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COVINGTON, Ga.— Dr. Eve Byrd and Ryan Greenstein of The Carter Center in Atlanta are the keynote speakers for the annual Daffodil Festival at Georgia State University’s Newton Campus, Feb. 20-21. The duo will be speaking on the legacy of Rosalynn Carter and her advocacy for mental health. Their talk will be from 10 -11:15 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 20 in the Newton Campus Auditorium, Building 2-N. The event is open to the public. Byrd is the director of the mental health program for The Carter Center; Greenstein is the associate director of public policy for the mental health program.
The keynote address Tuesday kicks off this festival’s theme “Be Kind to Your Mind,” an acknowledgment of the stresses and mental health challenges many people face today—and some tips toward a more resilient life, said Anita Canada, festival co-organizer and Newton Campus instructor of speech communication.
Tuesday’s events include a panel of Newton, Rockdale and Henry County mental health counselors and community liaisons. Panelists are Bill Bates, life coach of Greater Things, LLC, Amira Abuldhadfid,of Guide Inc, Rebecca Gibbons, executive director of Unidos Latino Association of Conyers, and Amy Kephart of Eagles Landing Christian Counseling. The panel is from 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
As part of the Bennekin Symposium and the Newton Daffodil Festival, English professor Dr. Valerie Matthews will give a talk on “Financial Abuse in Zora Neale Hurston's "Sweat" and in the Lives of Contemporary Black Women.” The program will be at 10 a.m., Wednesday, Feb. 21 in the Newton Campus auditorium.
In addition to planned speakers and panelists, the Daffodil Festival will offer opportunities for making seed "bombs," yoga demonstrations, a decompression room to reflect and write, special poetry readings during the campus’s traditional "Poetry in the Pines" event, and a history walk and talk among the daffodils on campus grounds with Covington resident and former Newton Campus provost, Dr. Sallie Paschal.
All events are open to students, faculty, staff and the community. For information, contact Canada at [email protected].