The 2014 ESSENCE Festival is was held the weekend of July 3-7 2014 in New Orleans, LA. Over 550,000 attendees from across the world celebrated the Festival’s 20th anniversary which included 150 plus speakers and more than 80 musical performances. Price was the headliner and was joined by other top artist such as Mary J. Blige, Charlie Wilson, Lionel Richie, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Nas, Trey Songz and more.
I have never attended ESSENCE Festival but was excited to attend this year as press to participate in various ESSENCE activities and of course see Prince and Mary J. Blige live. The theme for ESSENCE 2014 was “Year of Empowerment,” and attendees left empowered with entrepreneurship talks, speaker sessions and activities from ESSENCE partner events below.
Empower U: A series of free workshops covering every aspect of your life — Love &
Relationships, Money & Power, Style & Beauty, Healthy Living and Education & Technology.
NOLA For Life: ESSENCE will partner with New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu to deliver
inspirational content and life-changing strategies for the 24-Hour NOLA For Life channel with
the goal of uniting mothers and families to end violence across America.
#YesWeCode Hack-A-Thon: ESSENCE, music legend Prince, and the Rebuild the Dream
Innovation Fund’s Van Jones will launch its first ever hack-a-thon, which will allow young
innovators and their adult teammates to develop computer programming solutions for New
Orleans.
#YesWeCode Tech Village: The #YesWeCode Tech Village is looking to Educate, Enlighten and
Empower. The Tech Village will be an interactive platform of technology with hands on
activities, tech based youth organization presentations, boot camp information, celebrity tech
highlights, website building, 3D printer demos, fashion meets technology, panel discussions,
social media contests, prizes, games and much more.
PowerMoves Pitches: The New Orleans Start Up Fund will showcase top, minority
entrepreneurs at a high-powered pitch session where they can win cash prizes and exposure to
investors and business leaders.
“ESSENCE remains relentlessly focused on our community and on serving women and families like no
one else can,” said ESSENCE President Michelle Ebanks. “Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the ‘Year of Empowerment’ is mission critical for our community. Over 4
full days, with activations spanning more than 500,000 square feet within the Convention Center, the
daytime experience has become the heartbeat of the ESSENCE Festival and is truly transformational –
providing information, inspiration and practical solutions.”
Read the full 2014 ESSENCE Festival Press Release below
Are you planning to attend ESSENCE 2015?
Read More ESSENCE on SocialWayne.com
Part 1: ESSENCE Festival 2014 New Attendee Record with over 550,000 attendees
Part 2: Interview with ESSENCE president Michelle Ebanks on Women and Innovation with Google Glass
Part 3: P&G Uses Behavior Change Technology and The Braxton Sisters For More “Gains” During ESSENCE
Part 4: Verizon Connects ESSENCE To the World
Part 5: An ESSENCE Fest with McDonald’s @mcdscene + #365BlackAwards
Part 6: Ford Empowers Culture during ESSENCE #fordup
Part 7: An interview with Anthony Anderson on Black-ish at ESSENCE
Part 8. An actor with a purpose, Nate Parker talks Beyond the Lights
Part 9: Can ESSENCE Festival be the SXSW for African- Americans?
Part 10: 6 Inspiring photos from the ESSENCE Festival YESWECODE Hackathon
Part 11: Nielsen’s Diversity Intelligence Data Will Make You Rethink Inclusion
Part 12: Photos From ESSENCE Festival 2014
Full ESSENCE coverage on SocialWayne.com can be found at: http://socialwayne.com/category/essencefest/
