It’s finally here.
The 4th of July weekend we’ve been counting down to all year is upon us and that can only mean one thing: squads from around the globe are en route to New Orleans, Louisiana to celebrate the excellence of Black women and Black culture at the 2018 ESSENCE Festival.
For over two decades, ESSENCE Fest has served as the undisputed Black Girl Magic hub and summer meet up spot for droves of Black women—and the men who love them—to reunite in the name of sisterhood, empowerment, inspiration and an all-around unforgettable weekend like no other. 2017 even saw thousands of returning and first-time attendees begin putting their plans in motion to attend this year’s Festival as early as August of last year, with many hotels across the city and surrounding areas nearly sold out in record time.
In addition to the excitement around the evening concert line up featuring over 80 of the biggest names in music, many of this year’s Festival attendees are most looking forward to the enriching and unique combination of experiences happening during Festival’s daytime Conference & Expos.
Taking place at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center from 9:30AM – 5:30PM on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, this year’s daytime Conference & Expo experiences will feature conversations, keynote addresses and interactive exchanges led by over 25 of the most influential voices in business, politics, entertainment, activism, beauty, fashion, health & wellness and more.
In a recent poll, 99% of responsive Festival attendees expressed interest in health & wellness, while 98% will target experiences tied to personal empowerment, 96% are most interested beauty & style and 95% will look to take part in experiences touching on community activism.
With millennial attendance also expected to see a significant spike this year, over 70 percent of Festival-goers are also looking forward to streaming ESSENCE Fest content through the ESSENCE digital and social platforms.
See below for some of the most popular words attendees are using to describe this year’s Festival, along with a few amazing quotes from festival-goers, and then be sure to join us for the 2018 ESSENCE Festival presented by Coca-Cola, happening July 5-8 in New Orleans.
Empowering
“ESSENCE Festival takes pride in being a place where Black women of all ages and backgrounds can feel empowered, appreciated and celebrated just for simply being you.”
Culture
“I decided that I needed to attend Essence Festival this year to have an empowering experience with people that look like me.”
Inspirational
“As a small business owner and pro-black culturally aware young woman it is important that I experience the festival in its entirety in order to decide how I would like to position myself in the future.”
Uplifting
“My sister and I have never been to the festival but have always wanted to go. We decided to surprise our mom and now we all get to experience it together. Plus, Essence is again, black-owned and with Trump, racism, domestic terrorism etc, we really need to soak up some black girl magic! We need to exhale and have fellowship and sisterhood in a safe and BEAUTIFUL environment!”
Sisterhood
“The gathering of sisterhood and the empowerment of women, especially black women to come together and celebrate, uplift one another and to love.”
See you in NOLA!