NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The city of New Orleans officially welcomed thousands of people Thursday to the Big Easy for the Essence Cultural Festival.
The celebration has been going on for three decades, which is no small feat, Essence CEO Caroline Wanga said Thursday during a news conference at Gallier Hall to kick off the event, which runs through the July 4 holiday weekend.
“Part of the reason that happens is because of where we are: the cultural mecca called New Orleans,” Wanga said.
The magazine unveiled four new covers for its July-August issue, which commemorates the festival and its relationship to the city. Its cover story, “Dear New Orleans,” is a love letter to the people, places and spaces of New Orleans, company executives said.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell thanked Essence for the long-standing partnership, which has had an economic impact of more than $300 million in the city and state and has brought New Orleans global recognition.
“This is our time to love one another,” she said. “This is our time to come together to make sure and understand that we are unapologetically black and we deserve to be loved and supported.”
Wanga said New Orleans is the real “headliner” of the festival, which offers free daily workshops at the convention center and ticketed nightly concerts featuring big-name artists at the Superdome.
The event’s contract with the city runs through 2026, and there are no plans to end the relationship with the magazine, Wanga and Cantrell said.
‘This article may contain information published by third parties, some details of this article were extracted from the following source: www.yakimaherald.com’
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