Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 1-25-19

Feature
Tampa Bay Black Heritage Festival Committee Fielding Ideas For 20th Celebration
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
The 19th annual Tampa Bay Black Heritage Festival barely is over, but planning for next year’s event al- ready is underway – sort of.
It’s anyone’s guess just who will headline the music concert – ar- guably the event’s biggest draw – but William Sanders said the plan- ning committee already is fielding recommendations.
“Many people suggest who we should have,” he said. “Some people are already calling us telling us who they’d like to see.”
Official planning for the 20th an- nual festival doesn’t begin for some months. Meanwhile, both Sanders and attendees are for this year’s fes- tival which kicked off January 10th with the Martin Luther King Parade Foundation’s Black Tie Gala and ex- tends into February with the inclu- sion of Plant City’s Black Heritage
WILLIAM SANDERS ...Member Of Planning Committee
Celebration.
Saturday’s concert featuring
Midnight Star and Cece Penis- ton was a win for Monique Her- rera of Brandon.
“I’m feeling the music,” she said. “I’ll come next year.”
This was Mia Lee’s ninth year as a vendor at the festival. The feeling
DR. SAMUEL L. WRIGHT, SR. ...Founder
of community among the crowd and with organizers makes it a must on the calendar, she said.
“This always feels like home,” said Lee, who is originally from St. Petersburg, but now lives in Mary- land. “I love the show. Even the local talent is the best I’ve seen. That’s why we keep coming.”
An estimated 15,000 people at- tended the concert while many at- tended events like the Heritage Gala, which featured Joyce Irby and Klymaxx, Youth Day, a financial seminar, and the Heritage Leader- ship Luncheon, this year featuring journalist Linsey Davis.
The festival has grown tremen- dously since its 2000 founding by former University of South Florida ombudsman Samuel Wright. The task of keeping the festival alive lies in the hands of its six-member board of directors and an army of helpers – all volunteers, Sanders said.
“We’re sacrificing for this festi- val,” he said. “At the end, there is (a sense of) fulfillment.”
Ultimately, the festival’s success is credited to a greater force, Sanders said.
“There is nothing but God keep- ing this festival and giving us divine connection,” he said.
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