(NEWARK, NJ) -- Award winning singer-songwriter, rapper, actress, and producer Dana “Queen Latifah” Owens “popped up” at Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District’s (LPCCD) “The Soul of Lincoln Park” the weekend of September 11-12, dancing on stage paying homage to Newark’s deep roots in House Music while celebrating the City of Newark getting #BackTogetherAgain safely!  Hosts Tobias Truvillion (Actor, Equal Standard; Tyler Perry’s Sistas; BET’s First Wives Club) and Alex Hill (News Anchor, WBGO) inserted messages of mask safety and COVID testing as did Mayor Ras J. Baraka, who stressed the importance of vaccinations and appreciating friends, family and loved ones every day.  

The LPCCD event planners dialed back the number of vendors to allow for social distancing and a few thousand loyal fans danced in the park, or safely watched on live stream.  The day-long experience served as a kick off to LPCCD’s abbreviated festival season due to the ongoing COVID pandemic.  The event was entitled “The Soul of Lincoln Park”, which paid homage to Newark’s deep history with dance music culture. Openers DJ Shawn Lover and Music Producer, Songwriter, & DJ Wil Milton set the tone for Soul In The Horn with DJ Natasha Diggs which featured live horn instrumentation as part of the set.  Taking it home were Studio 54’s Kenny Carpenter, Kenny Bobien and headliner Alan King of Chicago’s Chosen Few.  The mini-fest included local food trucks such as Afro Taco, The Original Golden Brown, and other local artisans and vendors.

The weekend continued on Sunday, September 12th as "Peace In Lincoln Park" hosted nearly 300 participants for its debut in the City of Newark.  Known as “Peace In The Park”, South Mountain Reservation’s long running meditation and wellness series, created by MED Ed and Zeal Cre8tive Studio LLC, is popping up in Newark’s Lincoln Park. The special edition entitled “Peace In Lincoln Park” was by meditation guru and Newark Hip Hop artist BRICK CITI BUDDHA and featured meditation, yoga, live music, vegan food, performances and local businesses.

On Sunday, September 19th, the  Lincoln Park Sustainable Living Community Bike Ride starts at 8:15am.  In partnership with Newark Community Cycling Center, the Bike Ride will transverse through Lincoln Park, Mulberry Commons, Military Park, Washington Park as well as county parks (Branch Brook and Weequahic) while capturing the ride for an upcoming documentary film on the history of cycling in Newark, NJ.  The Lincoln Park Sustainable Living Community Bike Ride Riders must register here.

Lincoln Park: Activate The Coast is powered by the City of Newark, #BackTogetherAgain, Newark City Parks Foundation with additional support from TD Bank, Provident Bank, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, Verizon, Edison Properties, NJ Arts & Culture Relief Fund, Partners In Health, HOKA, Fedway, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Uncle Nearest, Selva Rey Rum and Rock N Roll Tequila.

Lincoln Park Music Festival 14.3 ACTIVATE THE COAST is the pop up edition of the annual Lincoln Park Music Festival (LPMF).  The Lincoln Park Music Festival (LPMF) is the largest music experience rooted in traditions of the African American and Afro Caribbean diaspora in the tri-state region.  LPMF has expanded into an audience of 50,000-60,000 international attendees that comes together, over two weekends, to experience multiple genres of music including Gospel, Jazz, House, Hip-Hop, Rhythm & Blues, Reggae, Dancehall, Soca, Kompa and of the Latinx/Hispanic diaspora, as well as film, tech and music business education.  The festival expanded virtually last year with Lincoln Park Music Festival Virtual Global Soul and included artists from Jamaica, Trinidad, London, Africa and Brazil. 

The Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District, Inc. (LPCCD) is a non-profit organization actively engaged in the practice of economic development through Creative Placemaking. Its mission to plan, design and develop a comprehensive arts and cultural district in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of downtown Newark.  LPCCD’s main arts & culture programs are the annual Lincoln Park Music Festival, Lincoln Park Music Speaks citywide humanities initiative, the Lincoln Park Jazzy Soul music series and the Lincoln Park Sustainable Living Community Podcast.