Ruby Dee is to receive this year's Choice of Weapons Award

Award-winning actress, author, and activist Ruby Dee will be the recipient of the "Gordon Parks Choice of Weapons Award" at the seventh annual Gordon Parks Celebration of Culture and Diversity, Oct. 6-9. at Fort Scott Community College in Fort Scott, Kan.

Dee's son, blues guitarist Guy Davis, will appear at the Gordon Parks Celebration Tribute Dinner to help honor his mother. Tickets are $25 each and may be purchased at the Gordon Parks Museum or in downtown Fort Scott at The Country Cupboard.

At the culmination of the first year's events, the Choice of Weapons Award was established in Parks' honor to be given annually at the Celebration. Named after his autobiography of the same name, the award seeks to honor a recipient who has excelled in the areas that Parks did and who exemplifies the spirit and strength of character of Gordon Parks. Previous honorees include actor and musician Avery Brooks, photographer Howard L. Bingham, Elizabeth Eckford and Ernest Green, two of the "Little Rock Nine," Richard Roundtree, star of the Parks-directed film, "Shaft," and Nichelle Nichols of "Star Trek" fame. Dee will be honored at a tribute dinner on Friday, Oct. 8.

Among the many events leading up to the tribute dinner is a performance by the singing sibling trio, Voices of Glory, who will perform today at the Ellis Family Fine Arts Center on the campus of Fort Scott Community College as part of the seventh annual Gordon Parks Celebration. This free concert is the headliner for the "Celebration of Faith" service that the Gordon Parks Celebration has presented since its inception.

Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for today's event.

On Oct. 7, well-known photographer Peter B. Kaplan will present a program called "An Evening with Lady Liberty Photographer Peter B. Kaplan." The event will be held in the theatre of the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center on the Fort Scott Community College campus starting at 7 p.m., Thursday. Kaplan will present selections of his work and talk about his career. Tickets are $8 per person, which includes a reception afterwards.

Several other events also are scheduled during the four-day celebration, including events for children and students, screenings of films by Parks and other filmmakers, a panel discussion and more. A complete schedule is available on the Web site www.gordonparkscenter.org. For more information contact the Center at (620) 223-2700, ext. 515 or by e-mail at gordonparkscenter@fortscott.edu.

The Gordon Parks Celebration is presented in part by funding from the Kansas Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.