TRYON, N.C. - s4story -- Award-Winning Composer, Arranger, Singer, Pianist, Actor, Civil Rights Activist and Lecturer, Dr. Samuel L. Waymon has accepted an invitation to visit CARIFESTA XV - the Caribbean Festival of Arts being staged later this month in Barbados.

The biennial festival returns from a Covid-19 mandated hiatus, having last been held in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in 2019.

Dr. Waymon's visit to CARIFESTA XV is being made possible through the generosity of a supportive community of individuals and entrepreneurial entities.

Samuel Waymon, aka 'The Magic Man', (born August 16, 1944 in Tryon, NC) will tour festival venues, participate in social activities, meet with CARIFESTA youth delegates (ages 16 to 18) and be honored as an internationally celebrated elder statesman during the festival's Closing Ceremony on August 31st at the Richard Stoute Amphitheatre in the National Botanical Gardens.

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The sole surviving sibling of the late 'High Priestess of Soul', Nina Simone (born Eunice Waymon), Samuel Waymon was a member of his sister's band, her confidante and for many years her manager. During this period, Waymon and Simone visited Barbados on numerous occasions.

A native of Tryon, North Carolina (USA), Dr. Waymon began playing the piano at age three under the direction of Mrs. Muriel Mazzanovich (lovingly known as 'Miss Mazzy') who also trained his late sister, Eunice (Nina Simone).

Waymon's long career has brought success in many areas of the music and entertainment industries. He will be accompanied to Barbados by a documentary film crew led by Producer Melvin H. Cox and Director of Photography Jeff Chambers.

Motion pictures representative of Samuel Waymon's significant body of work (as a composer, performer, arranger and actor) include:

• Ganja & Hess (1973)
• Just Crazy About Horses (1978)
• Personal Problems (1980)
• Weeds (1987)
• Philadelphia (1993)
• The Last Disintegrated School (2019)
• Sinners (2025)

His groundbreaking collaborations with the late playwright, novelist, actor and director Bill Gunn (1934 – 1989) represent the pinnacle of African-American creative art in the late 20th Century. In 1973, Ganja & Hess was celebrated as one of the Ten Best Films of the Decade, at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.

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Persons wishing to make tax deductible contributions in support of Dr. Samuel Waymon's journey to Barbados and its multimedia documentation are encouraged to visit: https://tinyurl.com/2kedk2dv

The project's fiscal sponsor is The AFRICAN CONNECTIONS Research and Education Fund, Inc. (ACREF) – a tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization.

PLEASE NOTE: Any funds received by ACREF after the fundraising target is met will be donated to The Nina Simone Project.

The project is responsible for the collective preservation efforts of Nina Simone's rich legacy and for preserving and revitalizing her childhood home in Tryon, NC, which is designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The Nina Simone Project is a collective effort of the following organizations: National Trust for Historic Preservation, African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, The Town of Tryon, and the preservation easement held by Preservation North Carolina.