florence, alabama is magnetic. whether you are going there to visit alabama chanin or billy reid's HQ or perhaps you are going there for the music history (as described in the recent doc 'muscle shoals') or maybe you just want to walk the wall...whatever your reason for being there you will notice that it is a special place. billy reid and his team know this well and each year they share it with the wider community through their annual shindig...a weekend of food, music, art, and community. last weekend had something for everyone: from large sit-down dinners to back-of-the-alley food carts...from large scale shows in a restored music hall to intimate candle-lit acoustic performances...to a panel discussion moderated by the SFA about the overlap between food and fashion, and everything else in between...it was a weekend that celebrated and expanded a community. (most of the time i was too busy enjoying the weekend to take photos, but a few follow below...)
words & photographs by rinne allen