Essence Festival is labeled as being “The Party With a Purpose.” This year, I returned as an official media outlet and able to truly identify with the term.
Many people ask, “What happens during the Essence Fest?” and some can’t understand the allure of this particular event. The festival is a combination of seminars, parties, and cuisine.
It’s categorized into Beauty, Entertainment, Entrepreneurship, Food, Style, Community, Culture, Wellness, and Spirituality. This is no ordinary celebration! The entire city of New Orleans becomes a cultural mecca and the spirit of festivity feels the air.
Hollywood celebrities attended for keynote conversations; discussing their latest projects. Internet sensations and digital influences shared their platform through Fashion Empowerment and Tricks for a Flawless Glow.
The nighttime activities were performed at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Festival Goers danced to various acts by artist such as Erykah Badu, Snoop Dogg, The Roots, Ledisi, Mary J. Blige, and Janet Jackson to name a few.
On Sunday, June 8, 2018, Bishop Lester Love and The City of Love hosted Hour of Power with spiritual workshops and gospel tributes. This was the perfect opportunity to attend brunch or join a fitness session at the convention center. Lastly, celebrity stylist Vernon Francois and Misa Hylton Presented 25 Years of Fashion Slayage!
Aside from festival activities, there were delicious and authentic New Orleans dishes such as Beignets, Gumbo, and Muffulettas. Essence Festival is a must-attend event for anyone that loves art, cuisine, and enlightenment.
NEW ORLEANS, LA – JULY 06: Robin Thede speaks onstage at the 2018 Essence Festival presented by Coca-Cola at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 6, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Essence)NEW ORLEANS, LA – JULY 06: Marshawn Evans Daniels speaks onstage during the 2018 Essence Festival presented by Coca-Cola at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 6, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Essence)NEW ORLEANS, LA – JULY 06: Charli Penn speaks onstage during the 2018 Essence Festival presented by Coca-Cola at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 6, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Essence)NEW ORLEANS, LA – JULY 06: President of Essence Communications, Inc. Michelle Ebanks speaks onstage during the 2018 Essence Festival presented by Coca-Cola at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 6, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Essence)NEW ORLEANS, LA – JULY 06: Ne-Yo attends the 2018 Essence Festival presented by Coca-Cola at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 6, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Essence)NEW ORLEANS, LA – JULY 06: Amandla Stenberg speaks onstage during the 2018 Essence Festival presented by Coca-Cola at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 6, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Essence)NEW ORLEANS, LA – JULY 06: Regina King speaks onstage during the 2018 Essence Festival presented by Coca-Cola at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 6, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Essence)NEW ORLEANS, LA – JULY 06: Director Barry Jenkins speaks onstage during the 2018 Essence Festival presented by Coca-Cola at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 6, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Essence)NEW ORLEANS, LA – JULY 06: Snoop Dogg attends the 2018 Essence Festival presented by Coca-Cola at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 6, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Essence)NEW ORLEANS, LA – JULY 06: Regina Hall speaks onstage during the 2018 Essence Festival presented by Coca-Cola at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 6, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Essence)NEW ORLEANS, LA – JULY 06: Kiki Layne speaks onstage during the 2018 Essence Festival presented by Coca-Cola at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 6, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Essence)NEW ORLEANS, LA – JULY 06: Maxine Waters attends the 2018 Essence Festival presented by Coca-Cola at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 6, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Essence)NEW ORLEANS, LA – JULY 06: Doug E. Fresh performs onstage during the 2018 Essence Festival presented By Coca-Cola – Day 1 at Louisiana Superdome on July 6, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for Essence)NEW ORLEANS, LA – JULY 06: Miguel performs onstage during the 2018 Essence Festival presented By Coca-Cola – Day 1 at Louisiana Superdome on July 6, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for Essence)NEW ORLEANS, LA – JULY 06: Erykah Badu performs onstage during the 2018 Essence Festival presented By Coca-Cola – Day 1 at Louisiana Superdome on July 6, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for Essence)NEW ORLEANS, LA – JULY 07: Regina Hall attends the 2018 Essence Festival presented by Coca-Cola at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 7, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Essence)NEW ORLEANS, LA – JULY 07: Yvonne Orji speaks onstage during the 2018 Essence Festival presented by Coca-Cola at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 7, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Essence)NEW ORLEANS, LA – JULY 07: Kofi Siriboe speaks onstage during the 2018 Essence Festival presented by Coca-Cola at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 7, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Essence)NEW ORLEANS, LA – JULY 07: Mary J. Blige performs onstage during the 2018 Essence Festival presented By Coca-Cola – Day 2 at Louisiana Superdome on July 7, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for Essence)
The 2018 ESSENCE Festival® presented by Coca-Cola® attracted more than 510,0000 attendees to New Orleans this Fourth of July weekend, marking one of the largest gatherings in the event’s 24-year history. For the first time, all three nights of the ESSENCE Festival concert series at the Louisiana Superdome sold out. The extraordinary turnout underscores ESSENCE’s engagement of Black women around community, culture, and content – which was brought to life in innovative ways at the annual celebration.
“This extraordinary gathering of nearly half a million attendees–on the eve of the ESSENCE Festival’s 25th anniversary–speaks to the unmatched convening power of our culture,” said Michelle Ebanks, President, Essence Communications. “As one of the country’s largest curated live experiences, the ESSENCE Festival engages Black women globally—through a truly unique celebration of culture, connection to community and access to content that inspires and empowers.”
The annual 4-day Festival, which took place July 5-8, features entertainment, empowerment, and cultural experiences during the day and a state-of-the-art concert series with the world’s best performers each night to comprise a one-of-a-kind curated content experience:
Over 100 performing artists across the Superdome and the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Many of the biggest names in the entertainment industry including Janet Jackson, Mary J. Blige, Queen Latifah, Snoop Dogg, The Roots, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Miguel and others performed at the event’s nighttime concerts and dozens of others across ESSENCE’s Center Stage and 10thAnniversary All-Star Gospel Tribute honoring Dottie Peoples.
More than 100 influencers, leaders, creators, and celebrities participated in the Festival’s daytime experience – rebranded as ‘Conference & Expos’ with programming across eight tracks spanning Beauty & Style to Business & Entrepreneurship. Powerhouse speakers included Lena Waithe, Lester Holt, and New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell as well as favorites Rev. Al Sharpton, Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Iyanla Vanzant, among others.
First-time, simultaneous live streams of the daytime experience on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube; an ESSENCE Snapchat Live special and millions of #EssenceFest social media posts generating trending status on Twitter.
Expanded consumer Expos such as the ‘Beauty Carnival” and ‘Entertainment All-Access’ drew crowds of thousands each day to the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Elevated VIP events and programs for attendees included the launch of the ‘ESSENCE House’ at the Ace Hotel, as well as the debut of the ‘E-Suite’ with exclusive access to career and business programming.
Community give-back and volunteerism at the Festival’s traditional ‘Day of Service’ focused on the theme “Adopt-a-Neighborhood – Central City” to encompass youth center beautification projects, as well as empowerment and entrepreneurship workshops for women & girls. ESSSENCE ‘Day of Service’ also presented the inaugural Excellence Awards honoring local change-agents in the community.
For a full recap of all the exciting moments from the 2018 ESSENCE Festival, visit ESSENCE.com and log in to the ESSENCE Festival News Center for photo and footage highlights. Images of Janet Jackson can be requested via Getty Images.
The 2018 ESSENCE Festival is executive produced by ESSENCE Festivals LLC, a division of ESSENCE Communications Inc. (ECI), and produced by Solomon Group. GeChar is the executive producer of the 2018 ESSENCE Empowerment Experience.
Sponsors of the 2018 ESSENCE Festival include presenting sponsor Coca-Cola and major sponsors AT&T, Ford, McDonald’s, State Farm and Walmart.
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