Dauphin County to Host 11th Annual Cultural Festival on Friday Night, Location Changed to Zembo Shrine Event Complex
HARRISBURG, PA (July 31, 2018) - Dauphin County Commissioners Jeff Haste, Mike Pries and George P. Hartwick, III invite the public to the county’s 11th Annual Cultural Fest, a free street festival celebrating cultural diversity, from 5 to 10:00 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 3 at the Zembo Shrine Event Complex, 2801 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg. The festival was to be held outdoors in downtown Harrisburg, but with rain in the forecast, the event has been moved to the complex.
Cultural Fest, sponsored by Highmark Blue Shield and UPMC Pinnacle, will feature an outstanding line-up of live music and entertainment, ethnic foods, a children’s corner with fun, educational activities and much more. Gina Johnson will emcee this year’s festival.
The Talent Showcase, featuring local performers, includes the following:
- 5 p.m. - Troupe Hayati Belly Dancers
- 5:15 p.m. - Halo-Halo Youth Dancers and Bongga Ka Day Dance Group, and Kalayaan USA Cultural Ensemble
- 5:30 p.m. - the Coyle School of Irish Dance
- 7 p.m. – Chinese Quipao Team
- 7:15 p.m. – Brazilian Vibes
From 6 to 7 p.m., Los Monstros, a Latin dance fusion band, will return to the festival.
Pennsylvania-based jazz and funk group the Uptown Band will perform at 7:30 p.m. The Uptown Band is known for their stylistically eclectic, critically acclaimed debut album Waiting For Her. “SJ3”, the first single off their sophomore album Heart, Soul, Body, & Mind climbed all the way to #9 in the United States on the Groove Jazz Radio Chart. Featured artists on Heart, Soul, Body, & Mind include legendary artists Will Lee, bassist from The Late Show with David Letterman’s CBS Orchestra, trumpet great and founding member of Tower of Power and East Bay Soul, Greg Adams, percussionist Doc Gibbs from The Emeril Live Show on the Food Network, drummer Curtis Harmon of Pieces of a Dream, and the CD’s Producer, bassist Bennie Sims of The Three Degrees.
The headliner for Cultural Fest will be Angie Stone, a three-time Grammy nominee, recording artist, producer and actress. She rose to fame in the late 1970s as member of the hip hop trio The Sequence. Soon after, Stone began working with futuristic rap group Mantronix and singer Lenny Kravitz. In the early 1990s, she became a member of the R&B trio Vertical Hold. In 1999, Stone released her solo debut album Black Diamond, which was certified gold and spawned the R&B single “No More Rain (In This Cloud)”. After the transition to J Records, she released another gold selling album, 2001's Mahogany Soul, which included "Wish I Didn't Miss You", Stone's most successful single. On the R&B charts, she had four Top 10 albums, including a number one hit. Her performance will begin at 9 p.m.
The Dauphin County Department of Drug and Alcohol Services and the Cultural Celebration Task Force will host Children’s Corner, sponsored by UPMC Pinnacle, with this year’s theme of “Across the USA – Culture Rich and Drug Free.” The Children’s Corner will feature crafts, games and activities from various countries around the world linked with a state. Children will learn about traditions from these countries and states. The ever-popular face painters will be onsite and a photo area with multi-cultural props will be set up for children to have their photo taken. The Dauphin County Library System van - MARCO will be onsite. Each child will also receive a snack and a drink. This area will be open from 5 to 8 p.m.
The 2018 Cultural Fest is sponsored by Highmark Blue Shield, M&T Bank, Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, PNC Bank, Renewal by Andersen, The Hershey Company, UPMC Pinnacle, Capital BlueCross, Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority, Gateway Health, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Jump Street, Sheetz, Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitor’s Bureau, Fun 101, 98.9 WQLV, abc27, Showcase Now, Urban Connection, Lamar, WXPN, WITF, The Burg, Latino Connection, Giant, Kegerreis, Best Western Premier – The Central Hotel and Conference Center, Hotel Indigo, Harrisburg Hilton, Days Inn Harrisburg North, Hampton Inn Suites, Springhill Suites, Best Western Harrisburg North, Crowne Plaza, Blues Society of Central PA, WGAL, Hershey Harrisburg Wine Country, Susquehanna Folk Music Society, Central Pennsylvania Friends of Jazz, Filson Water, HMAC and the Dauphin County Cultural Diversity Task Force Committee.
For more information about Cultural Fest, or other Dauphin County events, please visit www.DauphinCounty.org or call 717-599-5188. Connect with Dauphin County Parks and Recreation at Facebook.com/DauphinCountyParksRecreation and Twitter.com/DauphinParksRec.