Raleigh hosted its first RaleighWrld Festival on Aug. 6 where artists, influencers, and vendors were on hand to showcase their talents.
Held in Dorothea Dix Park, the festival was home to a variety of vendors such as Pink Cherry-Pole Dancing studio and the trendy Rita’s Ice Stand. With hosts like Party Boy (@itspartyboy) and Jaleesa Small (@purple_bottom) to keep the crowd engaged and the show on track, fans bore the heat and enjoyed the festival.
Raleigh rapper Shame Gang headlined the day and was excited to be doing so although this wasn’t his first time on a large stage. He's opened for Wu-Tang Clan before.
“That was like a dream," Gang said on Changing Channels. "I never imagined I’d ever do something of that magnitude. It helped me prepare for a lot of situations in the future like performing on the road, or in front of huge crowds or anything like that.”
In addition to all of the musicians, the festival hosted a few comedians throughout the day. Comedian Hey Tony stopped by to chat, telling WUNC about his rise to fame through the experiences he’s had making viral videos inspired by his time in Wake County schools.
“...Originally I started at my school, William Peace University. From there, it moved to Facebook and Instagram, and then I got on Tik Tok," Tony said. "I decided to come up with a character familiar to me, which was a girl in high school, with the Starbucks drink in the lab, and all of that was kind of like something that originated from myself. I figured that would be pretty funny to just create this social media high school that I didn't think people were going to endure, but people love it.”
Even in the 95-degree heat, the event brought out a decent crowd with artists being grateful for the platform and fans making comments like “I could see this blowing up into a huge event one day.” Curators of the event have hopes of growing for the years to come.