New festival aims to make Halifax the diversity capital of Canada

A new festival aims to bring Halifax closer to becoming the diversity capital of Canada by providing a platform to black performers.

The first-ever Halifax Black Summer Festival is a multidisciplinary event celebrating black culture and diversity in Nova Scotia, happening August 1-4, 2019.

It was launched by the Halifax Black Film Festival, which is dedicated to encourage the development of the independent film industry and to promote more films on the reality of Black people from around the world.

After three successful years of hosting the Halifax Black Film Festival, founder Fabienne Colas described the summer festival as a natural expansion.

READ MORE: Halifax Black Film Festival expands to include 17 films, youth mentorship program

The new festival, which is supported by the Fabienne Colas Foundation and Global News, aims to provide an emerging platform for black artists and performers to be showcased in Halifax.

“Black culture is not just important in February, during Black Heritage Month, it’s so vibrant and colorful and needs to be shared at other times of the year especially outdoors in the summer,” she said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Black culture is not just important in February, during Black Heritage Month, it's so vibrant and colorful and needs to be shared at other times of the year especially outdoors in the summer," she said.

The four-day festival is free to the public and packed with a variety of black entertainment for everyone to enjoy. It will feature a movie screening, music, dancing, and more in various locations in downtown Halifax.

WATCH: Halifax Black Film Festival opens with powerful documentary

6:03 Halifax Black Film Festival opens with powerful documentary

The Saturday feature is an Outdoor Music Celebration in collaboration with The Halifax Busker Festival with some of the provinces top performers, Reeny Smith and Jeremiah Sparks. Other artists taking the stage include Zamani, Harmony Adesola, Jayden Austin, Shay Pits, DSO, and DJ Top Cat.

To date, Colas has launched seven festivals celebrating black culture in Canada, the United States, and Haiti.

“I always keep the end vision in mind when launching an event like this is any city because I can see how big and how important it will be in the years to come,” Colas said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I always keep the end vision in mind when launching an event like this is any city because I can see how big and how important it will be in the years to come," Colas said.

“This is more than just a film festival, this is multidimensional, it’s summer time, and it’s a celebration of black culture with different voices and perspectives and we want everyone to come out an enjoy it,” she added.

In its first year, The Halifax Black Summer Festival is well positioned to garner lots of attention as locals and tourists flock to the Halifax waterfront for its sights and entertainment.