Headliner Market Group Announces The Return of The Free All Day Festival With Complimentary Exhibition Spaces for Visual Arts
Headliner Market Group (HMG), City of Miami Chairman Keon Hardemon, and the Southeast Overtown / Park West Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) proudly announce the return of the Overtown Music & Arts Festival (OMAF). The annual street festival will take place Saturday, July 14, 2018, from 11 am. to 7pm in Miami’s Overtown Business and Entertainment District on NW 2nd & 3rd Avenue between NW 8th & 10th Streets.
The highly anticipated festival is set to bring back music and arts to the Historic Overtown neighborhood once again while promoting economic development and community enrichment. The goal of the festival is not just a free concert but to offer the neighborhood a day to enjoy local food, art vendors, crafts, a youth zone and more. This year, the festival is in search of a few select local artists to take over a 10 x 10 booth and showcase their unique work. Artists must be willing to actively create pieces or art live on site. Artists who are willing to create and sell their art during the festival can email OvertownMusicArtsFestival@gmail.com to submit their interest.
Headliner Market Group, known for promoting “The World’s Greatest Party” at LIV on Sundays, is responsible for the festival production. The festival has brought people from all around South Florida. In more recent years, there has been an increase in guests from other states as well. Due to Headliner Market Group’s commitment to the community and neighborhood, this event continues to give back.
Michael Gardner, CEO of Headliner Market Group, always strives to make the festival larger and more distinguished than the year before. Gardner has been a powerhouse in Miami’s nightlife and entertainment scene for over 15 years and is a huge marketing mogul in the Miami community. He uses resources from his other marketing endeavors to make sure the event remains free for everyone, but still filled with just as much entertainment as a ticketed event.
“When we first started producing this festival in 2014 our goal was to have it grow each year with visitors from not only South Florida but from around the world,” said Michael Gardner. “I think we’re achieving just that. So many new businesses are opening in Overtown while at the same time the existing businesses are seeing a growth in new customers. We are honored to have been given the opportunity by Chairman Hardemon and the Southeast Overtown Park West CRA to assist in the mission and vision they have for Overtown.”
Attracting some of the world’s top contemporary performers and artists, OMAF has entertained a growing and enthusiastic audience that reached near 10,000 nation-wide festival goers in the past year. Below are more features that are continuing at this year’s Overtown Music and Arts Festival.
- MAIN STAGE
Globally renowned artists will make their return to the Overtown Music & Arts Festival Stage once again with the artist lineup to be announced in the coming weeks. Past festival performers include Cee-lo Green, Keyshia Cole, Jeremih, Tito Puente, Jr., Melanie Fiona, Raheim DeVaughn, Carl Thomas, Eric Benet and Kelly Price to name a few.
- OMAF ART EXPO ZONE
The Art Expo Zone is established to nurture artistic excellence and artists’ entrepreneurial spirit. Every year OMAF features an interactive installation and this year’s installation is called EUME (short for Eumelanin, the pigment that makes up brown and black complexions) by Danielle of The Kern Firm. This is the trilogy of previous installations that were used at the OMAF. The zone will also showcase colorful paintings, photography, multi-dimensional mixed media works, pottery and handcrafted jewelry by local artists.
BBQ COOK-OFF COMPETITION Festival goers will play judge and experience the bold flavors in the festival’s cook-off competition. Local restaurants will compete for bragging rights and onlookers will be able to sample and cast their vote for the best BBQ. This year, there are a few openings for local vendors from the South Florida restaurant community to participate. To submit their interest, they can email OvertownMusicArtsFestival@gmail.com.
- T.E.E.S. YOUTH ZONE
Teens Exercising Extraordinary Success (T.E.E.S.) Youth Zone is presented by the Green Family Foundation and activities include DIY arts where children can create their own t-shirts, hats, jewelry and more, fitness activities/competitions, bounce houses, a multi-lingual story time tent, live cooking demonstrations, music and live stage performances. In addition, this year, the Miami-Dade Public Library System’s Technobus, a mobile technology innovation lab, will be on site for all to enjoy.
Sponsors include: City of Miami Commission Chairman Keon Hardemon, Southeast /Overtown Park West Community Redevelopment Agency, Teens Exercising Extraordinary Success (T.E.E.S.), House of Wings, and Green Family Foundation
For more information about The Overtown Music & Arts Festival please visit www.overtownmusicandartsfestival.com or visit Facebook at www.facebook.com/OvertownMusicArtsFestival, on Twitter @OvertownMAF and Instagram @OvertownMusicArtsFestival
