Essence Fest leaders addressed ongoing concerns at a summit with their vendor partners Thursday afternoon.
The summit featured vendors, business owners and content creators, who were all invited to bring their most pressing questions to the table.
Kirk McDonald is the CEO of Sundial Media & Technology Group, the festival’s parent company. He answered questions from vendor partners and creators, but did not take questions from the media.
City leaders were not invited to Thursday’s event.
Vendor Payments
This all comes as the festival is under fire for not paying some 2026 vendors.
McDonald says that the festival is also receiving late payments from larger businesses it contracts with and the city itself. He says that delay, along with not receiving financial support from the city that they initially anticipated, has had a negative domino effect on their cash flow.
“We’ve had to chase, unfortunately, our civic partnership through your city. Funds that have normally come in through the major events fund did not show up at all this year,” said McDonald.
Despite the setback, McDonald said he’s committed to paying every vendor back in full, as they have in previous years.
Contract Negotiations
A contract for 2027 has also not been solidified with the City of New Orleans.
McDonald says a slew of bad press has resulted in an onslaught of questions from sponsors.
According to McDonald, it’s forced the festival to weigh other options moving forward.
” It’s an existential threat. If we’re being moved out of our house without knowing it and we have no place to go, what we cannot do is have that institution not have a place to be, even when we want to stay in the house we’ve been in,” said McDonald.
“Misconstrued” Narratives
McDonald also says that some press outlets have inaccurately depicted ongoing negotiations with the City of New Orleans.
According to Essence leaders, the festival was considering having a more permanent, year-round presence in New Orleans, entitled Festival 365. The initiative would establish a local committee of leaders.
McDonald says that proposal was misconstrued as the festival asking for up to $12 million solely for the Essence Festival of Culture.
READ MORE:Essence leaders address recent backlash
