Black-nificent Culinary Arts Festival

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The First Annual Black-Nificent Culinary Arts Festival is an outdoor event showcasing the cuisine of fifty Black and Minority-owned restaurants. Inspired by Black Restaurant Week and Black culinary celebrations in cities across the country, it aims to promote Black-owned restaurants to the broader community while stimulating the local economy.

Highlighting Jacksonville’s diverse culinary scene, our inaugural event includes a list of fifty participants, including pop-ups, food trucks, caterers, and other food services representing Jacksonville’s distinctive neighborhoods. The event will offer Taste-goers an endless variety of more than 100 menu items to suit every palate. Black-Nificent will bring together families, friends, and patrons in an outdoor social setting for a day of reunion, activism, support, and entertainment. The festival is an extension of the Black History Month Melanin Market events held on Saturday, Feb 27th. It will create platforms from which the general public, organizations, and corporations can support local Black and Minority-owned restaurants in this time of need in Jacksonville and surrounding areas. Admission to the Black-Nificent Culinary Arts Festival is FREE.

As one of the top-rated Black-owned businesses in our region, we invite you to participate as a vendor to showcase your culinary talents. Vendors must have the capacity to handle the volume, have an immaculate status with the city, display professionalism, and show proof of all required food service permits for the State of Florida. Other activities may include

About Melanin Market -The Eastside Melanin Market is a curated, outdoor street market designed to elevate, engage, and support the Eastside Community, local artists, and other local black-owned businesses.  Now its fifth year, serving over ten thousand participants, The Arts and Vendors Market provides a platform for start-ups, new brands, and existing businesses of all sizes to connect directly to the Eastside community. We transform five Blocks along with A. Philip Randolph Blvd. from Union Street to Jessie Street to provide vendors and local businesses the opportunity to showcase their brands in a marketplace environment. We curate live performances and events by local artists of all genres to include local artists, music, spoken word, and dance. www.jaxmelaninmarket.com

About Historic Eastside Community Development Corporation- HECDC (formerly known as the Eastside Community Coalition) is the formal neighborhood organization that serves as the resource and liaison to preserve and transform the Eastside neighborhood through equitable community development by improving access to affordable housing, social services, cultural development, wealth building, education and safety. www.hecdcjax.org