NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — The ESSENCE Festival of Culture presented by Coca-Cola is returning to New Orleans on Thursday, June 29, with new daytime experiences and an appearance from Vice President Kamala Harris.
ESSENCE representatives said this year’s festival will take over the entire Ernest N. Morial Convention Center for the first time in the festival’s history and offer a variety of events from live music to educational panels and summits.
On Friday, June 30, Harris will participate in a discussion covering topics including reproductive freedom and addressing the maternal health crisis. The discussion will begin at 3:30 p.m.
According to the ESSENCE team, daytime experiences will include several free panels and summits with the debut of Beautycon, AFROPUNK and ESSENCE STUDIOS. Other daytime activities include:
- AFROPUNK BLKTOPIA*
- ESSENCE Authors™
- Beautycon: ESSENCE Festival of Culture™ Edition*
- ESSENCE Stage™
- ESSENCE Studios Film Festival™
- ESSENCE Food and Wine Festival™
- ESSENCE Get Lifted™: Gospel Celebration
- ESSENCE In His Zone™: Men’s Experience
- ESSENCE Community Corner™
- Soko Market™ Powered by ESSENCE
- Soko NO.LA™ Powered by ESSENCE
- ESSENCE Wellness House™
- ESSENCE Girls United Creators House™*
- ESSENCE Global Black Economic Forum™
- ESSENCE Family Day™: The Block Party
Night activities will include a special celebration for Hip-Hop’s 50th anniversary and an evening concert series featuring artists like Missy Elliot and Megan Thee Stallion, according to their website.
For those who can’t make the festival, ESSENCE representatives said the event will be streaming on Hulu with some exclusive content.
The festival will last through the July 4th weekend, ending on Monday, July 3.
For more information about the festival and how to purchase tickets, visit the ESSENCE Festival of Culture presented by Coca-Cola website.
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