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The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
The state’s largest African-American festival will celebrate its 10th anniversary this month, with an expected crowd of nearly 20,000 people.
The two-day I`ll Make Me a World in Iowa festival will be held on Jan. 25-26 at the Polk County Convention Complex in Des Moines.
This year’s headliners for Celebration Day on Jan. 26 include actor Morris Chestnut, best known for his movie roles in “The Best Man,” “Boyz n the Hood” and “Perfect Holiday,” and the gospel group Trin-i-tee 5:7.
“When we say Morris Chestnut, that’s a first-name recognition,” said Betty Andrews, the festival’s executive director and president and CEO of Betty Andrews Media. “His name needs no introduction. We know who he is. We’re definitely excited.”
Securing high-profile celebrities is a unique part of the festival, Andrews said. It’s an affirmation for blacks, who make up just 2.5 percent of the state’s population with 73,086 people, that the state can draw such well-known entertainers, she said.
“African-Americans in Iowa sometimes feel like we’re not part of the national community, but having these celebrities be accessible to our community just lets us know it could happen here like it happens in Atlanta or California or New York,” Andrews said. “We do things and we do them well and we can be proud that we have made our world in Iowa.”
BETTY ANDREWS
The festival began following a 1999 PBS miniseries “I’ll Make Me a World.” Iowa’s festival is designed to highlight black history, culture and the contributions blacks have made to Iowa.
Pam Williams is instructor of the Isiserettes Drill & Drum Corps, which will perform at the festival on Jan. 26. She said female instructors who know that Chesnut is coming are looking forward to seeing him.
“I know the younger women are excited he’s coming,” Williams said.
Last Sunday, Williams said she saw Trin-i-tee 5:7 perform on BET, a cable network with black programming that reaches an estimated 87 million households.
“They’re geared toward young people with a gospel message,” she said.
Part of the festival’s allure is people-watching, “soul food” sampling and live performances in Iowa’s big-scale celebration of black culture. Vendors will sell art and other items. Puppet shows, rides and other attractions will keep children engaged, Andrews said. A health fair called “Fat to PHAT” will include free health assessments and will promote heart-health awareness. A new Iowa Events and Info Line will debut next week, Andrews said. The telephone line will contain updates on the festival, a community calendar, community information, health tips and short stories about influential figures in black history, such as inventor George Washington Carver. The phone number has not yet been released.
“Even though it’s in the winter, we try to make sure that people get that it’s a festival,” Andrews said.
But, it’s a festival with a focus, she added.
“We wanted to make sure that people understand that we have played an invaluable role in the history of America,” Andrews said. “We use ingenuity. We’re overcomers. We have that ‘soul food’ mentality. We were able to take nothing and make it into something
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