Festival held at Scott Park

The UT Scott Park Campus of Energy and Innovation hosted the sixth annual African-American Festival this weekend.

The event was sponsored by Toledo Urban Credit Union and organized by CEO Suzette Cowell. The festival featured concerts, food, a parade and a health fair during this, its third, year held at Scott Park.

“The community really loves having this family event on the UT campus,” Cowell told UT News. “It’s a central location and a great setting for the African-American Festival. We are so excited to have a strong partner in UT and so many wonderful musicians for another memorable festival in 2010.”

A musical group called The Dramatics closed out the first day of the festival on Saturday night. They played their own hits as well as covers of everything from “Me and Mrs. Jones” by Billy Paul to “Doggy Dogg World” by Snoop Dogg.

In addition, the band was featured in the original version of “Doggy Dogg World” and has recorded other songs with Snoop Dogg.

In 1962, The Dramatics formed in Detroit under the original band name of The Dynamics.

The band’s songs “Watcha See is Whatcha Get” and “In the Rain” were both honored with a place in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 in the 1970s.

The only remaining member of the original band still on tour is Willie Ford. The other three singers are L.J. Reynolds, Winzell Kelly and Michael Brock. Ford celebrated his 60th birthday on Saturday night with his entire family, who joined him on stage during a jazzy rendition of the happy birthday song.

Other popular acts at the event included Karen and KGB Band, Curtis Jr. and the Midnight Rockers Band and Darius Coleman.

The festival also featured a heavy religious vibe with acts such as the United Missionary Baptist Church praise team and the New Spiritulaires.

The event looked out for the well being of attendees as well, featuring free health screenings during both days.

“The University of Toledo is proud to host this successful event on our campus that our community really looks forward to every year,” Lawrence J. Burns, UT vice president for external affairs and interim vice president for equity and diversity told UT News. “The African-American Festival is a wonderful way to celebrate the culture and heritage of our region in a way that brings everyone together for a fun and vibrant social event.”