Marion Voices’ Marion Black Joy Summerfest 2023!

Join Marion Voices Folklife + Oral History & our 2023 MBJSF co-curation team for our third annual Marion Black Joy Summerfest — presented by OhioHealth — coming to MLK Park on Marion’s West Side on Saturday, June 24th from 12-5PM!

This annual family-friendly outdoor event celebrating the power of Black joy, the vibrancy of Marion Black heritage, and the diversity of Marion Black cultural traditional arts will feature spoken word & musical performances, three narrative stage live interviewing sessions, line dancing workshops, a kids’ “racial justice imagination station” arts area, a brand-new pop-up Black history exhibit by the Marion Voices team complementing our recent historic marker efforts at MLK Park, and more! Headlining band: Brianna O’Dell & Friends.

Admission is free; food available for purchase. Confirmed food trucks: Main Street Food Tent (Marion), Pop’n & Roll’n (Marion), Omar’s Caribbean Cuisine (Delaware). Commemorative festival t-shirts, drawstring bags, and stickers available for purchase or donation.

Marion Voices’ Marion Black Joy Summerfest 2023 is presented by flagship sponsor OhioHealth and has been made possible in part by a 2023 Racial Equity & Justice Grant from the Marion Community Foundation and an ArtSTART Grant from the Ohio Arts Council. Thank you to our funders and sponsors for making MBJSF 2023 possible!