The 12th Annual Coca-Cola Presents the 2006 Essence Music Festival Celebrates the Fourth of July Weekend for the First Time in Houston

The 12th Annual Coca-Cola Presents the 2006 Essence Music Festival Celebrates the Fourth of July Weekend for the First Time in Houston

More than 200,000 Festivalgoers Enjoyed Three Days of Community Enrichment with the Launch of ESSENCE Cares! and Three Nights of Star-Studded Concert Performances by Jamie Foxx, Mary J. Blige, LL Cool J, New Edition and Bobby Brown Reunion, Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly and Many More

NEW YORK, July 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The 12th annual Coca-Cola Presents the 2006 Essence Music Festival celebrated the Fourth of July weekend for the first time in Houston, TX, at Reliant Park on July 1, 2, and 3. This year's "bigger party with a deeper purpose" featured the largest yearly gathering of African-American musical talent in the world and marked the launch of Essence Cares! A Call to Action to Secure our Youth, a national initiative to secure the future of Black youth.

"This year's Coca-Cola Presents the 2006 Essence Music Festival was a tremendous success, with attendance of more than 200,000 Festivalgoers from all over the world, who enjoyed spectacular entertainment and participated in the historic launch of Essence Cares! A Call to Action to Secure our Youth." said Michelle Ebanks, president, Essence Communications Inc. "Living up to its reputation as the original 'party with a purpose', the concerts were phenomenal, and the daytime seminars were both inspiring and productive."

The three-day Festival kicked off Saturday, July 1, with star-studded evening concert performances featuring Mary J. Blige; Earth, Wind & Fire; LL Cool J; Mo'Nique and Yolanda Adams. Another stellar lineup of artists appeared on Sunday, July 2, including: Doug E. Fresh & The Pioneers of Hip-Hop featuring Slick Rick, Sugar Hill Gang, MC Lyte, Biz Markie, Whodini, Dana Dane, Dres and Yo Yo; New Edition and Bobby Brown Reunion; Jamie Foxx; Steve Harvey; Jaheim and Chris Brown. Closing out the Festival on Monday, July 3 was: Maze featuring Frankie Beverly; Toni Braxton; Cedric the Entertainer; Charlie Wilson; Keyshia Cole and many others.

In addition, celebrities and national and community leaders joined forces on-site to launch Essence Cares! A Call to Action to Secure our Youth. With an emphasis on mentoring, the initiative galvanized attendees to enlist millions of African-Americans to support one of the national organizations in partnership with ESSENCE: Big Brothers Big Sisters, The Children's Defense Fund, The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the National Urban League, Operation Hope and M.A.D.D.A.D.S.

Some of this year's Essence Empowerment Seminar participants included Angela Davis, Marian Wright Edelman, The Honorable Louis Farrakhan, Danny Glover, Terrence Howard, The Reverend Jesse Jackson, Bishop T.D. Jakes, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin, The Reverend Al Sharpton, Iyanla Vanzant, and others.

The Coca-Cola Company was the Festival's presenting sponsor for the ninth consecutive year. The Coca-Cola Presents the 2006 Essence Music Festival's major sponsors are Budweiser/Bud Light, Kraft Foods, Chevrolet, McDonald's and Verizon Communications. In addition, Level, Southwest Airlines, U.S. Army and Wells Fargo served as official sponsors for the Festival.

The Coca-Cola Presents the 2006 Essence Music Festival is produced by Essence Festivals LLC in association with Festival Productions of New Orleans. Essence Festivals LLC is a division of Essence Communications Inc. (ECI). ECI is also the publisher of ESSENCE magazine. ESSENCE, after 36 years, continues to be the preeminent lifestyle magazine for African-American women.

Source: Essence Communications Inc.

CONTACT: Dana Baxter, +1-212-522-1634, or dbaxter@essence.com, or
Sheila Harris, +1-212-522-1089, or sharris@essence.com, or Ra'Chelle Rogers,
+1-212-522-2724, or rrogers@essence.com, all of Essence Communications Inc.

Web site: http://www.essence.com/

NOTE TO EDITORS: Photos are available for your story. Please call Ra'Chelle Rogers for images.

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