What to know about GrindFest 2023, a 3-day festival in River Arts District
ASHEVILLE - A three-day festival packed with entertainment and activities for all ages will return to River Arts District this weekend.
From May 26-28, the Grindfest event series schedule will feature a street dance party, hip-hop aerobics, a poetry slam, yoga and storytelling sessions, food vendors, a beer garden and more.
The third annual block party-style event is comprised of free and ticketed events geared toward professionals, families, residents, and tourists and with a variety of activities, entertainment, food and beverage options to appeal to wide audiences.
Primarily, Grindfest will be hosted on the grounds of 8 River Arts Place, the headquarters for the event presenter Black Wall Street AVL, a business incubator for the local Black, Indigenous and people of color community. Select events are planned at various locations in RAD and downtown.
“It’s family-friendly and it’s for everybody. Sometimes people think that when you have equitable things, especially Black-led things, it’s only for Black or Brown people — it’s not,” said J. Hackett, a festival organizer and the founder and board chair of BWS. “The most important thing I want everyone to know, I want everybody to come out — visitors, friends, tourists, residents — I want everybody to come out.”
For the first time, Grindfest will present an outdoor concert with national headliners Big Boi and Waka Flaka Flame on the marquee.
Also, carnival rides will debut as a part of the communitywide celebration.
“I’m a big kid at heart and can’t wait to get there and see everything,” Hackett said.
Also, Grindfest’s BWS Marketplace will feature local small businesses and nonprofit vendors showcasing their products and services.
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“Grindfest is about connecting our BIPOC community to the tourism that’s taking place throughout the year, and we’re using a festival that ties directly into the tourism market and helping businesses sell out,” said Bruce Waller, executive director of Black Wall Street. “The focus of Grindfest is to celebrate culture ― and we do that through various ways ― but to also educate the community and any visitors at large about what we do so they can tie into the work that we’re doing with Black Wall Street. Or they’re patronizing businesses through the three-day weekend or even further.”
What is Grindfest?
Black Wall Street has developed into an entrepreneurial hub through which it assists to support, grow and expand Black-owned businesses through resources such as professional workshops and an adopted peer-to-peer model that connects professionals and entrepreneurial organizations.
Grindfest evolved from vendor pop-up market events at Grind AVL, a coffee bar and coworking event space founded by Hackett at 346 Depot St. in River Arts District. The markets were designed for people who had ideas but didn’t have a storefront, he said.
Grindfest, now a major revenue generator for BWS, has steadily grown into a three-day communitywide event that demonstrates how the community can support the businesses year-round, Hackett said.
“We can sit and talk about problems Asheville has, but we really have to do something about it. Nonprofits are good for the economy, but for-profits are important for the growth of an economy,” Hackett said. “If and when we want to make things better, it’s always going to grow because of for-profit activity. It’s going to grow because shops are created. It’s going to grow because money moves hands inside of our area. It’s going to grow because we know how to incubate and support what’s happening here locally in Asheville.”
The foundation of Black Wall Street and Grindfest is based on “inclusive economics” in which people must cultivate real relationships, connect with stakeholders and collaborate on projects, he said.
“We’re not saying Black people need to spend money with Black people,” Hackett said. “We’re saying that everybody needs to practice inclusive economics where you have the power with your dollar to do something in the community. You can choose to use it on big box stores, or you can choose to use it on local people.”
Grindfest schedule highlights
May 26
The weekend will kick off with the Grindfest Happy Hour, a networking mixer, at 5 p.m. at the S&W Market, 96 Patton Ave. in the Highland Brewing downtown taproom.
“We’re inviting all the vendors, all of our partners, all of our stakeholders and participants to be there and to connect,” Waller said.
“Black in Asheville” documentary screening will be at 6 p.m. May at 26 Black Wall Street, 8 River Arts Place. Asheville community elder Todd Gragg directed and produced a film documenting the Black experience in Asheville from the Antebellum Period to the present day with interviews with local residents and historians.
The evening will end with a Latin Night dance party with music by BJ Goliday, beginning at 9 p.m. at the BWS building.
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May 27
On May 27, the festival’s marketplace and beer garden will open at 10 a.m. leading into a full day and night of activities outside the BWS building.
Carnival rides and Dr. Bronner’s Magic Foam Experience ― prepare to get wet and foamy ― begin operation at noon.
“Be on the lookout for fun, rides of all sorts to be out there,” Waller said. “To have that, the first of its kind, to be the first to do that in Asheville ― we’re breaking historical norms of what the possibilities are for Black entrepreneurs or even an economic support agent like us can do. We are setting new standards.”
Hip-Hop Aerobics with Rico Suave begins at 2 p.m. And the Family Photo session begins at 3 p.m.
Story Time with Elders, scheduled for 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. inside the BWS building, will be another opportunity to hear from and talk to leaders from Asheville’s Black community. This year’s subjects will include urban renewal and reparations.
“It’s the nostalgia, it is the history, it kind of reminisces about what has happened, and the story is told from the mouths of Black people, but it’s told for everybody,” Hackett said.
The evening will continue with Drag Show on the Greenway at 4 p.m. and a dance battle at 5 p.m.
At 6 p.m., the Grindfest concert at Salvage Station will begin with music performers slated for the show to include Big Boi and Waka Flaka Flame.
May 28
On May 28, the marketplace, beer garden, opportunity tent, carnival rides and Magic Foam Experience will be open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
An open-air yoga session will be offered on the greenway at 11 a.m.
The last event of Grindfest will be the Sunday Brunch with the Elders at noon inside the BWS building.
Grindfest
Where: Black Wall Street building, 8 River Arts Place, and various locations in Asheville
When: May 26-28
Info: For the full schedule and to purchase tickets, visit grindfestavl.com and blackwallstreetavl.com.
Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow her on Twitter/Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: GrindFest 2023 festival returns to River Arts District
