ITC Texas Folklife Festival Director Receives Award
The Institute of Texan Cultures' Texas Folklife Festival Director, JoAnn Andera, was honored on Thursday, April 19, as the recipient of the 2001 Terry Hershey Award for Excellence. The Terry Hershey Award for Excellence is given annually by the Texas A&M University Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences in recognition of significant contributions to either the tourism, natural resources, and/or parks and recreation fields.
JoAnn Andera was appointed in 1981 as Texas Folklife Festival Director. Through her civic and professional leadership, the Festival has become the state's most comprehensive showcase of the peoples of Texas and the world. She has maintained the Festival's reputation as an important venue for the historical preservation of the traditions and customs of the cultural and ethnic groups which settled Texas.
The first Festival brought in 2,000 representatives from all over Texas. During tenure, the Festival has grown considerably, and it now hosts over 10,000 participants who share their food, crafts, music, dance and stories with more than 70,000 Festival visitors. The 30th Annual Texas Folklife Festival takes place June 7-10, 2001.
Terry Hershey, Commissioner of Texas Parks and Wildlife, has been a major force behind the development of parks and natural resources for Houston, Texas and throughout the United States for over 40 years.
The Institute of Texan Cultures (ITC), one of the three campuses of The University of Texas at San Antonio, is an educational center concerned with the history and diverse cultures of Texas. Open Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., the Institute is located at Bowie Street and Durango Boulevard on Hemisfair in downtown San Antonio.
For more information, call 458-2300, or visit the web site, www.texancultures.utsa.edu.