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With summer in full swing and Juneteenth approaching, festival season is finally here and the 2023 Essence Festival of Culture is slated to debut next in line. 

Thrown by Essence, the long-standing Black-female-centered magazine, the Essence Festival of Culture is taken into account the most important Black culture and music event in the USA. 

Around 500,000 people journey to the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in Recent Orleans every yr for the highly anticipated occasion, which this yr will likely be held from June 29 to July 3. The three-day festival is an epic intersection of arts, culture and concert events, with Ms. Lauryn Hill, Missy Elliott, Megan Thee Stallion and more A-list stars set to perform. 

Here, WWD lists all the things to know concerning the 2023 Essence Festival (often called Essence Fest for brief), including attend a few of the daytime events without spending a dime.

What’s Essence Festival?

Initially held as a one-time event in 1995 to have fun the twenty fifth anniversary of Essence Magazine, Essence Festival has bloomed into an annual event that celebrates beauty, fashion and overall lifestyle.

What’s the lineup for Essence Festival?

The three-day festival includes a lot of events to attend, including evening concert series with A-list performers.

Announced earlier this yr, the 2023 Essence Festival will feature performances by Lauryn Hill, Missy Elliott, Megan Thee Stallion, Tems, Wizkid, Doug E. Fresh, Jill Scott, Salt-N-Peppa and more.

In 2022, the evening concert series was headlined by Janet Jackson, Nicki Minaj and Recent Edition.

How you can attend Essence Festival free events?

All the daytime events at Essence Festival are completely free to attend, including a variety of pop-ups, installations, panels and more.

Partnering with Goal, Pepsi, L’Oréal, Disney and AT&T, this yr’s festival will include a food and wine festival, a marketplace, the Recent Voices Village, a community corner and a Global Black Economic Forum and Village.

As well as, the 2023 Essence Festival will include an Essence GU Kickback after party and an Afropunk Krewe Ball. To get tickets to this yr’s Essence Festival, including the evening concert events and free daytime events, visit essence.com/essence-festival-2023-home.