday, October 4th.

Ticket includes Heavy Hors d’oeuvres and a Cash Bar will be available.

Social Hour starts at 6:00 pm

This performance event was supported in part by the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

“We are very thrilled that we were able to bring Queen Bey back to Fort Scott once again through this grant,” said Kirk Sharp, Gordon Parks Museum Director.

Queen Bey’s wide repertoire of jazz and blues standards and innovative and often unknown songs are drawn from her first-hand experience working with the legends of jazz and blues.

Queen first began performing at the age of twelve years old and at the time met Billie Holiday. Jazz greats such as Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, Dinah Washington, and Ella Fitzgerald became her chaperones and her teachers

. Queen has performed with B.B. King, The Platters and jazz pianist Earl Garner.

In 1980, Ms. Bey received the Kansas Governor’s Arts Award and was one of the honorees at the 1991 induction of the Elder statesman of Kansas City’s Jazz, Inc.

She is officially recognized as Kansas City’s Ambassador of Jazz and 2016 was inducted to the American Jazz Walk of Fame.

Ms. Bey has acted on stage and television and in film, including Broadway musicals- Ain’t Misbavin, One Mo’ Time and Blues in the Night.

Tickets are $25 each. Please reserve you ticket by Wednesday, Oct 2, 2019.

Tickets available at the Gordon Parks Museum and Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce.

For more information about the Celebration, see the website at gordonparkscenter.org. or email [email protected] or by phone call 223-2700, ext. 5850.

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