NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
July 17, 2007
Cox Communications and the City of Portsmouth invite you to the 17th Annual Umoja Festival at the NTELOS Festival Park on August 3-5 in Portsmouth. Umoja is a Swahili word meaning Unity and is the first principle of Kwanzaa. While the festival focuses on the African-American culture and heritage, it also promotes multi-cultural diversity and Unity of all people. The Umoja Festival will feature national and local entertainment, a Festival Parade, Educational Exhibits, Trolley Tours, Children’s Village, Ethnic Foods, and African Dancers. Call 757-393-8481 for more information.
Major sponsors include Cox Communications, Clear Channel Communications, The Renaissance Portsmouth Hotel and Waterfront Conference Center and Optima Family Care.
National Artists Include:
Rose Royce, The SOS Band, and Glenn Jones on Friday, August 3. Show starts at 8 p.m.
The Manhattans featuring Gerald Austin and Blue Lovitt, Keith Sweat and a Special Guest on Saturday, August 4. Show starts at 7:30 p.m.
Umoja Festival “Gospel & Latin Music Revue” with a featured national recording artist and Hampton Roads gospel choirs, Latin groups and performers on Sunday, August 5. Entertainment starts at 1 p.m.
Local artists will perform throughout the festival, such as RaJazz, Against All Odds, and Sweet Papa Blues just to name a few.
The festival will also host its first Golf Tournament to be held at Bide-A-Wee Golf Course
on Thursday, August 2, with a shot gun start at 8 a.m.
In its effort to promote Unity in the Community, on Wednesday, August 1, the festival will feature a Community Forum entitled “Parenting Teens and Tweens Today.” The featured speaker will be Portsmouth native, Nathan McCall. The event will take place in the City Council Chambers on the sixth floor of City Hall at 7 p.m. Also another community event, the Victory Walk, will take place on Saturday, August 4. The Hampton Roads Chapter of the Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation presents the 1st Victory Walk in conjunction with the 17th Annual Umoja Festival. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m., and for more information and application, visit www.umojafest.org
Tickets on sale now. NTELOS Wireless Pavilion Box Office and all TicketMaster outlets.
For more information, call 393-8481 or visit us on the web at www.umojafest.org