THE REAL to Broadcast Live from 2016 ESSENCE Festival This July

The co-hosts of the Daytime Emmy(R) Award-nominated THE REAL- Adrienne Bailon, Loni Love, Jeannie Mai and Tamera Mowry-Housley - will take on New Orleans this summer, traveling to Louisiana to bring a live version of their hit daytime talk show to the 2016 ESSENCE Festival(R) Presented by Coca-Cola(R), one of the largest consumer live events in the country. And they're not going alone - after a weeklong contest, one lucky viewer won the chance to join them.

The Real will appear live Friday, July 1, at 4:45 p.m. CT on The ESSENCE Empowerment Experience Stage at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, in a session aiming to enlighten and inspire ESSENCE's community of 14 million women. The Real's New Orleans show will be webcast as part of the "Live from the ESSENCE Festival" digital programming slate on Essence.com and will then be a part of several broadcasts this fall when The Real returns for its third season (check local listings for time and station). In addition to The Real, other notables appearing on this year's ESSENCE Festival Empowerment Stage include Ava DuVernay, Tyra Banks, Misty Copeland, Iyanla Vanzant, Cookie Johnson, and Terry McMillan, among many others.

"We are so excited to be a part of this year's ESSENCE Festival," said the co-hosts of The Real. "One of the goals of our show is to empower our viewers, and this summer we'll be able to engage and inspire them in person. What better place to keep it REAL than at the 2016 Essence Festival?!"

With more than 500,000 attendees each year, the ESSENCE Festival features entertainment, empowerment and cultural experiences during the day and the world's best performers each night. The 2016 Festival takes place from June 30-July 3 in New Orleans, with an all-star lineup of nightly musical performances, as the Festival welcomes Kendrick Lamar, Mariah Carey and Maxwell as headliners.

Viewers of The Real had a weeklong opportunity to enter for a chance to win a "Girlfriend Getaway Package" that included airline flights for two to New Orleans, hotel accommodations, tickets for the ESSENCE Festival concerts and more. The lucky winner is Sackeena Reynolds from Newark, Delaware, who watches The Real on Philadelphia's WTXF FOX 29 at 11:00 a.m. In addition to The Real, the artists that Sackeena is most looking forward to seeing during the ESSENCE Festival are Ciara, Mariah Carey and Tyrese.

Beyond its live show, The Real will host the ESSENCE Day PARTY ON Sunday, July 3, with a performance by R&B powerhouse Frenchie Davis (The Voice), and the hosts will pop up at several appearances and experiences throughout New Orleans. Stay tuned by following #TheRealTakesESSENCE to keep up with all 2016 ESSENCE Festival activities. In addition, you can follow The Real on social media - Twitter (@TheRealDaytime), Instagram (www.instagram.com/therealdaytime) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/therealdaytime).

The ESSENCE Empowerment Experience Stage offers curated content from ESSENCE's editorial team, extending conversations that have moved from the page and screen to the stage. Free and open to the public, the Essence Empowerment Experience Stage will feature conversations and keynote addresses with major influencers plus performances from Tony Award winner Patina Miller, Travis Greene, Tasha Page Lockhart, Kierra Sheard, Keke Wyatt, Faith Evans, Brian Courtney Wilson and Yolanda Adams, who will lead an All-Star Gospel Tribute to The Clark Sisters.

"The ESSENCE Empowerment Experience Stage remains the HEARTBEAT of Festival weekend with its diverse and impactful programming aiming to enlighten and inspire our community," said ESSENCE Editor-in-Chief Vanessa K. De Luca.

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