DeaFestival - Kentucky History
1990 Los Angeles, California — Four individuals came together and created a festival where Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals could showcase their artistic talents. 3,000 individuals attended the first ever DeaFestival in California.
1996 Danville, Kentucky — Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (KCDHH) introduced the concept of DeaFestival to the Commonwealth of Kentucky. 3,000 individuals attended the first ever DeaFestival-Kentucky in '96 at the Kentucky School for the Deaf.
1997 Frankfort, Kentucky — With the beautiful background of the State Capitol DeaFestival ‘97 drew a crowd of 4,500 individuals participating and learning about Deaf Culture and American Sign Language. The major sponsors of this festival included BellSouth, the Kentucky Arts Council, the Franklin County Judge Executive, the Kentucky Association of the Deaf, the Frankfort/Franklin County Tourism and Convention Commission, the Kentucky Department of Education, Kentucky Utilities, the Division of Historic Properties, AT&T, and Fruit of the Loom. DeaFestival ‘97 was featured on television stations in Lexington, Louisville, and Frankfort. All of the major state newspapers had DeaFestival ‘97 featured before and after the event along with the Associated Press, which published DeaFestival nationally!
1998 Louisville, Kentucky — KCDHH and the Kentucky Center collaborated to produce DeaFestival ‘98. This spectacular event was an indoor/outdoor event that took place at the beautiful Kentucky Center and on the Great Lawn of the Belvedere, overlooking the beautiful new waterfront of Louisville, Kentucky. 7,500 festivalgoers attended this event. The city was bannered from the airport to downtown and the Mayor of Louisville was quoted as saying “This event is spectacular and is one of the Top 20 Festivals for Louisville”. The Courier Journal METRO section and The Kentucky Post covered the event, held on the “hottest day of the summer”.
2000 Covington, Kentucky — For the first time DeaFestival goes completely indoors. The brand new and beautiful Northern Kentucky Convention Center was transformed into a professional theatrical production with staging while maintaining the “outside festival atmosphere”, which was enjoyed by all. For the first time an International dance troupe, Grupo Dansoc Guantanamo, from Cuba was featured at DeaFestival and brought new excitement to the SpotLights program. 8,500 attended DeaFestival 2000. The Kentucky Post focused on the local talents showcased at the event, while The Cincinnati Enquirer featured the Visual Artist Studio and concurrent exhibit Elements of A Culture: Visions by Deaf Artists, at the World Peace Bell Exhibit Center.
2002 Lexington Horse Park, Lexington, Kentucky — DeaFestival gave us a real Kentucky feel with the spectacular backdrop of the Kentucky Horse Park, including Arabian and Thoroughbred horses. The festival took place on June 28-29, 2002 and was held predominantly outdoors. As always the event was FREE to the public and showcased local, national and international visual and performing artists in four programs running concurrently. DeaFestival - Kentucky is rapidly becoming known as a premiere regional festival. This notoriety was enhanced as DeaFestival went national in 2002 and partnered with the National Association of the Deaf in Washington, D.C. to bring a “taste of Kentucky” to the national conference on July 3-8.
2004 Louisville, Kentucky — The Kentucky Center — Held on September 5th DeaFestival-Kentucky 2004 was the biggest success yet with 10,000 + participants. From the Horse of a Different Color, created by deaf artists during 2002-2003, at the front door of the Kentucky Center to the expansive Visual Artist Studio with many new participants, the Ky Center lobby was "buzzing" with conversations. Outside the Children's Program showcased the "Lord of the Rings", teaching children the importance of reading. The Culture and Tradtions tent gave an opportunity to see hearing assistive technology demonstrated and to hear "Old Time" stories and KSD student's perspective on emerging technology. Exhibitors lined the Belvedere with a sea of tents and loads of information! The SpotLights program held inside the Bomhard Theater was exceptional, with many Nationally known performers and a "Neon Lights" finale. Techonolgy demonstratrations included videoconferencing and an update on the progress of establishing Deaf Access Stations throughout the Commonwealth. It was a wonderful day!
2006 Louisville, Kentucky — The Kentucky Center — Held on July 1st, with an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 in attendance, DeaFestival-Kentucky 2006 was a success. Due to the competition with the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) conference in California, and other national conferences held the same weekend, there were fewer Visual Artists and Exhibitors. The Visual Artist's Venue although smaller, none the less showcased professional artists with exceptional works of art for sale. The Children's program, "Narnia, the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" was well received and showed children and adults alike how we are all diverse and must all work together to accomplish our goals. SpotLights, the Adult program, gave us a chance to see some familiar faces, such as the Wild Zappers, Sherry Hicks and Pinky Aiello, and some new faces with appearances by the Anderson Twins, James Gillies and a group of deaf professionals and students who showed us that we can all... "Dare to Dream"... and become anything if we work hard! Exhibitors, Vendors and Sponsors also provided information, crafts and technology demonstrations to all in attendance at the outside events. It was an exceptional day and everyone enjoyed the festivities!
2008 - Louisville, Kentucky— The Kentucky Center - To be held on August 30th.
Make plans to attend now!
And, so, what is DeaFestival-Kentucky exactly?
A one-day FREE event for ALL! Four main attractions include: The main stage SpotLights, which displays the creative talents of storytellers, dancers and theatrical performances. The Children’s Program, Hands Across the World, which allows children to open up their imagination and travel with artists through a colorful and visual world while participating in interactive craft projects and mesmerizing visual stories. The Folklore Program, Culture & Traditions allows everyone to broaden their awareness and learn more about the deaf and hard of hearing culture. The Visual Artist Studio is a collection of unique works from deaf and hard of hearing artists all over the United States.
1996 Danville, Kentucky — Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (KCDHH) introduced the concept of DeaFestival to the Commonwealth of Kentucky. 3,000 individuals attended the first ever DeaFestival-Kentucky in '96 at the Kentucky School for the Deaf.
1997 Frankfort, Kentucky — With the beautiful background of the State Capitol DeaFestival ‘97 drew a crowd of 4,500 individuals participating and learning about Deaf Culture and American Sign Language. The major sponsors of this festival included BellSouth, the Kentucky Arts Council, the Franklin County Judge Executive, the Kentucky Association of the Deaf, the Frankfort/Franklin County Tourism and Convention Commission, the Kentucky Department of Education, Kentucky Utilities, the Division of Historic Properties, AT&T, and Fruit of the Loom. DeaFestival ‘97 was featured on television stations in Lexington, Louisville, and Frankfort. All of the major state newspapers had DeaFestival ‘97 featured before and after the event along with the Associated Press, which published DeaFestival nationally!
1998 Louisville, Kentucky — KCDHH and the Kentucky Center collaborated to produce DeaFestival ‘98. This spectacular event was an indoor/outdoor event that took place at the beautiful Kentucky Center and on the Great Lawn of the Belvedere, overlooking the beautiful new waterfront of Louisville, Kentucky. 7,500 festivalgoers attended this event. The city was bannered from the airport to downtown and the Mayor of Louisville was quoted as saying “This event is spectacular and is one of the Top 20 Festivals for Louisville”. The Courier Journal METRO section and The Kentucky Post covered the event, held on the “hottest day of the summer”.
2000 Covington, Kentucky — For the first time DeaFestival goes completely indoors. The brand new and beautiful Northern Kentucky Convention Center was transformed into a professional theatrical production with staging while maintaining the “outside festival atmosphere”, which was enjoyed by all. For the first time an International dance troupe, Grupo Dansoc Guantanamo, from Cuba was featured at DeaFestival and brought new excitement to the SpotLights program. 8,500 attended DeaFestival 2000. The Kentucky Post focused on the local talents showcased at the event, while The Cincinnati Enquirer featured the Visual Artist Studio and concurrent exhibit Elements of A Culture: Visions by Deaf Artists, at the World Peace Bell Exhibit Center.
2002 Lexington Horse Park, Lexington, Kentucky — DeaFestival gave us a real Kentucky feel with the spectacular backdrop of the Kentucky Horse Park, including Arabian and Thoroughbred horses. The festival took place on June 28-29, 2002 and was held predominantly outdoors. As always the event was FREE to the public and showcased local, national and international visual and performing artists in four programs running concurrently. DeaFestival - Kentucky is rapidly becoming known as a premiere regional festival. This notoriety was enhanced as DeaFestival went national in 2002 and partnered with the National Association of the Deaf in Washington, D.C. to bring a “taste of Kentucky” to the national conference on July 3-8.
2004 Louisville, Kentucky — The Kentucky Center — Held on September 5th DeaFestival-Kentucky 2004 was the biggest success yet with 10,000 + participants. From the Horse of a Different Color, created by deaf artists during 2002-2003, at the front door of the Kentucky Center to the expansive Visual Artist Studio with many new participants, the Ky Center lobby was "buzzing" with conversations. Outside the Children's Program showcased the "Lord of the Rings", teaching children the importance of reading. The Culture and Tradtions tent gave an opportunity to see hearing assistive technology demonstrated and to hear "Old Time" stories and KSD student's perspective on emerging technology. Exhibitors lined the Belvedere with a sea of tents and loads of information! The SpotLights program held inside the Bomhard Theater was exceptional, with many Nationally known performers and a "Neon Lights" finale. Techonolgy demonstratrations included videoconferencing and an update on the progress of establishing Deaf Access Stations throughout the Commonwealth. It was a wonderful day!
2006 Louisville, Kentucky — The Kentucky Center — Held on July 1st, with an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 in attendance, DeaFestival-Kentucky 2006 was a success. Due to the competition with the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) conference in California, and other national conferences held the same weekend, there were fewer Visual Artists and Exhibitors. The Visual Artist's Venue although smaller, none the less showcased professional artists with exceptional works of art for sale. The Children's program, "Narnia, the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" was well received and showed children and adults alike how we are all diverse and must all work together to accomplish our goals. SpotLights, the Adult program, gave us a chance to see some familiar faces, such as the Wild Zappers, Sherry Hicks and Pinky Aiello, and some new faces with appearances by the Anderson Twins, James Gillies and a group of deaf professionals and students who showed us that we can all... "Dare to Dream"... and become anything if we work hard! Exhibitors, Vendors and Sponsors also provided information, crafts and technology demonstrations to all in attendance at the outside events. It was an exceptional day and everyone enjoyed the festivities!
2008 - Louisville, Kentucky— The Kentucky Center - To be held on August 30th.
Make plans to attend now!
And, so, what is DeaFestival-Kentucky exactly?
A one-day FREE event for ALL! Four main attractions include: The main stage SpotLights, which displays the creative talents of storytellers, dancers and theatrical performances. The Children’s Program, Hands Across the World, which allows children to open up their imagination and travel with artists through a colorful and visual world while participating in interactive craft projects and mesmerizing visual stories. The Folklore Program, Culture & Traditions allows everyone to broaden their awareness and learn more about the deaf and hard of hearing culture. The Visual Artist Studio is a collection of unique works from deaf and hard of hearing artists all over the United States.
- Until DeaFestival, the deaf and hard of hearing community in Kentucky has never truly had the opportunity to fully experience and participate in a comprehensive program of cultural and artistic activities and performances.
- Until DeaFestival, the hearing community has never truly had the opportunity to immerse themselves in a world of visual wonders. Artists gain respect and admiration for their own work. Those who attend gain understanding, awareness and a better appreciation of the artistic talents and Visual wonders surrounding Deafness.
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Updated: 8/30/2006