This weekend, I attended my first Essence Festival. It was a stunning display of Black Communal Pride. I loved seeing so many black people gathered together and having so much good fun! One person tweeted that the Essence Festival is like one huge Family Reunion! I concur. With so much to do, I started off with a walk to the press room, to just get a look around. Low and behold, who is heading my way? India Arie! I grabbed her hand and said, can I take a pic with you? She stated it had to be quick, I replied “I’ll run with you and take it.” She laughed, grabbed my phone and said, ‘let’s get a good one.’ So, I was able to kick off my Essence with a pic of one my favorite soul singers.
At this point, I was elated and super excited to be at Essence Festival. My goals for the weekend were to enjoy myself, get good coverage, and love on my sisters. Did I forget to mention that I was also celebrating my 36th birthday?! Yes! Later that day, we headed over to Le Meridian for the Design Essentials Gifting Suite with soul vocalist, Ledisi. She is such a humble and fun artist. She welcomed everyone to the event and stated she’d be hugging and speaking to everyone in attendance. She did just that. I even got her to speak to my Periscope friends!
That evening, we headed over to the SuperDome for the Essence Festival concert. As we were walking through towards the press room, I spotted the beautiful Garcelle Beauvais. We took a selfie, but my cameraman’s flash blasted the results…lol. He saved the day by getting a gorgeous capture though. Right after I thanked her for the pic, Malinda Williams came through.
After the concert, we decided to grab a beignet from Cafe Du Monde. The line was long, the patio was packed with patrons, and the aroma was heavenly. We hopped in line and I noticed Lecrae and his wife, Darragh, standing behind us. We chatted a bit about his music and how he’s been able to reach so many by being true to himself and transparent to his fans. We snapped a selfie before grabbing our beignets and going our separate ways.
Day 2, I started my day at the Walker’s Legacy Brunch at The Palace on Canal St. It was an amazing event to pull together black female entrepreneurs for networking and collectivizing. Mushiya Tshikuka, owner of The Damn Salon, was one of the panelists and I was thrilled to see her in all of her fabulousness!
Following that event, I made my way over to the Design Essentials Mini Makeover & Day Party at Le Meridian. The natural hair beauties were out and about and I scored a selfie with my hair crush, Aevin Dugas. If you didn’t know, she is the Guiness World Record Holder for largest afro!!
The Day Party brought in many celebs who were enjoying the Essence Festival weekend. Mushiya Tshikuka, Letoya Luckett, Terrence J, and Wendy Raquel Robinson were all in attendance. While passing by the stylists, I saw Wendy and snagged a selfie with her as well. She was there on vacation and looked amazing!
As I made my way out of the party to prepare for the night’s concerts, I saw my friend, D. Woods, who was celebrating her coming birthday (July 6). I told her I was celebrating as well and we high-fived for the Cancer connection.
Day 3 was a press room day, where I began organizing my coverage. I spent most of the time in the press room to write an outline of how I would relay all of the great information and coverage during the Essence Festival to you guys. We were graced with some very special walk throughs in the press room, such as the amazing cast of Hollywood Divas. We did a quick Q&A with them and I snagged this pic with Golden Brooks:
My final celebrity selfie of the weekend came from the beautiful Lalah Hathaway. I was just so honored to meet her. She has a presence that is so calming, natural, and confident you just can’t help but to be enamored! She greeted all of the media and posed for pictures. When I got my selfie, I told her, “You’re beautiful.” to which she replied, “You’re beautiful too,” in such a way that my heart beamed. It wasn’t just one of those standard responses. She looked me right in the eye and said it with an empowering authority. It was the perfect end to an empowering weekend at he 2015 Essence Festival.
