30th annual Essence Festival of Culture kicks off in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS — The city of New Orleans officially welcomed thousands of people to the Big Easy on Thursday for the Essence Festival of Culture.

The party, which has been around for 30 years, is no easy feat, Essence CEO Caroline Wanga said Thursday during a press conference at Gallier Hall to kick off the event, which runs through the Fourth of July weekend.

“Part of that is because of where we are located, the cultural mecca called New Orleans,” Wanga said.

The magazine unveiled four new covers for its July and August editions, commemorating the festival and its relationship with the city. The cover story, “Dear New Orleans,” is a love letter to the people, places and spaces of New Orleans, company executives said.

Mayor LaToya Cantrell thanked Essence for the long-standing partnership, which has generated more than $300 million in economic impact for the city and state and brought New Orleans global recognition.

“This is our time to love each other,” she said. “Our time to come together to reassure and understand that we are unapologetically Black and we deserve to be loved and supported.”

Wanga said New Orleans is the real “headliner” of the festival, which offers free workshops daily in the convention center and concerts featuring major artists each night in the Superdome.

The event’s contract with the city runs through 2026, and there are no plans to end the relationship with the magazine, Wanga and Cantrell said.