For the first time, the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC) is hosting the Ithaca Soul Fest, which will take place at the 300 Block of W. Court ST., ITHACA, NY 14850 on 9/21/2024 from 11am to 10pm. GIAC is coordinating this event through contracted services. Based on the success of our earlier events and festivals, which host 2,500 people respectively, the Ithaca Soul Fest is expected to draw over five-hundred attendees, drawn locally and from outside Tompkins County. The event is coordinated by a team of experienced GIAC leadership staff, board members, and community members who are well-versed in large-scale community event planning and festivals. The planning team will work on-site logistics (site planning, port-a-potties, etc.) and marketing.
Vision: Soul Fest, short for Soul Festival, is an event that occurs worldwide annually at various times. Various countries and states within the US have adopted this festival, and GIAC plans to do the same for Ithaca, NY. The festival will be a family and community-oriented event that celebrates and highlights soul music, which is an umbrella term for several music genres, including jazz, blues, R&B, Soul, Hip Hop, spoken word, neo-soul, gospel, early rock'n'roll, and more. It is one of the most diverse events worldwide and draws people worldwide. GIAC's director, Dr. Leslyn McBean-Clairborne, and GIAC's deputy director have experienced Soul Fest and envisioned it for Ithaca. The project will be a collaborative large-scale effort shared by GIAC, Visions Federal Credit Union, and other GIAC partners. History: Since the mid-1900s, soul music has remained one of the most popular music genres across the globe. It has become the soundtrack for many lives, especially the civil rights movement. The soulful voices and the soul music that undergirded the American Civil Rights movement helped to build bridges between divided communities, embodied the woes of oppressed communities, and helped produce breakthroughs for reform and change. This genre is still influential and brings people from varied cultural backgrounds together. Ithaca Soul Fest's goal is to inspire people to unite multiple age groups and ethnic groups, celebrate the power of this musical genre, and highlight rich talent in and outside our community. Cities nearby have had remarkable success hosting a Soul Music Festival, such as Rochester, NY, which, in 2022, hosted a Soul Festival that drew over 7,500 people, many from outside of Monroe County. Rochester launched its annual soul festival in 1995 as the Rochester Mu-sic Festival, and four years ago, it was rebranded as the Rochester Summer Soul Music Festival. Due to its success, this festival still occurs annually 27 years later. This event has had headline artists including John Legend, Mary J. Blige, Bell Biv DeVoe, and Boyz II Men. The festival has become a time when the community can gather, dance, and enjoy good music. GIAC's reputation of hosting successful, high-quality events makes Soul Festival a ripe and innovative opportunity for GIAC to present and for Ithaca to host as a new, long-lasting annual tourism event.
Purpose: As Ithaca's cultural landscape grows to include more people of color and new Americans, we must remain innovative and ensure our events reflect the interests of our community. Additionally, we must be strategic in ensuring that our county benefits culturally and economically.
We provide:
A platform highlighting soul music and high-level performers.
Soul Music’s diverse subgenres.
A stage for local artists.
We will share and document one of the most precious American and global heritages. The festival will evolve yearly by welcoming new performers and celebrating our community's cultural diversity and fluidity with family fun, good music, and soul food.
Thee Cheryl Pepsii Riley as seen on multiple Tyler Perry stage and film productions, BET's House of Pain, singer of the Top 40 and Hot 100 hit "Thanks for My Child", and more will be the event host. We will feature two DJ's. Our headliner is the electrifying and world-renowned Stout as seen on The Grammy's, the MTV Awards, the Billboard Music Awards, the BET Awards, the Jimmy Fallon Show, Coachella, and so much more. Stout has been featured with artists like Alicia Keys, Childish Gambino, Quincy Jones, Cory Henry and more. There will be eight other performers, including Terrence Cunningham as seen on NBC’s The Voice season 14, and Serena Williams as seen on BET’s Sunday Best season 7. The festival will highlight local artists such as SingTrece, Matthew Cornwell, the Brownskin Band, Jorge T. Quevas & The Caribe Jazz Allstars, Destiny La Vibe, and Empire Kingz. Performers will be a broad age group to ensure each age group in our community is represented. Soul Music has multiple subgenres, such as Jazz, RnB, Neo/New Soul, Rap, Traditional Soul, Pop-Soul, Blues, and more. All performers will represent a sub-category of Soul Music.
The event will begin at 11:00am and end at 10:00pm. There will be food, drinks, specialty cocktails, a dance floor, a kid's zone, a mini job job, guest speakers, and more.
The event is FREE but you MUST register to enter. Register here: https://forms.gle/QxUXVb2nkLJvXQ5LA
