Essence Festival

Essence Festival Join this summer for our annual celebration July 4-6 2025 ✨ https://www.essence.com/essencefestival2023/

If you haven’t booked your room yet… this is your sign.Hotel blocks are OPEN for ESSENCE Festival.Which means it's time ...
04/29/2026

If you haven’t booked your room yet… this is your sign.

Hotel blocks are OPEN for ESSENCE Festival.

Which means it's time to stop saying “we should go” and actually book the room. Because the only thing worse than missing ESSENCE Fest is scrambling for a hotel at the last minute.

Get your room. Get your tickets. Meet us in New Orleans July 3rd-5th.

Book yours at: https://essencefesthotels.com/

Stories don’t wait, and neither should you. The ESSENCE Film Festival is opening its doors to the storytellers who see u...
04/27/2026

Stories don’t wait, and neither should you.

The ESSENCE Film Festival is opening its doors to the storytellers who see us clearly and dare to show it on screen.
Whether it’s your first cut or your finest work yet, your story deserves a spotlight.

The deadline is closer than it looks.

Applications are open now.
Submissions close April 30.

Don’t let your story miss its cue.

Still smiling about this one. Honored to be part of the first class of ESSENCE Festival of Culture® curators, helping sh...
04/16/2026

Still smiling about this one.

Honored to be part of the first class of ESSENCE Festival of Culture® curators, helping shape the Book Festival at the ESSENCE Authors space alongside some of the most brilliant storytellers of our time.

We’ll be celebrating and holding space for Black stories written, remembered, and passed down.

We’re building conversations that are layered, honest, and necessary.

New Orleans, July 3–5, come sit with us. We’ve got a few things up our sleeves.

Grab the ticket. Here we come. ESSENCEFestival.com

Honored to return as a curator for the ESSENCE Food & Wine Festival™! This year, we’re blending roots and new flavors fr...
04/16/2026

Honored to return as a curator for the ESSENCE Food & Wine Festival™!

This year, we’re blending roots and new flavors from Caribbean soul, New Orleans spice, and the kind of dishes that tell stories before you even take a bite.

It’s more than food, it’s memories, its culture, it’s us on a plate.

July 3rd–5th in New Orleans, come hungry and come ready. Trust me, we’ve got something special cooking.

Get the Ticket. Here we come. ESSENCEFestival.com

A festival this big needs people who know us shaping it and this year, the blueprint is in very intentional hands. The E...
04/16/2026

A festival this big needs people who know us shaping it and this year, the blueprint is in very intentional hands.

The ESSENCE Festival of Culture® presented by Coca-Cola welcomes Mara Brock Akil, Nikole Hannah-Jones, and Nina Compton as our 2026 Cultural Curators, joining Chief Curator Teyana Taylor to shape the experience of the weekend.

From the stories we tell, to the conversations we hold, and the flavors that bring us back home, every space is being built with care, intention, and a deep understanding of who we are.

Text the group chat. Buy Your Tickets. Book the flight. Download the ESSENCE 360 app. In that order!

http://ESSENCEFestival.com

04/14/2026

The Suede Stage is where the fellas and everybody tapped into the conversation that matter to us.

Come for the vibe, stay for the gems. A full spectrum of modern Black manhood from wellness and relationships to culture, creativity, and personal evolution.

And yes,it’s all free.

Meet us in New Orleans. Get your tickets now! Link in the bio.

04/13/2026

If you’re not at the Main Stage during the day, what are you doing?

The ESSENCE Fest Main Stage at the Convention Center is where the conversations get real, the gems get dropped, and the crowd stays locked in.

From culture-shifting talks to surprise moments you didn’t see coming, this is where everybody pulls up.

Oh and did we mention it’s FREE?!

Stop playing and meet us in New Orleans.

Lights. Camera. Legacy.The ESSENCE Film Festival is calling all storytellers to the stage. If you’ve got a story rooted ...
04/09/2026

Lights. Camera. Legacy.

The ESSENCE Film Festival is calling all storytellers to the stage. If you’ve got a story rooted in culture, truth, and the power of our voices, this is your moment to be seen.

From emerging filmmakers to visionary creatives, we’re looking for the stories that move us, shape us, and stay with us long after the credits roll.

Applications are officially open.

Apply now. Submissions close April 30.

Lights. Camera. Legacy.The ESSENCE Film Festival is calling all storytellers to the stage. If you’ve got a story rooted ...
04/09/2026

Lights. Camera. Legacy.

The ESSENCE Film Festival is calling all storytellers to the stage. If you’ve got a story rooted in culture, truth, and the power of our voices, this is your moment to be seen.

From emerging filmmakers to visionary creatives, we’re looking for the stories that move us, shape us, and stay with us long after the credits roll.

Applications are officially open.

Apply now. Submissions close April 30.

Apply here: https://filmfreeway.com/EssenceFilmFestival

03/27/2026

ESSENCE Fest doesn’t start when the sun goes down. It starts the moment you step into the Convention Center.

The daytime experience at the Convention Center is where it all goes down. Multiple stages, from wellness to beauty to books to food that will have you going back for seconds (and thirds).

One minute you’re sitting in a panel, the next you're watching a live performance, the next minute you’re turning a corner and spotting your favorite celeb just casually outside.

It’s culture, community, and moments you can’t plan. You can only experience it.

And the best part? It’s absolutely FREE.

Meet us in New Orleans July 3rd-5th! Don’t say we didn’t tell you.

Address

New Orleans, LA

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