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2006 Essence Music Festival Moving To Houston


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Chronicle stories:

uly 1, 2006, 11:31PM

Houston likes idea of keeping festival

By SHANNON BUGGS

Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

New Orleans wants the Essence Music Festival back.

After an 11-year run in the Crescent City, the festival moved to Houston when Hurricane Katrina swamped the only home it had ever known.

Louisiana's lieutenant governor delivered a message two weeks ago to festival organizers that the city and state consider the festival to be on a "one-year leave of absence," said Mary Beth Romig, spokeswoman for the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Houston officials, however, are working hard to make the festival's temporary change of venue a permanent move.

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uly 2, 2006, 7:46AM

ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL

Regulars say Houston doesn't feel like home, but relocation is another link to New Orleans

'It lifts up your spirit'

By JENNIFER RADCLIFFE

Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Just as Reliant Center opened its doors Saturday morning, New York artist Lecia Warner placed the last of her straw hats on a metal display hook

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I haven't been to the Essence Music Festival in either New Orleans or Houston, but I'm certain that Reliant Park can't compare to the atmosphere in New Orleans. Hell, Reliant Park almost killed the International Festival.

Reliant Park is an unfortunate location for this event. Big events like this should be held downtown in the future. Toyota Center and Minute Maid offer some large venues (of course not as large as Reliant), and there are plenty of other spots for both indoor and outdoor stages downtown.

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It doesn't appear, from the reports, that this event will be returning to the Space City.

From the reports I've seen and heard, Houston is doing a great job as a host city. The only negative I've heard about the Essence Festival in Houston is that Reliant Park can't replicate the French Quarter/Downtown NOLA experience.

Here's a quote from today's Chronicle: "The annual festival, dubbed the "party with a purpose," has been held in New Orleans for the past decade. Though it had to be moved to Houston this year, Gaines said, "they've done a wonderful job of making it just like it is in New Orleans."

The only drawback, she added, is downtown restaurants are not within walking distance."

Downtown is where the parties are at. The festival should have been downtown.

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Well, I'm not enthusiastic of the festival being in Houston only because of the fact that the people that come here have so many preconceptions about Houston V. New Orleans and they aren't all that diplomatic about it.

With most other conventions and festivals that are held here, people look FORWARD to the city itself or are just so into what they're doing at the convention/festival that they will have a good time regardless of what's going on and already have expectations of what the city has to offer. If they're not familiar with the city, then they will go by fellow conventioneers or people that have been here for entertaintainment advice.

it seems that those from the the festival are so quick to judge the city by the lack of "after hours" entertainment compared to new orleans.

I finally lost patience with one of them and said, "at least you don't have to worry about getting mugged, unless you come across a katrina refugee."

It was harsh, but I was starting to lose my temper with these people that were in such a hurry to judge the city.

It may take a few years for people to get "used" to it being in Houston, but it's going to be a few aggrivating years.

The powers to be may decide to put it back in N.O. in a year or so, I'd certainly wouldn't cry about it. We have enough convention business without having to deal with some of the headaches.

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I think today is the last day of Essence. I will also agree that it is too bad that people keep comparing Houston to New Orleans. The "feel" is not the same and so on...I give them that. However, the crowd at Essence is the same crowd who was the angriest when they saw some of the deplorable conditions of New Orleans that Katrina revealed...yes, the same New Orleans that they loved and partied in year in and year out.

I will say, however, that their complaints of too many things being spaced out too far is not the first time people have come here and said that. Unfortunately, that likely won't change anytime soon. It's just the nature of Houston. At least Metro understood that and ran the trains until almost 3 AM last night (two-car trains ran all weekend, actually).

I agree with Original Timmy Chans that most of the event should have been downtown (ideally), but then you would have had people complaining about the rain and the fact that there's not much of anything between Toyota Center, GRB, and Minute Maid and the Main Street corridor.

Lastly, I will say that the Chronicle has been trying to cover this event, but the coverage has been mostly a Metro B-Section type story. I just think that it could have a little more coverage--especially if Houston got even half the attendance of last year's 232,000 attendees in NOLA. 115,000-120,000 people attending an event is monumental, and might possibly be more than the Final Four would bring in 2011.

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NPR did a story on Essence today. Jordy Tollett said it was expected to have an economic impact of $150 to $200 million. Only the Super Bowl tops it in that regard. Needless to say, Jordy will be humping to get it back permanently, once the event closes today.

Some predictions said it could draw 250,000 attendees. That number would surprise me, but even half that would make hoteliers and restauranteurs happy...bad tippers notwithstanding.

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I get tired of New Orleans trying to take over Houston (not the people) and try to make THEIR city of New Orleans into Houston. BEFORE Katrina there weren't as many cajun/creole whatever...now its like...everywhere I look its like the city is being over-run with trying to make the Katrina evacuees happy and not the residents who have been here.

To be blunt: WE (T-E-X-A-N-S)...we are in a DIFFERENT STATE/ENVIRONMENT/LOCATION were here first!! They need to adjust to our ways NOT the other way around.

I have friends from N.O mind you but me personally, i'm sick of the people wanting this to be N.O's SO BAD!!! ...IT'S NOT!

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Well, I've been working it, and I'm here to tell you, I'm somewhat disappointed. I've YET to get a decent tip out of any of them.

At the hotel my partner works for, the tipping has been minimum to non-existant [valet parkers] and they are paying for a double but sleep-in some cases-8 to 10 per room.

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The annual national convention for the Black Grievance Industry, the "Essence" Festival, hit Houston this week.

Oddly enough, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Loius Farakhan all urged blacks to look past their leaders 'shortcomings', demanding they stop tearing them down... :blink:

A nice excerpt from Farakhan's speech:

"You destroy your leaders because you focus on the negative things about them and that's the way the master taught us, to destroy each other," Farrakhan said. "And that's why we kill our own leaders. Oh, it's easy to say, 'I have a dream today.' But not many of us marched with Martin (Luther King Jr.)"

He said blacks benefited from King and the civil rights movement.

"I didn't march with Martin, not me. Because I'm not nonviolent. ... Somebody strikes me on my cheek and I'm going to bust you on your you know what," Farrakhan said, evoking one of his many standing

Word has it, organizers are not happy with this festival being in Houston and hope to take it back to New Orleans.

...don't let the door hit you in the ass...

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The annual national convention for the Black Grievance Industry, the "Essence" Festival, hit Houston this week.

Oddly enough, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Loius Farakhan all urged blacks to look past their leaders 'shortcomings', demanding they stop tearing them down... :blink:

A nice excerpt from Farakhan's speech:

Word has it, organizers are not happy with this festival being in Houston and hope to take it back to New Orleans.

...don't let the door hit you in the ass...

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metrop...an/4022566.html

You know, I read this article this morning and realized that I had two choices: gripe about how Houston has such a long way to go to be a good host, et al or defend my city. I choose to defend my city.

I got SO irritated with these gripers and complainers. In fact, I was actually surprised at how irritated I was! I say let the stupid party go back to New Orleans. In fact, they could have had it there this year, but they would have complained about how FEMA has all the hotels in downtown New Orleans tied up.

By the way, given the prices of the hotels in downtown New Orleans, what stopped these people from getting a hotel room in downtown Houston and taking the rail to Reliant? Yes the parties were downtown, but so are a ton of hotel rooms.

To the lady who complained about landing at the airport and staying in Westchase and missing parties in downtown....she admits that she learned how to take the bus to the events--but her and her friends couldn't figure out how to take the train from Reliant to the parties downtown?? And then take the 82 Westheimer back out to Westchase directly from the parties?

I am so tired of these people complaining about Houston and then having the nerve to compare it to New Orleans. I share the same sentiment as other people--get the heck out of here and don't come back. What's that? your neighborhood isn't back yet? Well Baton Rouge is looking for you.

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You guys are taking this a bit too personally. These are the comments that some tourists make. They are unfamiliar with the layout of the city, so they complain about the city, as opposed to their ignorance of the local geography. Virtually every destination gets its share of gripes. Remember, prior to Katrina, threads on this board complained of New Orleans' crime, dirtiness and smell. Here, it is the sprawl.

It should surprise no one that tourists find Houston to be different than New Orleans....IT IS. And, let's not forget that the reporter chooses whose quotes get into the article, and can shape the responses by the questions asked.

If Houston wants to increase its tourism industry, it better learn to shrug off the remarks of the tourists. It comes with the territory. Just ask New Orleans.

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New Orleans is and always has been party central.

And look where it got them.

Even before the hurricane that place was a mess.

I'd never want to see Houston as the city where the nation comes to whiz in the streets and fly home on Sunday.

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I'm having a hard time understanding the [isolated] cold shoulder given to this added spice of diversity in Houston. Cajun culture is endemic to Houston, still thriving 90 miles to the East in the Beaumont area.

Anyway, the Essence Music Festival has its roots in New Orleans and seems best suited there, but if it stayed in Houston, that would be fantastic. I'm kinda surprised this year's "off-site" festival went to Houston rather than Atlanta.

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Stealing a festival or event from another city is not going to garnish love and a fostering attitude from those who annually attend. All they will ever do is delicate flower & moan until said festival or event is moved back to the original city.

Buh-bye.

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New Orleans is and always has been party central.

And look where it got them.

Even before the hurricane that place was a mess.

I'd never want to see Houston as the city where the nation comes to whiz in the streets and fly home on Sunday.

Everyone knows that if you want to whiz in the street on Saturday night and fly home on Sunday, you go to New Orleans ! It used to be my weekly ritual when I was going to Southern Miss.

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