Largest Nationwide Gathering of Multiracial Americans Celebrates Stories of Mixed-Race Families

    LOS ANGELES, CA, May 28, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Mixed Remixed Festival, the nation's largest gathering of mixed-race and multiracial families and people, will take place at the Japanese American National Museum in downtown Los Angeles (100 N. Central Avenue), June 10-11, 2016.

Now in its third year, the Festival celebrates stories of multiracial Americans and families, the fastest growing demographic in the U.S. A free public event, the Festival brings together film and book lovers, innovative and emerging artists, and multiracial and multicultural families and individuals for workshops, readings, performances, and film screenings.

"The Festival is the only nationwide gathering where mixed-race people and families can meet and share their stories," says festival founder Heidi Durrow who calls herself an Afro-Viking because she is African-American and Danish. "We're a population without a history because we've only been able to name ourselves in the last two decades. The Festival is our chance to talk about our experiences and not just the labels we've been given," Durrow says.

The Mixed Remixed Festival attracted close to 700 people from across the country in 2015 and featured dozens of writers, scholars and performers including Comedy Central's Al Madrigal and New York Times best-selling author Jamie Ford. This year's Festival features 90 presenters from 16 states and 3 countries.

The Festival, a non-profit arts organization, is produced by The New York Times best-selling writer, Heidi Durrow, and a talented team of volunteers.

Registration is now open for the third annual Mixed Remixed Festival, a free event that is open to the public. The complete Festival schedule can be found online at www.mixedremixed.org.

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
- The Festival hosts the largest West Coast Loving Day Celebration, Saturday, June 11, 2016, at 6:30 p.m. with the annual Storyteller's Prize presentation and live show. The Festival will present the Storyteller's Prize to film and TV star Taye Diggs and his collaborator, Shane W. Evans, for their ground-breaking children's book Mixed Me! as part of a dynamic live show featuring comedians, musicians, and spoken-word poets. Diggs and Evans will sign copies of their book immediately following the prize presentation.

- Families can enjoy interactive craft activities as well storytelling events as part of the JANM Free Family Day. There will also be face-painting (free of charge) and a collaborative family art project.

- The Festival will present several notable short films including the award-winning Fall Seven Times Get Up Eight: The Japanese War Brides (dirs. Kraft, Kasmauski, Tolbert), a documentary about three Japanese women who immigrated to the US to raise their Hapa kids. A filmmaker Q&A will be moderated by KPCC's Leslie Berestein Rojas. Chill (dir. Jennifer Frappier), a press-darling documentary about egg-freezing screens at Mixed Remixed for a special panel on fertility and mixed-race babies and identity. Immediately following each screening, there will be a Q & A session with the filmmakers.

- The Festival includes author readings by New York Times bestselling author Jamie Ford (Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet; Songs of Willow Frost); Sunil Yapa, the author of the breakout national bestseller, The Heart Is A Muscle the Size of Your Fist; Natashia Deon, author of the acclaimed debut novel, Grace; the celebrated writer and transgender activist Willy Wilkinson; and many others. The Festival is also pleased to present Skylight Books as the Festival's official bookseller.

- The Festival will feature a special panel on hair and identity on Saturday, June 11 at 10:00am. Panelists include the founders of Mixed Chicks, the leading curly hair product company.

- More than a dozen esteemed panelists will speak on diverse topics related to the mixed-race and multicultural experience, including: award-winning writer Faith Adiele and two-time Peabody Award winner Dmae Roberts who has released her important new memoir.

Festival sponsors include: Silver Sponsor: Mixed Chicks, Emerging Sponsor: Home Advisor, Emerging Sponsor: Mixed Roots Foundation, Japanese American National Museum, Pitfire Artisan Pizza, Total Wine & More, Whole Foods, Zevia, Zapier, Algonquin Books, My Family Builders, Six Flags, My Heritage Book, and Far Bar. This event is supported in part by Poets & Writers through grants it has received from the Irvine Foundation and the Hearst Foundations.

The Mixed Remixed Festival, the nation's largest gathering of mixed-race and multiracial families and people, will take place at the Japanese American National Museum in downtown Los Angeles (100 N. Central Avenue), June 10-11, 2016.

Now in its third year, the Festival celebrates stories of multiracial Americans and families, the fastest growing demographic in the U.S. A free public event, the Festival brings together film and book lovers, innovative and emerging artists, and multiracial and multicultural families and individuals for workshops, readings, performances, and film screenings.

The Festival is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization founded and produced by New York Times best-selling writer Heidi Durrow. www.mixedremixed.org

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