In recognition of the work of the Pinellas Community Foundation (PCF), Festivale50 celebrates 50 years of service in transforming Pinellas County for the better.
On February 22, Festivale50 will offer a full afternoon of events of innovative art, music and dance with interactive exhibits. All artists and art organizations are recipients of PCF grants, monetary awards that help fill the gap left by deep cuts in statewide funding for cultural endeavors.
One offering at Festivale50 is the documentary film directed by Gulfport-based Victoria Jorgensen called The Magic Hour. It’s a film about aging in place and consists of personal interviews with six local women, ranging in age from 62 to 81, all creative, articulate, outspoken, still active and still determined to matter. As the film indicates, we are living longer and longer, so we must find a way to deal with the “Third Age,” that is, that span of time from retirement to the beginning of age-imposed physical, emotional and cognitive limitations, generally between 65 and 80-plus.
Sophia Loren, age 84, observed that the "fountain of youth is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this sources, you will truly have defeated age."
The women featured in this film exemplify that wisdom.
The interviewees — Janet Roberts, Paula Kramer, Maria Emilie, Angie Knowles, Inge Mooney, and Neverne Covington — include a choreographer/dancer, two fine artists, a mixed-media textile artist, a public speaker and a woman who escaped a bombing in Bremerhaven during WWII. Although there are many similarities in how they handle the "Magic Hour" of their lives, there are unique differences.
It makes for an intriguing and inspiring conversation to hear the women discuss their typical day, rewards and relationships, love and romance, fear and regrets, body changes and challenges, legacy, loss, time, spirituality and finally, finding purpose in their magic hour.
When asked to sum up their lives in a few words, we hear such things as "curious," "tenacious," "resilient," "optimistic," "empathetic," encouraging words surely for the rest of us, men and women alike, seeking to age well and find meaning in our own magic hour.
As Tina Turner, age 79, reminds us, "I never give in to old age until I become old. And I'm not old yet."
The film was produced with the support of the Pinellas Community Foundation and Creative Pinellas as part of the Pinellas Community Foundation ACT II Artist Grant.
Festivale50 | Creative Pinellas, 12211 Walsingham Rd., Largo | February 22: 1-4 p.m. | $30; members, free (ticket includes food) | 727-531-0058 | pinellascf.org/festivale50
