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Description:
Since 2005, ThemFive with a collection of talented individuals have volunteered to take time away
from their busy lives to celebrate the lives and legacies of our mothers, grandmothers, wives,
daughters, sisters, and all women of color. This is done with a free day long event. This event is
The Beautiful Black Woman Festival. With this festival, ThemFive hopes to encourage an aura of
confidence, and a feeling of being loved and needed in the female attendees. We achieve this feat
with live music, poetry, fashion shows, motivational speakers, vendors, awards, gifts and much
more. This festival is rapidly growing to be known as one of North Carolina’s largest and most
anticipated events of the spring. The Beautiful Black Woman Festival has been held in May of each
of the last five years and usually held in conjunction with Mother’s Day and Teacher Appreciation
Week, when Black female teachers are honored by ThemFive as community heroes.

Each of the past five Beautiful Black Woman Festivals has boasted attendance in the hundreds and
each year is bigger and better than the last. Women have taken the time to thank ThemFive, either
verbally, through e-mails, or simply with a hug. Many, many relationships have been built on theses
festivals. Attendees have ranged in age from 1 month to 84years old, according to surveys taken
after past festivals.

Also according to surveys, the consensus favorite part of The Beautiful Black Woman Festival has
been the annual fashion show. With this information, ThemFive, along with an aspiring fashion
designer created the Fashion Explosion. The Fashion Explosion is a separate day of fashion shows,
live music, vendors, and dancing. A total of four local fashion designers have created styles and
fashion show productions to showcase their styles and creations at the 1st Fashion Explosion.

Awards:
ThemFive also uses the festivals to honor female community members with plaques and gifts
stating how grateful we are for their life as well as their service. Since 2005 ThemFive has honored
Dr. Vickie Kilimanjaro, publisher of The Carolina Peacemaker newspaper, then Greensboro City
Councilwoman, now former mayor, Mrs. Yvonne Johnson (twice), Ms. Joya Wesley of WNAA
90.1 NCA&TSU radio and The Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Mrs. Joyce
Johnson, community activist and first lady of The Beloved Community Center, Dr. Mabel Scott,
Vice Chancellor of Public Relations at NCA&TSU, and Ms. Portia Shipman, founder of The Sherri
Denese Jackson Foundation for the end of Domestic Violence. In 2007, ThemFive enlisted the help
of High Point based furniture company Kaco International to honor three everyday women chosen
from a list of more than fifty possible candidates. The first of the three was Ivey Crosby (cousin to
ThemFive member Jeff Crosby) who was chosen, not because of her kinship to a ThemFive
member, but because of her 4.3 High School Grade Point Average and her being appointed
salutatorian of the Ben L. Smith Academy in Greensboro. Ivey was presented with a plaque in
addition to a scholarship check to assist in the purchasing of books and materials needed to attend
NCA&TSU the following year. The next honoree was a single mother Kimberly Jefferies who was
working full time to support herself and a pre-teen daughter after the death of her mate to cancer.
Kimberly was also presented with a plaque and a check to assist in the paying of bills. The final
award went to 11 year old Yaquasia Tuck who won a trip to Washington D.C. to meet the
president, through Guilford County Schools. ThemFive and Kaco awarded Yaquasia with a check
to help with transportation as well as a plaque and a gift card to purchase any essentials needed for
the trip.

In 2010, The Beautiful Black Woman Festival’s sixth year, ThemFive will continue along the path
of philanthropy and, with funds gathered through sponsorships, will again donate a specified cash
amount to a mother in need to help with bills and expenses. Funds will also be awarded to a female
student for assistance with books and supplies. A Triad female teacher will also receive a check as
a show of appreciation for educating the future leaders of our communities.

Location:
In 2005 The Beautiful Black Woman Festival was held at NCA&TSU Aggie Park on the corner of
E. Lee St and E. Florida St. This location, although unknown, proved to be the perfect spot for the
festival as an estimated 250 people came out and three local news publications covered the event. In
2006 ThemFive decided to utilize a more well known location, and hold the festival at Barber Park,
a heavily used park named for an African American man and located in a predominately Black
community. That festival was also a success, boasting an attendance of 450-500 people and
covered by the same three news publications, plus recorded by three separate video production
companies and broadcasted on local public access television stations. Since 2007 the Aggie Park
has become home of The Beautiful Black Woman Festival, because of the plush 15 acres of land
housing the park, as well as the inside restroom facilities and freedom to charge vendors a
reasonable price due to the lack of facility vendor fees.

Date/Time:
Beautiful Black Woman Festival 2010 is to be held from 1pm until 6pm on Saturday May 22, 2010,
in Greensboro, NC. With the Fashion Explosion to be held the following day at the same time and
location

Early Preparations:
ThemFive began preparations for Beautiful Black Woman Festival 2010 in May 2009, immediately
following 2009’s festival, by creating accounts on the top African-American networking website
communities. In 2008, in order to receive accurate feedback from the women in the community,
ThemFive launched an online survey to ask the ladies what they would like to see at the next
Beautiful Black Woman Festival, the results were recorded, analyzed and utilized. This will has
been repeated for the festivals since then. Each of these marketing plans has been very successful
with many “friends” gained on each internet community; each new “friend” assures that one more
person knows about The Beautiful Black Woman Festival. Groups have also been formed so that
potential attendees can announce their intentions to participate in the festival.

Stage management is handled by Kevin Goins with the assistance of Eric Rodriguez for Blue Flame
Promotions. Marketing and promotion is completed by Jeff Crosby for ScorpioSoul Designs with a
street team. Sound, videography, and recording are handled by Harrison Spencer Jr. for Elitists
Entertainment. Parking, security, and cleaning will be controlled by ThemFive with a team of
volunteers organized by Michael Spencer.

ThemFive holds meetings to discuss and plan events and community happenings. Those meetings
grow more frequent as the festival date gets closer. We also have trusted advisors to sit in on select
meetings for added input from outside sources.
Event Description:

•        Free Event
•        Saturday May 22 and Sunday May 23, 2009 from 1pm until 6pm
•        Aggie Park
•        Live Music including Neo-Soul, Old School R&B, and Gospel
•        Spoken Word, Inspirational Speakers, Fashion Shows
•        Awards, Gifts, Donations

Bridging The Gaps, One Way Or Another

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