It’s that time of the year again! Essence Festival weekend is upon us and plenty of you brown beauties will be heading down to New Orleans for a fun-filled weekend of cajun food, NOLA street style snaps, good music and celebrity sightings.
NOLA is always an amazing time during 4th of July weekend. Though I won’t be at Essence Fest this year (this mompreneur needed a break to spend time with the mini me) there are TONS of really fun events taking place there and I want you to know all about them. See below for a list of What To Do at Essence Festival 2016 in New Orleans this weekend:
FRIDAY, JULY 1ST
Essence Beauty & Style Expo
Essence is hosting their very first Beauty & Style Expo at Essence Festival this year featuring some of your favorite influencers, celebs & more! Essence Beauty Box is the main sponsor and they have tons in store.
Cost: FREE | Schedule | Register: http://www.essence.com/festival/expo
Essence Day Parties w/ Everyday People
Cost: $25-$75 | Info: http://www.essence.com/day-party-series
Bevel Lounge @ Ace Hotel
Bevel Lounge – an immersive, relaxed experience where you can try out the Bevel shave system and Bevel Trimmer. They will have a DJ, bar, and product giveaways. Guest appearances & meet CEO Tristan Walker.
Time: 2-6 PM CT | Venue: The Music Room at The Ace Hotel, 600 Carondelet Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
NOLA Luxe Pop-Up Shop w/ Blogger Hosts
Time: 12pm – 5pm | Cost: FREE w/ RSVP| Location: The Ritz-Carlton New Orleans, 921 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA 70112
Cantu at Essence Fest
The Cantu Crew of influencers will be in the building at the official Essence Festival Beauty & Style Expo. If you stop by, make sure you say hello! Cantu has such great products – I’m sure there will be free samples, tutorials & more!
Creme of Nature at Essence Fest
Creme of Nature has a great lineup of influencers hosting their booth at the Beauty & Style Expo. Check them out this weekend for giveaways, meet & greets & more!
SATURDAY, JULY 2ND
New Orleans Natural Hair Expo sponsored by EDEN BodyWorks
My baes Jessica Pettway, Romance of HeyCurlie and Yolanda Renee of EtcBlogMag are hosting the New Orleans Natural Hair Expo, sponsored by EDEN BodyWorks. Definitely check it out!
Time: All Day Location: New Orleans Contemporary Arts Center 900 Camp St, New Orleans, LA 70130 Cost: $25-$55 | Tickets: http://www.neworleansnaturalhairexpo.com/tickets/
Red Carpet Beauty Lounge w/ Design Essentials
Chrisette Michelle will make a special appearance at the DESIGN ESSENTIALS Red Carpet Beauty Lounge
at the New Orleans Natural Hair Expo as well!
Notorious Kia at Sally Beauty
Kia of Notorious Kia will be hosting two meet & greets at Sally Beauty on this Saturday. Stop by – totally free!
The Great Girlfriends at Essence Fest
Check out Great Girlfriends Sybil Amuti and Brandice Henderson-Daniel for their appearances! Love these girls.
THE PERFORMANCES
Don’t forget about the nightly performances at the Superdome! If you’re in town, you’ll want to get tickets for each night because this year’s lineup is ON POINT. My girl Jessica of HeyGorJess will be covering the nightly concerts for LoveBrownSugar.com so follow her on social media for live updates from the concerts!
Cost: $50-$2700 | Location: Mercedes-Benz Superdome | Tickets | Artist Lineup
For those of you running around town having a blast at Essence, make sure you use hashtag #browngirlslove for a feature on the BrownGirlsLove Instagram page. We wanna see you!
So what are you planning this 4th of July weekend? Will you be at Essence Fest or home? Soundoff below!