To top off (so to speak) the 2026 ZORA! Festival—the annual tribute to Zora Neale Hurston—the Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community (P.E.C.) will host its customary high-fashion brunch that celebrates the legendary writer and anthropologist’s well-documented love of hats.
Guests at HATitude Cultural Flair—slated for Saturday, October 17, at Eola View—are encouraged to wear their most notable headgear, whether elegantly traditional or boldly modern, for a gathering that this year is themed “Fashion, Culture and Celebration in Style.”
Doors for the event will open at 10:30 a.m., with a gourmet brunch and cocktails served at 11 a.m. Proceeds will benefit P.E.C.’s efforts to promote Eatonville—where Hurston lived from ages 3 to 13—as a site for cultural tourism and economic development.
Eatonville was, of course, also the inspiration for several of Hurston’s watershed works, including her 1937 novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. And for 36 years, the nation’s oldest municipality founded by African Americans has been home to the ZORA! Festival.
Zora would have loved it. There’ll be a runway show curated by British-Nigerian designer Chuks Collins as well as live music, speakers and an auction that will support local charities. Attending luminaries will arrive on a red carpet, while some of the most impressive hats will be displayed in a haberdashery showcase and style competition.
“Within the African Diaspora, fashion has always been more than what we wear,” says N.Y. Nathiri, executive director of P.E.C. “It is a powerful expression of identity and heritage.”
Adds Nathiri: “Through this event, we create a space where our guests—be they Eatonville neighbors or friends from around the county and from across the state—can connect to enjoy good food, fine fashion and warm fellowship.”
Eola View is located at 150 East Central Boulevard, Orlando. For more information, call or visit the website.
