What To Look Out For At The 2022 ESSENCE Festival of Culture® Presented By Coca-Cola®

New ESSENCE Fest Experiences Include ESSENCE Eats: Food & Wine Fest™, a Dedicated Men's Experience, and ESSENCE Tech Summit™

NEW YORK, June 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- ESSENCE Communications, Inc., the leading media, technology, and commerce company dedicated to serving Black women and their communities, updates its 2022 ESSENCE Festival of Culture® presented by Coca-Cola®. Nightly headlining musical performances include Nicki Minaj, Janet Jackson and New Edition alongside new talent additions, Nas, Lil' Kim, Ashanti and Chloe x Halle. New additions for Super Lounge include curations by Doug E. Fresh and performances from Justine Skye, Coco Jones, Sevyn Streeter, and more. The ESSENCE Fest experience lineup includes the Beauty Carnival, Wellness House, ESSENCE E-Suite, After Dark (Comedy and Music), Girls United Day of Service and many more. In addition to the vast array of recurring free and paid experiences offered by ESSENCE Fest annually, the festival has also added new experiences including ESSENCE Eats: Food & Wine Fest™, ESSENCE In His Zone™: a Dedicated Men's Experience, and ESSENCE Tech Summit™.

For the first time ever, ESSENCE Festival will be available to livestream exclusively on Hulu featuring select musical performances and daily programming. To catch additional content, join ESSENCE Festival's virtual experiences at essencefestival.com where attendees can stream all daytime content and shop local businesses through ESSENCE's Virtual Marketplace.

For daily updates on all things ESSENCE Fest on the ground, download the ESSENCE Festival App on your mobile device.

This year, the dynamic day and nighttime festival programs and offerings include:

• ESSENCE In His Zone™: a Dedicated Men's Experience: This year, ESSENCE is excited to debut ESSENCE In His Zone™: a Dedicated Men's Experience, designed to edify, entertain, and elevate Black men. This experience features sessions and on-stage moments that cover men's health (both physical and mental), entrepreneurship and business, justice in policing, comedy, sports and more. Additionally, ESSENCE Modern Wealth will provide attendees the tools to create their own businesses, run their own organizations, grow their companies and thrive in their careers. Special guests include: DJ Rob Nice, Rotimi, Terrence J, Method Man, Luke James, Jacob Latimore, Jim Jackson, Da'Vinchi, Ryan Clark and Finesse Mitchell.
• Venue: Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Center Second Floor Hall E

• ESSENCE Eats Food & Wine Festival™: Foodies can indulge in a wide range of mouthwatering selections at ESSENCE's official culinary experience, ESSENCE Eats. Attendees will receive first-hand recipes from industry-leading chefs and mixologists along with tutorials and pairings. Hosted by Kristi Coleman and Eden the Foodie, the experience includes legendary soul singer Patti LaBelle, MC Lyte, Slutty Vegan's Pinky Cole, Angela Yee, Chef Kareem Brooks (St. Martin), Chef Kelli Ferrell, Chef JJ Johnson, Chef Kénila Hyman (St. Martin), Chef Serigne Mbaye, Zella Palmer, Chef David Rose, Chef Nikki Steward, and Kerry Seaton Stewart.
• Venue: Sugar Mill/Mississippi River Heritage Park

• ESSENCE Tech Summit™: New to ESSENCE Fest, this is the chance for attendees to learn about the latest in digital and tech completely free of charge. Get the real deal on NFTs, the future of digital and try out the latest tech gadgets in interactive demos in this unique experience.
• Venue: Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Second Floor La Nouvelle Ballroom

• ESSENCE Beauty Carnival: ESSENCE Beauty Carnival is an oasis for Black women to celebrate their undeniable place in culture and a heartfelt reminder that Black is and will always be beautiful. Special guests include: Issa Rae, DreamDoll, Baby Tate, Supa Cent, Rashan Ali, Mack Wilds, and Rubi Rose.
• Venue: Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

• Wellness House: Wellness House creates a safe space for Black women to explore their own personal wellness and fitness journeys through content that informs and inspires not only them, but also their families and communities. This experience provides Black women with access to health & wellness advocates and world class practitioners in an immersive setting that prioritizes their needs. Wellness House features Dr. Shana D. Lewis, ESSENCE Editor Victoria Uwumarogie, Rev. Wanda Johnson, Brandy Stinson, LCSW, Arnold H. James, Ph.D, Dr. Summer Allen, Aley Arion, Ajax Jaxon (Magnolia Yoga) and many more.
• Venue: Ogden Museum of Southern Art

• ESSENCE E-Suite: At ESSENCE Fest, we will once again gather top notch speakers, content, and opportunities for powerful women of color from multiple industries to connect in an exclusive setting at the ESSENCE Festival. ESSENCE E-Suite aims to gather mid to senior level businesswomen and entrepreneurs who are looking for career advancement, professional development and expanding their network. The ESSENCE E-Suite will include workshops, masterclasses and so much more. Featuring executive and industry experts include: UnitedHealth Group, Ford, Disney, ABC News, Google, and more.
• Venue: Festival Campus NOPSI Hotel

• After Dark (Comedy and Music): Taking over the late-night party scene, ESSENCE After Dark is the official after party series with comedy shows and intimate artist-curated jam sessions. Hosted nightly by Toya Johnson, LeToya Luckett and Da'Vinchi alongside DJ Scratch and DJ Domo featuring musical performances by SWV, Saucy Santana, Kranium and more. After Dark will take place from 10 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.
• Venue: Republic NOLA & The Joy Theater

• ESSENCE Eats: The Let Out Edition: This after-hours hang will host crowds who want to mix, mingle and munch under the stars. ESSENCE Eats sets the vibe of a block party and summer social.
• Venue: Parking Lot 167 & 168 (Poydras & Loyola)

• Girls United Day of Service: Since 2014, ESSENCE has kicked off the Festival weekend partnering with the mayor of New Orleans and local organizations to bring volunteers and partners who are committed to uplifting and building up the community. Taking place on Thursday, June 30th, this initiative will focus on supporting, cultivating and connecting the next generation of youth to New Orleans' rich culture through the lens of Art, Culture and Community.
• Venue: Ashé Cultural Institute

Additional ESSENCE festival programming and experiences taking place during the ESSENCE Fest include:

• Wealth & Power: The ESSENCE Wealth & Power experience brings together the brightest leaders and biggest names representing our community's most powerful inter-generational advocates for change in entertainment, politics and media. ESSENCE Global Black Economic Forum (GBEF) is a dynamic, multi-faceted platform committing to reimagining what diversity, equity, inclusion and opportunity looks like in Corporate America, as well as the actualization of the notion of economic justice for the Black Diaspora. A GBEF panel will take place within the Wealth & Power experience on Friday and Saturday mornings. Special guests include: Rev Al. Sharpton, LaLa Anthony, Angela Yee, Stacey Abrams and Mickey Guyton.
• Venue: Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

• ESSENCE Studios Centerstage: ESSENCE Studios Centerstage (formerly known as Entertainment All Access) will bring attendees the ultimate entertainment experience with world premiere first looks, live table reads, cast and crew Q&As, and talent meet & greets.
• Venue: Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

• Get Lifted: Sunday mornings were made for self care and time with the spirit and this Sunday, June 3rd is no different. This experience will create a space for praise and worship with an all-star lineup of Gospel performers and faith leaders including: Dorinda Clark-Cole, Kierra Sheard, MC Lyte and Tweet.
• Venue: Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Theater Second Floor

• ESSENCE Film Festival: The ESSENCE Film Festival is back following its successful launch in 2020 where the ESSENCE Hollywood House attracted over 2200 attendees and created a hub for Black creatives, screenwriters, producers and directors to connect, learn, create, exchange ideas and display their work. Special guests include: Meagan Good, Brandee Evans, Mekai Curtis, Nicco Annan, Jerrie Johnson, Tonya Lee Lewis, Tyler Lepley, Ledisi, Questlove, and Luke James.
• Venue: Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Second Floor

• ESSENCE Health Hub: The declining state of health in the Black community mandates that we do more in more places, with more people to educate and activate Black women and families around preventative care and healthy habits.
• Venue: Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

Essence Fest requires all attendees to show a valid ID with their proof of full vaccination for entry into all venues.

For more information and to register, visit www.essencefestival.com. Join the conversation via social @EssenceFest and download the Essence Festival App on your mobile device for on the ground updates.

Essence Communications is the number one—and only 100% Black-owned—media, technology and commerce company at scale dedicated to Black women and communities. With a community of more than 31 million Black women, ESSENCE inspires a global audience through diverse storytelling and immersive original content rooted in Culture, Equity and Celebration. The brand's multi-platform presence in publishing, experiential and online encompasses its namesake magazine; digital, video and social platforms; television specials; books; and signature live events, including Black Women in Music, Black Women in Hollywood, ESSENCE Black Women in Sports, Fashion House, Street Style and the ESSENCE Festival of Culture

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