This article is about a famous annual cultural festival, which mainly features music concerts. More information about the founding, development and activities of the Harlem Cultural Festival can be found on manhattanski.
Foundation
The Harlem Cultural Festival is a famous American cultural festival, mainly focused on music. It is held annually in Harlem, Manhattan.
The idea to create this festival appeared in 1964. The goal was to revitalize Harlem and its surroundings. Its creation and organization were mainly influenced by public activist, nightclub singer Tony Lawrence. Having attracted the necessary support from local organizations and the government, he organized the first Harlem Cultural Festival in 1967. This event included a Harlem Hollywood Night, boxing demonstrations, a fashion show, go-kart, a grand prix, the first Miss Harlem contest and concerts with a variety of music. The second festival was held in 1968. This time, musical concerts were held with the participation of such musicians as Mahalia Jackson, Ernest Anthony Puente Jr., Robert Calvin Bland, William James ‘Count’ Basie, etc.
Further activities of the Harlem Cultural Festival
In 1969, the Harlem Cultural Festival was traditionally held. Tony Lawrence organized it again. It was held every Sunday at 3:00 PM from June 29 to August 24, 1969 in the local Marcus Garvey Park. At that time, the festival featured such performers as stand-up comedian Loretta Mary Aiken, percussionist Raimundo ‘Ray’ Barretto Pagan, percussionist Ramon ‘Mongo’ Santamaria Rodriguez, gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, singer Stevland Hardaway Morris, the band Gladys Knight & the Pips, trumpeter Hugh Ramapolo Masekela, singer David Ruffin, the band The 5th Dimension, jazz drummer Maxwell Lemuel Roach, vocalist Anna Marie Wooldridge, singer Charles Benjamin Jackson, the band Sly and the Family Stone, guitarist Riley B. King, singer Nina Simone, etc. One of the event’s sponsors was the American coffee brand Maxwell House Coffee. It should be noted that the festival was visited by about 300 thousand people. This large-scale event was recorded on five portable video cameras by filmmaker Hal Tulchin. However, most of the footage was never released. The event was partially broadcast by such television channels as CBS Broadcasting Inc. and ABC. Later, Tulchin tried to create a film or television program based on his recordings. He never managed to do so due to the lack of funding. However, this project was realized in 2021 as part of a documentary about the Harlem Cultural Festival called Summer of Soul. The work received a number of positive reviews. The film also won an Academy Award for the Best Documentary.
Fiftieth anniversary of the festival
The celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Harlem Cultural Festival, organized by Summerstage Future x Sounds and City Parks Foundation, was held on August 14–17, 2019. Among the participants of the event were Nate Jones, George ‘Spanky’ McCurdy, Freddie Stone, Braxton Cook, Keyon Karim Harrold, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Alice Smith, Cory Alexander Henry and Talib Kweli Greene. Voza Rivers, Juma Sultan, Toni Blackman, Gale Arnot Brewer, Felipe Luciano and Jamal Joseph were also present.
It is also worth noting that the founder and organizer of the Harlem Cultural Festival, Tony Lawrence, planned to scale it and bring it to the international level. He popularized the event. However, the plans never became a reality due to the lack of funding.