Morgan Freeman, Mary Steenburgen, Joey Lauren Adams, Kris Allen, Lisa Blount and Ray McKinnon were among the famous faces at the Capital Hotel on Saturday, April 3 during the Oxford American’s first ever Best of the South Awards Gala.
Academy Award winner Freeman received the magazine’s inaugural award for Outstanding Contributions to Southern Culture, and Arkansas writer Charles Portis (True Grit) received the Oxford American’s award for Lifetime Achievmeent in Southern Literature.
Academy Award winner Mary Steenburgen hosted the awards ceremony (which sold out all 200 of its $500-per-person tickets), American Idol and Conway native Kris Allen gave a musical performance, and Academy Award winners and Little Rock residents Lisa Blount and Ray McKinnon added to the festive Oscar-laden atmosphere.
Charles Portis speaks with William Whitworth at the Oxford American Gala in 2010.