Left to right: Community Icon Carole Ann Taylor, AHCAC Assistant Director Teddy Harrell Jr., AHCAC Marketing & Communications Manager Cheryl Mizell and longtime AHCAC Director Miles Davis were all smiles at the inaugural Art, Blues and BBQ Festival.

PHOTO COURTESY OF AFREEMAN PHOTOGRAPHY

Staff Report

MIAMI – Over 300 people came from across counties, neighborhoods, cultures and generations to attend the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center’s (AHCAC) first annual “Art Blues & BBQ Festival” on Saturday, December 2.

The inaugural event celebrated the arts, music and flavors of Black Miami during Art Basel week on the grounds of the AHCAC, 6161 NW 22 Avenue, at the intersection of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Moonlight Way.

Attendees rocked all the way into the cool evening to the authentic sounds of the Chicago Blues All-Stars, Ike & Val Woods, and the Valerie Tyson Band, who performed live on an outdoor stage.

The Center’s Amadlozi Gallery presented “Lips, Hips & Revolution,” a stunningly brilliant art exhibition by the talented Addonis Parker.

Visitors also enjoyed a barbecue competition with food prepared by various entities including the Morehouse College Alumni Miami-Dade Chapter.

It was judged by a celebrity panel featuring Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners Vice Chairwoman Audrey M. Edmonson; Miami Gardens Councilwoman Lisa Davis; WPLG Local 10 Reporter Terrell Forney; and Shelby Rushin of 99 JAMZ fame.

The event was co-hosted by HOT 105’s Chico the Virgo and Big Man Kelly, WDNA’s Michael Valentine and WMBM’s M.J.

The Art Blues & BBQ Festival was organized and produced by AHCAC event staff under the guidance of Director, Marshall L.

Davis. Led by Assistant Director Teddy Harrell, staff included Isis Roberts, music department director/event coordinator; Cheryl Mizell, marketing & communications manager; Novice Johnson, advisory council member; and Cedric Dawkins, Freez Frame Marketing & Media, among others.

A premier arts training institution in Liberty City, the AHCAC is nationally recognized for developing hundreds of outstanding artists in all disciplines over the last 33 years.

It is widely known as the artistic home of alumnus Tarell Alvin McCraney, writer of the play which inspired the award-winning movie, “Moonlight.” The center’s other distinguished alumni include Robert Battle, Artistic Director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; Bianca Brewton, dancer (Janet Jackson and Beyoncé); Shareef Clayton, a Jazz trumpeter (Arturo Sandoval and Stevie Wonder); and tap dancer Marshall Davis, Jr., associate choreographer of the Tony-nominated play, “Shuffle Along.”

For more information about the center, contact Isis Roberts at 305-638-6771, visit www.ahcacmiami.org or follow it on social media @ahcacmiami.