Let the Good Times Roll, one of the longest running festivals in Shreveport, returns for its 28th year of live entertainment, food, art and a powerful mission.

The event is June 20-22 at Festival Plaza in downtown Shreveport. LTGTR falls on the third weekend in June each year that is also known as Juneteenth, a commemorative day of African-American freedom that emphasizes education and achievement.

LTGTR begins 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 20 with the Caddo Parish Commission presenting the Kids/Health Zone. The festival officially kicks off that evening at 5:30 with the official opening ceremony, with a full entertainment line-up until midnight. The festival reopens at noon and runs through midnight Saturday and 2 p.m. until the 8:30 p.m. Sunday are closing act featuring Jalil & Exstacy from the national music group formerly known as WHODINI.

Admission is $10 per day for adults and children 5-years-old and younger get in free.

A new feature for this year’s event is the “Gospel Explosion” stage featuring Greater Starlites, The Mighty Ambassadors, and many other gospel performances. Fred Moss IV, executive director of Rho Omega and Friends, Inc. said the musical lineup also offers a wide variety of genres and features national and regional performers.

“We’re letting the Ark-La-Tex know we have more to offer,” Moss said. “We offer different music – R&B, Zydeco, Blues, Jazz and more.”

National acts this year also includes Dru Hill, Big Rob and 8 Ball & MJG. Regional acts featured include Betty Lewis, Howling Henry Robinson, The Windstorm Band, Reneesance and many more.

“We strive to give regional artists a chance to be highlighted with these national acts,” Moss said. Also look out for the 10-yearold singing sensation, Bailee Clark, whom Moss discovered at the ArtBreak Student Art Festival Talent Show in April.

Food vendors will sell meals and treats perfect for the summer time, including Big Noki’s Rotel, Uncle Ray’s stuffed peppers, Bone’s Barbecue, Eddies Restaurant’s stuffed shrimp, Tiger Tent’s funnel cakes and much more. And art vendors will have original creations available for purchase.

Let the Good Times Roll began 28 years ago as a street festival on Milam Street under the leadership of Yazzi’s Executive Director Gloria Gibson.

Moss said under the advisement of Shreveport City Council’s Hilary Huckaby, Rho Omega and Friends, Inc. continues the tradition, eventually moving to Festival Plaza. The growth of the festival has grown from a mere 1,000 attendees in the first year to about 40,000 over the festival weekend, according to a study done through the Shreveport-Bossier Convention & Tourist Bureau in 2013. The study also found that the festival produces about $1 million to the area. This year, Rho Omega & Friends reached a new milestone, welcoming new title sponsor Caddo Commission.

Rho Omega is a nonprofit organization based in Shreveport and in partnership with Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated – who are the “friends” in Rho Omega & Friends. “This wouldn’t be possible without the Omega Psi Phi,” Moss said. “They take off work the week of the festival – judges, lawyers, teachers and they’re out there in a different mode.”

There’s more to the festival than just fun and games. Rho Omega and Friends, Inc. continues to devote its time, effort and resources to the creation, planning and implementation of activities and operations specifically designed to enhance the motto of: uplifting the community; and thus, improve the quality of life for its residents by providing scholarships for African American males pursuing higher levels of education.

LTGTR is a fundraiser for the Rho Omega’s scholarship program, which awards more than $4,000 each year to African American males in Shreveport- Bossier City to go towards tuition, books, housing and more.

Rho Omega also offers a program for the young men called “Project Manhood” that prepares the high school students for the ACT test and their advancement to college. In addition, the group organizes football, tee-ball, and basketball teams to compete in the Shreveport Public Assembly and Recreation Little League and covers the costs of registration and uniforms for its players. “We see kids who have gone through the SPAR teams go off to play sports in college,” Moss said. “Seeing these young men walk across the stage at graduation and going to college and into the military puts a smile on my face.”

Moss said many of the young men call and return to thank the organization and give progress reports. “That’s what motivates us,” Moss said.

For more information about the Let the Good Times Roll festival, visit www.rhoomega.org.