Born and raised in Las Vegas, Joanne Campbell looks forward to coming to the Black History Month Festival every year at Springs Preserve.
“It’s always nice,” said Campbell early Saturday afternoon while an artist drew a caricature of her and one of her grandsons. “It’s nice and peaceful. I like to see the history of our town and I love, of course, the eatery.”
Campbell and her two grandsons, Isaiah, 15, and Spencer, 9, were three of the thousands expected to attend Saturday’s festival, now in its 16th year.
Saturday morning, organizer Corey Enus, who’s helped put the event on for all of its 16 years, said he expected close to 4,000 people to attend.
“This event is a labor of love,” Enus said. “It’s a great opportunity for all of us to come out and entertain while also celebrating the contributions of African Americans. The fact that all these people show up proves there’s value in this event.”
The weather was in full cooperation Saturday, as temperatures hovered in the 60s and bright sunshine blanketed the spacious and pristine Springs Preserve outdoor desert landscape.
The day started with the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Ensemble performing the Black National Anthem, also known as “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the song written by former NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson in 1900.
Vendor booths dotted the campus, some selling colorful outfits and others offering face-painting. At lunchtime, the food area was packed. The Southern BBQ Pit customer line was about 50 deep.
‘Black history is American history’
Steps away at the We in the Kitchen Food Truck, it was the same story as festival-goers waited patiently to order.
“We started out with about 300 hundred people our first year,” Enus said. “We’re proud of this event. To me, Black history is American history. A lot of (Black) people helped shaped this city, which is one of the most vibrant cities in the entire world.”
Around the grounds, dozens of posters commemorating this year’s “African Americans and labor” theme could be seen.
One highlighted Michael Crome, the Las Vegas Raiders’ chief financial officer. Another noted James McMillan, Nevada’s first Black dentist.
“We stand on the shoulders of a lot of giants,” Enus said. “Without them, what we have today wouldn’t be possible. There was a time in Las Vegas when African Americans weren’t allowed to walk through the front doors of the hotels here.”
For Isaiah, who goes to Sunrise Mountain High School, he was most excited about being in nature at the Springs Preserve campus.
He also said he knows how important it is to celebrate Black History Month.
“To me, Black history is power,” he said. “Besides that, I think just being able to be together as a community is a great thing.”
A few minutes before Campbell and her grandsons sat for their caricatures, the preserve’s amphitheater area was brought to life by the Second Baptist Church choir, which performed some soulful renditions that had some in the audience on their feet dancing.
Hattie Canty, the late labor activist who became the first Black female president of the Culinary Local 226 union, was recognized Saturday as this year’s honoree.
Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com.