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Posts published in “Festivals, Camps & Concerts”

Prince to Headline 20th Annual Essence Music Festival

By goodblacknews on December 3, 2013

prince-2012-australian-tour-announced_hNext year’s Essence Festival is getting a dose of music royalty from Prince. The “Purple Rain” singer-songwriter is headlining the 20th annual Essence, a celebration of music and culture being held July 3-6 in New Orleans.  Prince, who performed at Essence in 2004, also headlined this year’s South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas. His newest single, “Screwdriver,” debuted earlier this year. Still, Prince is best known for chart-topping hits like “1999,” “Kiss” and “Purple Rain.”

Essence has been held every Independence Day weekend since 1995, when it marked the 25th anniversary of Essence magazine.  The festival includes nightly concerts at the Louisiana Superdome and empowerment seminars during the day at a nearby convention center.  Organizers say the rest of the lineup will be announced later.
article by Associated Press via Variety.com

Russell Simmons Donates $10K to New York Anti-Violence Program Life Camp

By goodblacknews on October 3, 2013
Russell Simmons attends 2013 ADWEEK Brand Genius Awards at Capitale on September 25, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Ben Gabbe/Getty Images)
Russell Simmons attends 2013 ADWEEK Brand Genius Awards at Capitale on September 25, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Ben Gabbe/Getty Images)
Russell Simmons has amassed close to three million follows on Twitter and the strong presence he holds on the social media site had a powerful impact Wednesday night.  Simmons sent Tweets to help raise money for a New-York-based anti-violence program that has launched a campaign on the fundraising site Crowdtilt.
The program, called Life Camp, is a non-profit violence prevention program that is hoping to raise $100,000 to help end gun violence and provide positive alternatives to kids and young adults.  “During the prior eighteen months, before our full program was implemented, 17 people had been shot in our community,” wrote Erica Ford, the executive director of Life Camp. “Once our program was fully operational, we had 340 days of NO SHOOTINGS in our target area in South Jamaica, Queens.”
According to the Crowdtilt page, a government grant was delayed, which ultimately led to the closing of the community center.  Since most of the program’s resources have been exhausted, the program’s founders turned to the crowd funding site to raise money.  Simmons announced on Twitter that he has donated $10,000 to the campaign and asked followers to give money to the cause by promising retweets to those who said they pledged.
“Who can give $5, $10, $20 to save program that has saved lives of so many young people?? NO MORE BULLETS IN THE HOOD! http://tilt.tc/snyD,” he wrote. This followed his earlier tweet which said, “first ten people to donate $10 or more to keep one of the most critical anti-violence programs open, gets a RT.”
He kept his word – soon, followers responded to the call and Simmons thanked them for their kindness via Twitter.  By the end of the night, Simmons reported that more than $775 was raised.  There are still 27 days left in the fundraising campaign and the program has not yet reached half of their target goal. The money will be used towards initiatives like keeping the community center open and to restart the program’s “I Love My Life” campaign tours in local churches and schools.
To learn more about “Give Life to LIFE Camp! No More Bullets In The Hood” campaign, click here.
article by Lilly Workneh via thegrio.com

Dave Chappelle Returns to Stand-Up, With Stories to Tell

By goodblacknews on August 16, 2013
Dave Chapelle (Andrew Oh for The New York Times)

In 2005, Dave Chappelle was merely the hottest comedian in America. Then he left his job and became a far more singular cultural figure: A renegade to some, a lunatic to others, but most of all, an enigma.  Now he is making a kind of comeback — Mr. Chappelle headlines the Oddball Comedy and Curiosity Festival, a new 15-city tour presented by the Funny or Die Web site that begins Friday in Austin, Tex. — and what makes it particularly exciting is how he’s using his hard-earned mystique to make more daring and personal art.

Mr. Chappelle didn’t just walk away from a $50 million contract and the acclaimed “Chappelle’s Show,” whose second season on Comedy Central stacks up well against the finest years of “SCTV,” “Saturday Night Live” and Monty Python. He did so dramatically, fleeing to Africa and explaining his exit in moral terms: “I want to make sure I’m dancing and not shuffling,” he told Time magazine. Since then, he has been a remote star in an era when comedians have never been more accessible.

Mr. Chappelle hasn’t done any interviews (aside from a radio appearance in 2011) or appeared on podcasts or talk shows. He doesn’t even have a Web site. He joined Twitter last year, then quit after 11 tweets.  But Mr. Chappelle has tiptoed back into the public eye over the last year. While he has stayed away from movies and television, he still drops in pretty often on comedy clubs and occasionally theaters, usually in surprise appearances that generate more rumors of a comeback. Beyond the Oddball Festival, Chris Rock has said Mr. Chappelle may join him on his stand-up tour next year.

Black Girls Code Raises Over $100,000 to Train Next Generation of Tech Divas

By goodblacknews on July 26, 2013

 
9078662219_4df7a13dd1_cBlack Girls Code, the non-profit organization dedicated to teaching young women of color about computer science, technology and coding languages, has raised $109,357 and counting via Indiegogo.com for their 2013 10-city summer program, and hopes to raise $25,000 more by this evening, Friday, July 26, to provide this year’s Tech Divas with new equipment for their mobile apps workshop.  
9078688061_af665c957b_cThe summer tour kicks off August 3rd in Detroit, travels to Oakland with mobile app summer bootcamp August 5-9, then heads to Pittsburgh, Memphis, New York, Washington DC, Tallahassee, Dallas, Miami and Chicago on subsequent dates.  To learn more about Black Girls Code, watch the video below, or go to Indiegogo.com.  To register for the summer programs, go to blackgirlscode.com.  Onward and upward!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x_htF4DmUc&w=560&h=315]
Related Stories: BlackGirlsCode Wins $50,000 Philanthropy Award
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

Former Essence Editor Corynne Corbett Launches Beauty Biz Camp to Foster Diversity Within Beauty Industry

By goodblacknews on July 22, 2013

beauty-biz-camp

 With a mission to foster diversity within the beauty industry, former Essence beauty editor, Corynne Corbett launches Beauty Biz Camp, a non-profit program that teaches adolescents, ages 12-18, about the ins and outs of the beauty industry.  The Beauty Biz Camp is a three-week course held in New York City (from July 22 through August 9) that will cover beauty topics like, interpreting beauty trends, the beauty buyer’s role, and what really happens behind the scenes of a fashion show. The curriculum is lead by industry power players like Lisa Price (the founder of Carol’s Daughter), Yesenia Almonte (Seventeen‘s beauty director), and Patricia Reynoso (editor in chief of Glam Belleza Latina).
Corynne chatted with Fashionista.com and shared why she created the camp, what young girls will gain from this experience, and her thoughts about diversity in the beauty industry.
ccorbett-headshot
Beauty Biz Camp founder Corynne Corbett

I have always had a passion for mentoring people. I have a long list of mentees that are placed all over the industry who are doing quite well. I wanted to think of how to formalize it. One of the reasons I thought I should start with teenagers was because I thought, “What would have happened if I had known as a teenager that this industry existed?” I knew about beauty–my grandmother was a hair stylist–so I knew that part of the business. I knew that you could sell makeup at a counter, but that’s all I knew. But that I could be a decision-maker or create a product? That’s something I didn’t know, and most young women don’t know that.

On what she expects young girls to gain from her camp: 

“I love beauty and I’m really glad that I’ve found a way to use my talent differently. As publishing and all these things change, people should start thinking about what kind of legacy they want to leave. What do you want to be known for? And is it different from what someone else is doing? What I love about beauty is it’s so collegial across the board. I thought I was going to be a fashion editor when I went to school but I’ve never regretted a day in the beauty industry. This might not be the career for the [girls who come to camp], but the whole notion of being beautiful for themselves and to understand they have power by saying what [they think] is beautiful, is important.”
Her thoughts on diversity in the beauty industry: 
“I think the beauty industry is challenged because there is not enough representation at the [decision-making] table. Instead of complaining about it, I need people to do something about it. They say we can’t find the people [to fill those jobs], so then let’s equip people to do the jobs.”
Read the entire interview at Fashionista.com.  The beauty camp is open to everyone and there are still some scholarships available. Go here for information.
article by Ty Alexander via blackamericaweb.com

The 22nd Annual Pan African Film Festival Announces Call for 2014 Submissions

By goodblacknews on July 21, 2013

paff logo
LOS ANGELES – The Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) is ready to take movie goers on a cinematic journey with international film screenings from around the globe with the announcement of its call for submissions.  The 22nd annual PAFF will be held on February 6-17, 2014 in Los Angeles.  The film festival is the nation’s largest and most prestigious Black film festival.  Over the years, it has showcased films from all parts of the world, representing such countries as Angola, Austria, England, Bermuda, Canada, Egypt, Ethiopia, Brazil, Kenya, Mexico, South Africa, Nigeria, and of course, the United States.
With the pulse on the international film market, PAFF has opened the minds of its audiences, and transported them to lands far away and back home again. “Over the years, the filmmakers from around the world have become more sophisticated in telling their stories,” says Asantewa Olatunji, the director of programming for PAFF.
This year, PAFF has been feted with several awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Awards from the African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) and the first ever Special Achievement Award in the Film Festival Category by African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) for its contribution to cinematic arts. In February, the festival screened a total of 154 films, representing 34 countries — that is, 23 documentaries, 13 short documentaries, 67 narrative features, and 51 narrative shorts.
Currently, PAFF is accepting submissions of independent features, shorts, narratives and documentary films made by or about people of African descent. Applications are available via the PAFF website at www.paff.org, by emailing ao@paff.org  or calling (310) 337-4737.
ELIGIBILITY:
The PAFF is currently accepting applications for films and videos made by and/or about people of African descent. (Please note: the filmmaker(s) need not be of African or African American descent.) Films should preferably depict positive and realistic images and can be of any genre — drama, comedy, horror, adventure, animation, romance, science fiction, experimental, etc. PAFF accepts features and shorts both narrative and documentary. The film festival will accept submissions of works in progress; however, the final version  of the film must be completed no later than January 2, 2014.