| Four-day Gospel and Urban Issues Festival Held at Foxwoods Draws Over 5,000 Attendees |
The first annual Urban IMPACT Summit, held Aug. 7-10 at Foxwoods Resort Casino, the world's largest resort casino, was a resounding success, drawing more than 5,000 attendees to four days of gospel concerts as well as seminars and Town Hall discussions of community, finance, health, religious and music industry issues.
The summit, hosted by legendary BET celebrity Dr. Bobby Jones, featured some of the world's greatest gospel artists, including 15 Grammy award winner Dr. Shirley Caesar, James Hall, The Hawkins Family, Stephen Hurd, Daryl Coley, Candi Staton, Twinkie Clark and others.
Also participating were Cheryl "Salt" James, Rapper BBJay, John P. Kee, Olympic silver medalist Annia Hatch, R&B legend Alyson Williams, songwriters David Frazier and Melvin Crispell, and Derek Ferguson, CFO of Bad Boy Records.
This major event, designed to bridge the worlds of gospel and hip hop, also featured opportunities for frank discussions of urban and community topics, finance, health, religious and music industry issues. The morning symposiums and afternoon Town Halls featured discussions and debates on social problems with leading social and political leaders, including Connecticut Senator Ernie Newton, Bridgeport Mayor John Fabrizi and Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy.
The Urban IMPACT Summit was developed from a conversation between Dr. Jones and entertainment attorney James L. Walker, Jr., who organized the event.
"We are all heartened by the wonderful outpouring of support we received, not only from the concertgoers, who convened at the Summit from all over the United States, but also from the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, who hosted this significant event," said Walker. "Everyone involved helped make the first annual Urban IMPACT Summit a rousing success."
Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Vice Chairman Kenneth M. Reels presented Dr. Shirley Caesar with a tribal blanket, which depicts various aspects of the tribe's history, at the final event of the Summit, "A Tribute to Dr. Shirley Caesar," held the evening of Aug. 10 in the Fox Theatre.
"It was such an honor to be part of the Urban IMPACT Summit," said Dr. Caesar. "I am so grateful to the Tribe for their gift and for hosting this important event."
About Foxwoods Resort Casino
Foxwoods Resort Casino, owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, is the world's largest casino resort with nearly 5 million square feet of exhilarating entertainment, gaming, dining, shopping, and resort experiences, all under one roof. Honored with 47 "Best Of" awards by the reader's of Casino Player Magazine as well as AAA 4-Diamond awards for both its Paragon Restaurant and Grand Pequot Tower Hotel, Foxwoods is recognized as an incomparable entertainment destination.
With more than 50 restaurants, retail shops and nightclubs throughout its airy glass enclosed concourse, every imaginable amenity is available for leisure and business guests. Foxwoods features 1,400 luxury hotel rooms and suites, 55,000 square feet of superior meeting space as well as world class entertainment in its 1,400 seat Fox Theatre. Six distinctive casinos with over 7,400 slot machines, 380 table games, the largest poker room on the East Coast, High Stakes Bingo and the Ultimate Racebook offer visitors the gaming experiences of a lifetime.
Foxwoods is the premier resort destination in the Northeast and recently completed a $300 million expansion adding a visually stunning Hard Rock Cafe, the first legendary Amy Ruth's restaurant outside of New York City, a world- class golf destination, Lake of Isles, featuring two Rees Jones designed courses as well as clubhouse facilities and private villas, and additional gaming, retail, nightlife and dining experiences.
An additional $700 million expansion was recently announced that will add a new 825 room hotel tower with an expanded spa, 115,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, more restaurants, nightclubs and retail, as well as a new 4,000 seat multi-purpose theater. This expansion will be completed during the summer of 2008.
Conveniently located only 8 miles from Long Island Sound and Mystic, Connecticut, Foxwoods is easily accessible from Boston, New York, Hartford, Providence and Newport, R.I.
For more information call 1-800-FOXWOODS or visit FOXWOODS.com.
CONTACT:
Sandra Rios Tom Nutile
Foxwoods Resort Casino Colette Phillips Communications
860-312-4072 617-357-5777, extension 206
srios@mptn-nsn.gov tnutile@cpcglobal.com
Source: PR Newswire
Tuesday, 16 August 2005
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