Over 540,000 Attendees Descend Upon New Orleans Over Fourth Of July Weekend For Largest Ever ESSENCE Festival

Over 540,000 Attendees Descend Upon New Orleans Over Fourth Of July Weekend For Largest Ever ESSENCE Festival

19TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN CULTURE AND COMMUNITY FEATURED THE BEST IN LIVE ENTERTAINMENT AND INSPIRING EMPOWERMENT EVENTS OVER FOUR DAYS

MORE THAN 50 ARTISTS: PERFORMANCES FROM BEYONCE, MAXWELL, NEW EDITION, CHARLIE WILSON, BRANDY, JILL SCOTT, LL COOL J, JANELLE MONAE, TREY SONGZ, KEYSHIA COLE & MANY OTHERS

MORE THAN 120 SPEAKERS: EMPOWERMENT APPEARANCES BY STEVE HARVEY, REV. AL SHARPTON, IYANLA VANZANT, REP. JOHN LEWIS, MYRLIE EVERS-WILLIAMS, MARC MORIAL, SOLEDAD O'BRIEN & MORE

20TH ANNIVERSARY ESSENCE FESTIVAL TO TAKE PLACE JULY 3-6, 2014 IN NEW ORLEANS!

NEW YORK, July 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Over 540,000 attendees from around the globe descended upon New Orleans this Fourth of July weekend for the 19(th) annual ESSENCE Festival, making 2013 the largest in the event's 19 year history.

With an expanded cultural focus and renewed emphasis on family, the 2013 ESSENCE Festival celebrated its community of ESSENCE readers with an exciting array of entertainment and empowerment events; featuring more than 50 world renowned and up-and-coming performing acts and over 120 of the world's top artists, speakers, authors, leaders, innovators and celebrities.

"The ESSENCE Festival has grown to represent the tremendous joy and optimism that is present in the African-American community," said ESSENCE Communications President Michelle Ebanks. "We celebrate our community of ESSENCE readers at the ESSENCE Festival--where we come together to connect to our culture and our community--and be renewed, inspired and transformed. This year's record-breaking attendance is a testament to our purpose. We are extremely excited as we look forward to our 20(th) anniversary in 2014."

"What a thrill to witness the overwhelming response from hundreds of thousands of attendees as we took 'the page to the stage' at the ESSENCE Empowerment Experience," said ESSENCE's top editor, Vanessa K. Bush. "Focusing on family, relationships, culture and community, ESSENCE programs the ESSENCE Empowerment Experience Stage each year to provide critical information, motivation, inspiration and practical solutions for the day-to-day challenges of our lives."

Highlights of the 2013 ESSENCE Festival included:


-- An incredible performance by Beyonce to a packed Superdome stadium to
close out the Festival, plus headliners Maxwell, New Edition, Charlie
Wilson, Brandy, Jill Scott, Janelle Monae, Trey Songz, Keyshia Cole and
many others - comprising more than 50 R&B, pop, and soul artists across
5 stages each night at the Superdome
-- The All-New ESSENCE Family Reunion Day hosting more than 55,000 people
in Woldenberg Park featuring empowerment panels, family-friendly games
and activities, exciting musical guests, delicious food from New
Orleans' best barbecue vendors, cooking competitions, fireworks and
exciting musical guests
-- An expanded 4-day ESSENCE Empowerment Experience at the Ernest N. Morial
Convention Center - with participation from more than 120 speakers and
attracting attendance of more than 100,000 people each day
-- First-ever partnership with MSNBC to broadcast live throughout the
weekend from the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, featuring shows
PoliticsNation and Melissa Harris Perry, among others
-- First official ESSENCE Festival App garnered 14,500 downloads and
tripled ESSENCE mobile consumption throughout the weekend. Plus,
ESSENCE Festival was trending across social media, e.g. close to 50,000
Instagram posts and more than 24,000 uses of #essencefest on Twitter
-- Standing-room only ESSENCE Empowerment Experience panels, presentations
and keynote addresses:
-- A live, standing-room only set of Family Feud hosted by Steve
Harvey, plus a live on-site broadcast of the Steve Harvey Morning
Show
-- "Ending the Gun Violence Crisis In Our Cities" (featuring Newark
Mayor Cory Booker and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed)
-- "50(th) Anniversary of 1963" (featuring Congressman John Lewis,
Myrlie Evers Williams, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton)
-- "Where Smart Starts" discussing education (featuring Dr. Steve Perry
and Dr. Michael Lomax of UNCF)
-- Keynote addresses from Rev. Al Sharpton, Iyanla Vanzant, and Marc
Morial
-- First-time Love, Loss & Life tribute & prayer vigil for mothers who have
lost children to violence in partnership with New Orleans Mayor Mitch
Landrieu
-- Powerful All-Star Gospel Tribute to Tramaine Hawkins and Donnie
McClurkin with a special message from Bishop Noel Jones
Sponsors of the 2013 ESSENCE Festival(TM) include presenting sponsor Coca-Cola and major sponsors Ford, McDonald's, My Black Is Beautiful, StateFarm, Verizon and Walmart as well as official sponsors MSNBC, Coors Light, TV One and Visa Prepaid.

The 2013 ESSENCE FESTIVAL(TM) is executive produced by Essence Festivals LLC, a division of Essence Communications Inc. (ECI). GeChar is the executive producer of the 2013 ESSENCE Empowerment Experience Stage.

ABOUT ESSENCE COMMUNICATIONS INC.:

ESSENCE Communications Inc. (ECI) is the number one media company dedicated to African-American women, with a multi-platform presence in publishing, live events, and online. The company's flagship publication, ESSENCE magazine, is the preeminent lifestyle magazine for African-American women; generating brand extensions such as the ESSENCE Festival, ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood and Black Women in Music, Window on Our Women and Smart Beauty consumer insights series, the ESSENCE Book Club, ESSENCE.com, and ventures in digital media (mobile, television and VOD). For 43 years, ESSENCE, which has a brand reach of 9.6 million, has been the leading source of cutting-edge information and specific solutions relating to every area of African-American women's lives. Additional information about ECI and ESSENCE is available at www.ESSENCE.com.

SOURCE ESSENCE Magazine

ESSENCE Magazine

CONTACT: Dana Baxter, ESSENCE, 212-522-1634, dbaxter@essence.com, or Sheila Harris, ESSENCE, 212-522-1089, sharris@essence.com

Web Site: http://www.ESSENCE.com


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