2018 Bloom Music and Arts Festival: Former SU grad organizes community event to support the arts

Saturday, October 6, was this year’s second annual Bloom Music and Arts Festival in downtown Baton Rouge. People of all ages were allowed to attend. The festival went on for about 12 hours, with gates opening at 11am. There were local food and drink vendors at the festival. There was also a virtual art gallery featuring local artists and musical performances by 40 artists. The festival was headlined by Big Freedia.
One of the two founders and the organizer of the Bloom Festival is a Southern University student. Jarvis Antwine, II, a junior Criminal Justice Major from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was inspired by the New Orleans Jazz Festival. Antwine said he wanted to create an experience for other residents of Baton Rouge that he’s never been able to have.
He not only wanted this festival to help the capitol city bloom culturally, but also economically by eventually bringing more tourists to Baton Rouge as the festival grows.
Antwine picked artists from different genres to appeal to a larger audience. He says he wanted everyone to be able to enjoy it and feel comfortable. “When you think of other festivals, sometimes you look at who it’s appealing to, and it’s not always for everyone. At this festival, there’s not a genre missing, except for country. There’s not a demographic that is not being marketed toward. Everyone is invited to come and enjoy this festival. That’s one of the biggest things about this festival, the inclusion of everyone,” says Antwine.
“With Bloom, I’m able to show that Baton Rouge has the ability to come together. I want it to be seen as a neutral ground. This is a place where you can feel comfortable being around everyone,” continued Antwine. Although it is marketed for everyone, Antwine also aims to keep the festival slightly more millennial based to make millennials want to stay in Baton Rouge.
William Johnson, a 25-year-old festival attendee from Alexandria, Louisiana says it was a different experience for him, but he enjoyed it. “In Alexandria, we don’t have nothing like this. It was really dope seeing all the local talent down here and I like that it was a variety of people. Definitely gotta come back next year,” said Johnson.
The festival also featured a performance by Elev8n Dance Troupe, a dance group that performs at many events here at Southern. Dancer and choreographer, Raymond Turner, Jr. says that they had a great time performing. He says that when he dances at events like these, he has a quote that goes through his head to describe his feelings on stage. “Living in your talents and gifts brings out the true potential of pure joy and unity,” explained Turner.
The festival was sponsored by many different big name companies around the city like Coca-Cola, Raising Canes, WAFB, Visit Baton Rouge, Max 94.1 and Louisiana Lottery.
Antwine says that every year he expects the festival to get bigger and better.