The slogan of the inaugural African-American Heritage Festival is "Come see who we are" -- and event organizers mean that literally.
"It's the heritage of the African-American culture -- past, present and future," says festival spokeswoman Mary Wright.
"And it's the first time for the African-American Heritage Festival, so we want people to come see who we are."
The three-day family-focused event, which starts tomorrow at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, will emphasize the arts, education, entertainment and African-American contributions to Baltimore and society as a whole.
Everything is free, with the exception of food and parking.
The festival committee has gathered a wide range of African-American performers, artists, educators and community leaders to participate in the event. In addition, there will be 500 volunteer "ambassadors" to welcome visitors.
The festival kicks off at 5 p.m. tomorrow with a ribbon cutting by Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley and Kweisi Mfume, NAACP president and festival chairman.
Big-name entertainment
Each night of the three-day event will be capped with a performance by nationally acclaimed entertainers.
R&B; diva Erykah Badu headlines tomorrow night. For many fans, Badu's sultry voice evokes memories of another legendary female singer, Baltimore's own Billie Holiday. Badu's unique blend of jazz, soul and hip-hop has won her much acclaim since the release of her 1997 debut album, Baduizm.
The Baltimore-based group Fertile Ground will open for Badu. James Collins, the group's 26-year-old music director, says he and his fellow band members were pleased by the invitation.
Fertile Ground -- which plays "neo-soul-jazz, if that's a musical style," Collins says with a laugh -- has just come off a world tour that took the group to Europe and Japan.
"We've played premier festivals all over the world, and it's nice to be asked to play in one of that caliber at home," Collins says.
He, like many of those who have been asked to play a role in the inaugural heritage festival, has high hopes about what the event could mean for Baltimore.
"One of my personal goals has been for the city to [better] develop its arts climate. This is where Billie Holiday got her start," he says. "This is the home of Pennsylvania Avenue and the [so-called] 'chitlins circuit.' I don't think Billie would have a lot of stages to play here now, but she would have a great festival to come to."
On Saturday night, R&B; group Maze featuring Frankie Beverley will take center stage.
Maze got its big break opening for the late Marvin Gaye. The group's repertoire includes the top-10 R&B; singles "Love Is the Key" and "Silky Soul."
Contemporary jazz saxophonist Kim Waters and vocalist Maysa Leek, known for her work with the group Incognito, will open Maze's show.
On Sunday, the Rev. Jamal Bryant will lead local choirs in a two-hour performance of gospel and church music.
The festival winds to a close Sunday evening with a performance by singer/songwriter/ heartthrob Brian McKnight. His hit songs include "One Last Cry," "Love Is" and "You Should Be Mine (Don't Waste Your Time)."
The festival's entertainment committee is headed by LaRian Finney, president of Visionary Marketing Group, a Baltimore-based talent agency. Finney says that in developing the festival's entertainment schedule, he drew on his experience organizing entertainment for NAACP conventions and used Baltimore's annual Artscape festival as a model.
"My goal was to have a very diverse entertainment lineup that will appeal across the board and across races, but specifically in the African-American community," Finney says. On all three nights, he adds, festival-goers can "come out ... and enjoy good entertainment and a good festival."
Not a recycled AFRAM
Premier musical entertainment was also a hallmark of the bygone AFRAM Festival, the African-American cultural event that was a part of Baltimore City's Showcase of Nations Ethnic Festivals. The new event, while also a part of the Showcase of Nations, is not just a recycling of AFRAM, organizers say.
"We're building on the positives that started with AFRAM and moving beyond with a greater emphasis on the arts, education and health, in addition to entertainment," says festival spokesman John C. White.
The festival site will feature three stages for entertainment and a variety of tents for other performances, exhibits and interactive displays.
In the history and education areas, festival-goers will be given pointers on tracing African-American genealogy and creating handmade crafts with a cultural theme. The contributions of Maryland's historically African-American colleges will be highlighted with displays on Morgan State University and Coppin State College.
A series of free seminars will be offered each day. Topics include "Celebrating Our Ancestors' Ingenuity" and "Preparing for College."
Historical themed exhibits include "Life for Blacks at Sparrows Point"; a look at the role of African-American churches in Baltimore; and an archival display of photos from the Afro-American newspaper. Many of the items on display are being loaned from private collections from across Maryland, Wright says.
Internet kiosks will be set up so that visitors can reach Encarta Africana, a Web site devoted to African-American history. An extensive timeline of African and African-American contributions to the world will also be displayed.
"Living Literature" activities will include talks and performances by authors, poets and actors. Some will re-enact the lives of notable African-American historical figures, such as Billie Holiday, jazz great Eubie Blake and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.
On Saturday and Sunday, actress Starletta DuPois will perform scenes from her show Order My Steps. Based on the lyrics of a contemporary gospel song, the show invokes African-American history through the words of noted writers such as Sojourner Truth, Langston Hughes and Paul Laurence Dunbar. The 60-year-old DuPois will recite portions of her own written work and also dance in the show.
DuPois' appearance in Maryland will be a homecoming of sorts. The Philadelphia native now lives in Los Angeles, but says she was called to acting in college, at what is now the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
DuPois earned a biology degree, but instead of going on to medical school as planned, she headed to New York to work as an actress.
Her theatrical and television movie credits include a critically acclaimed version of A Raisin in the Sun (Ruth Younger), Waiting to Exhale (Whitney Houston's mother), The Road to Galveston (Cicely Tyson's best friend) and Big Momma's House (Miss Patterson). She also has had roles in a number of Broadway hits, including The Mighty Gents and The Piano Lesson.
Baltimore poet and actor jaki-terry will present her own works and those of others in poetry performances during the festival. Known for her love poetry, jaki-terry will also recite from the popular When Divas Laugh, a collaborative work that was also presented at last year's Artscape festival.
The 46-year-old, who served on the Artscape organizing committee from 1996 to 2001, says she is glad poetry is being recognized at the heritage festival.
Besides a variety of recitations by invited performers, an open-mike session will be offered Saturday.
"I hope it brings a sense of inclusiveness," jaki-terry says. "In a city that is [majority] African-American, [we] need to be represented in more than the negative depictions every night on the 6 o'clock news.
"We're talented, we have gifts and we have something to say that's worth hearing."
Visual arts
An Art/Design tent will showcase African-American contributions to the visual arts with displays and demonstrations by artists. A painter, a sculptor and a potter are all expected to work in the tent so that visitors can see firsthand what it takes to produce their art. Illustrators, a Web designer and a photographer are also expected to be on hand to discuss their respective crafts.
African-American griots will tell legends in the children's area. The area will also include carnival rides, face painting, games, arts and crafts, a stilt walker, a balloon artist, and belly and African dancers. Wright says the younger set also will be presented with free books, thanks to festival sponsors.
An NAACP tent will offer information about that organization's NASA Youth Space program and ACT SO -- the Academic Cultural Technical Science Olympics. Visitors can join the NAACP while they're at the festival and register to vote at the tent as well.
A health tent will offer screenings for hypertension, diabetes and other diseases. Immunizations for children will be available. There will also be information on prostate exams and mammograms, and pamphlets with advice on recognizing the symptoms of various illnesses and adopting a healthier lifestyle.
A tent aimed at senior citizens will offer a quiet place for older visitors to rest, away from the excitement of the entertainment stages, Wright says. Information pertaining to seniors will also be available.
Representatives of Baltimore's numerous neighborhood associations, as well as city agencies, will make up Community Row. Commercial vendors, including the Walters Art Museum, will offer everything from African-themed paintings and clothing to sculpture and jewelry.
Festival foods will include dishes with international flair, such as jerk chicken and curry chicken, as well as regional favorites, such as ribs, catfish and crab cakes. There will also be traditional summer fare such as hot dogs and hamburgers.
The festival's ambassadors will direct visitors as well as provide them with maps of the festival grounds. The volunteers come from a variety of local organizations, such as the Masons, the Dames, the Coalition of 100 Black Women and local chapters of African-American fraternities and sororities.
While the festival has Baltimore written all over it, organizers are hoping the event will bring visitors from a much wider area -- from outside the state, even.
"We hope that we attract people from up and down the East Coast," spokeswoman Wright says. And in the long term, she adds, "taking this national is the whole plan."
The facts
What: The African-American Heritage Festival
When: 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. tomorrow, noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday
Where: Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Lot A and the warehouse promenade. Use Eutaw Street entrance.
Admission: Free
Stadium parking: Lot B (entry fee)
Public transport: Festival-goers are encouraged to use the MTA's buses, Metro and light rail to get to and from the stadium. Light-rail hours will be extended beyond each evening's final performance.
Call: 410-318-8286
Web site: www.african americanheritagefestival.org
Entertainment schedule
Friday
5 p.m. Brenda Doswell, Main Stage
5:30 p.m. The Littles, B Stage
5:45 p.m. BW, Main Stage
6:30 p.m. Urban Avenue, featuring Raheem DeVaughn, Main Stage
6:30 p.m. Boom Bash, B Stage
6:30 p.m. Kooke Limo Dancers, Village Stage
7:15 p.m. Fertile Ground, Main Stage
7:30 p.m. U'Nek, B Stage
8:30 p.m. Erykah Badu, Main Stage
8:30 p.m. Brown Fish, B Stage
9:15 p.m. Big Owl, B Stage
Saturday
Noon Ava Field Dancers, Main Stage
Noon The Golan Rockets, B Stage
12:45 p.m. Reverb, Main Stage
1 p.m. Kubiko Dancers, Village Stage
1:30 p.m. Measha, Main Stage
1:45 p.m. APAGADs Dancers, B Stage
2:15 p.m. Masfik, featuring Ingrid Blazer, Main Stage
2:30 p.m. Let's Dance, B Stage
3 p.m. Urban Legend, Main Stage
3 p.m. Poetry Showcase, B Stage
3:30 p.m. David Bach, Main Stage
4:15 p.m. Red, B Stage
4:30 p.m. Groove Stu, Main Stage
5 p.m. H.A.L.O., B Stage
5 p.m. Typical Ensemble, Village Stage
5:15 p.m. Howard Franklin, Main Stage
5:45 p.m. St. Veronica Steel Band, B Stage
6 p.m. Big Jesse Yawn, Main Stage
6 p.m. Stilt walker, Village Stage
6:30 p.m. Ninja Belly Dance, B Stage
6:50 p.m. Kim Waters, featuring Maysa, Main Stage
7:15 p.m. Xpress, B Stage
8 p.m. N.I.T, B Stage
8:30 p.m. Maze, featuring Frankie Beverley, Main Stage
8:45 p.m. Ron McCoy, B Stage
Sunday
11 a.m. Anthony Q, B Stage
Noon The Rev. Jamal Bryant leads the I Can't, We Can Choir and other local choirs in an inspirational performance, Main Stage
Noon Phil Waters, B Stage
1 p.m. Nettie Millaud, B Stage
1:45 p.m. 13th Disciples, B Stage
2:30 p.m. Daytime, B Stage
2:45 p.m. Choir Boyz, Main Stage
3:30 p.m. SOV, B Stage
4:15 p.m. The Stomp, B Stage
4:25 p.m. Sunny Sumpter, Main Stage
4:30 p.m. Pan Jazz, Village Stage
5 p.m. Cirquedia/Phontic, B Stage
5:25 p.m. Panama, Main Stage
5:45 p.m. Ricky Sampson, B Stage
6 p.m. Strike Posse, Village Stage
6:30 p.m. Marcel, B Stage
6:40 p.m. Brian McKnight, Main Stage