Celebration of Black Culture, Music, Innovation, Business + Community Coming to Downtown Durham
DURHAM, N.C. (PRWEB) August 10, 2018 -- This fall, Durham will play host to a national celebration of Black culture, community, music, innovation and economic opportunity. The week-long series (September 24-29) will be headlined by Grammy Award winners and nominees Maxwell, Anthony Hamilton, Nas and Erykah Badu, top local and national business thought leaders, and a pitch competition featuring some of our nation’s top up-and-coming Black-led startups. The celebration will take place in various downtown venues, including along Durham’s historic Parrish Street, known for being an early beacon for Black entrepreneurship and culture.
Billed as Trifesta by partner organizations, the series brings together three signature events (The Art of Cool Festival Experience, Black Wall Street: Homecoming, and the Google For Entrepreneurs Exchange for Black Founders) into one week-long celebration, with content that speaks to everyone – from students to retirees, aspiring entrepreneurs to established business owners, jazz enthusiasts to die-hard hip hop heads, and everyone in between.
The week includes the following events and activations:
- The Google for Entrepreneurs Black Founders Exchange Program returns to Durham for its third year. Hosted by American Underground, The Exchange is a week-long immersion program for pre-selected teams, focused on addressing the documented funding gap for startups led by Black founders. Select parts of the program are free and open to the public, including a midday conversation with technology and entrepreneurship influencers on September 26, and the Black Founders Exchange Demo Day on September 28.
- Black Wall Street: Homecoming, September 26-28, attracts entrepreneurs searching for inspiration, builders of the most exciting startups in need of expertise and funding, investors looking for their next deal and a community of media and supporters eager to share stories. The agenda features keynotes, workshops and panel discussions, plus plenty of opportunities to exchange ideas with peers and subject matter experts, and connect with investors through nonstop networking.
- The Art of Cool Festival (AOCFEST), an annual Black American music festival drawing over 10,000 attendees and featuring local and national artists, celebrates its 5th Anniversary this year. Performances begin on Friday, September 28, and include headliners Maxwell and Anthony Hamilton, plus Meshell Ndegeocello, Damien Escobar, Terminator X, Sons of Kemet, Sango and 9th Wonder’s 95 LIVE featuring Spinderella. Saturday’s lineup features headliners Nas and Erykah Badu, and Dwele, Royce Da 5’9, Iman Omari and Keyon Harrold at various festival venues.
Also part of The Art of Cool Festival experience is Innovate Your Cool, a two-day conference featuring talks and workshops celebrating cool ideas and their impact on innovation, music and culture. This programming is free and open to the public, with sessions for all ages and backgrounds.
“Aligning Black Wall Street: Homecoming and our existing partnership with the Google for Entrepreneurs Black Founders Exchange with the Art of Cool Festival is the perfect way to level up,” said Black Wall Street co-founder Talib Graves-Manns. “The Art of Cool brings a strong brand and story that mirrors what the entrepreneurs we serve live every day. We’re excited to make our schedules work so that we can extend the cultural experience for BWS: Homecoming attendees.”
“We are excited to partner with Black Wall Street: Homecoming to foster a week of great music, Black excellence, innovation and entrepreneurship," said Sulaiman Mausi, President/owner of The DOME Group LLC and The Art of Cool Festival. “We're excited to work alongside great partners to provide an amazing experience for both locals and visitors during this week.”
Joint tickets for AOCFEST and Black Wall Street: Homecoming include general admission to all festival events and Black Wall Street: Homecoming events. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit http://www.aocfestival.com.
--
AMERICAN UNDERGROUND: The American Underground is 1 of 11 Google for Entrepreneurs Tech Hubs in North America. Deemed “the startup capital of the south” by CNBC, the American Underground supports its 270 member startups by providing access to entrepreneurial resources and business experts in an energetic, creative and inclusive community. American Underground visitors include TechCrunch, TIME Magazine, The Atlantic, the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, G.E’s Jeff Immelt, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg and Steve Case.
BLACK WALL STREET: Black Wall Street (BWS) celebrates innovation and entrepreneurship within diverse, multicultural communities. Created in honor and as an extension of what was built during the heyday of Durham, NC’s Parrish Street, BWS creates conversations and promotes thought leadership around diversity, technology and entrepreneurship. No matter the city or decade, the spirit of Black Wall Street remains the same – building communities and wealth through business ownership. BWS is the remix. Same vision. New day. For more information on the week’s events, speakers and agenda, please visit http://www.bwshomecoming.com.
THE ART OF COOL FESTIVAL: A remix of a Black American Music festival, AOCFEST fuses forward-thinking jazz, alternative Soul and Hip-Hop greats over the course of a dope, culture-filled weekend. Celebrating it's 5th year anniversary year, AOCFEST is owned by The DOME Group, LLC is a premier entertainment promotions company based in North Carolina specializing in turn-key production of top-billed music performances across the country since 2007. http://www.aocfestival.com
THE ART OF COOL PROJECT: The Art of Cool Project is a 501(c)(3) jazz presenting non-profit organization that strives to cross artistic, economic and social boundaries to bring together a diverse mix of people, cultures, experiences and creativity. The Art of Cool Project consists of two major educational initiatives: stArt of Cool, a week-long jazz camp that provides education for students interested in learning more about the performance and fundamentals of jazz and Innovate Your Cool, a conference celebrating cool ideas and their impact on innovation, music and culture.
MEDIA CONTACTS
American Underground
Phillipe Charles
pcharles(at)americanunderground.com
Black Wall Street
Dee McDougal
dee(at)bwshomecoming.com
The Art of Cool Festival & The Art of Cool Project
Chelsey Bentley-Holts
hello(at)nakomapr.com
Dee McDougal, Black Wall Street, http://www.bwshomecoming.com, +1 9193270888, [email protected]
Share this article