The first half of the 12th Annual Tampa Bay Black Heritage Festival (Keeping the Dream Alive – something for “everyone”) will take place Thursday, January 12, 2012 to Sunday, January 15, 2012 with a simmering line up of events, performances and showcases.

The first week will feature several signature events including the Heritage Movie Night, Heritage Gala, and Heritage Street Festival.  Special guests include civil rights leader Dr. Benjamin Chavis, dynamic duo Black Violin, legendary group Rose Royce, jazz sensation Paul Taylor and a colorful array of educational, social, cultural and artistic presentations, lectures, and workshops.

The entire festival will take place from Thursday, January 12 to Sunday, January 21, 2012. For a detail list of events visit www.tampablackheritage.org.

The signature Heritage Movie Night will kick-off the festival on Thursday, January 12, 2012 with Dr. Benjamin Chavis, civil rights leader and hip hop political pioneer at the Tampa Theatre (711 Franklin Street, Tampa), located in downtown Tampa, with doors opening at 6 p. m.

In his youth, Dr. Benjamin Chavis was an assistant to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who inspired him to work in the civil rights movement. Dr. Chavis rose to international prominence as the leader of the Wilmington Ten and served as the National Director of the Million Man March.  The biopic film “Blood Done Signed My Name” will debut in Tampa followed by a Q&A with Dr. Benjamin Chavis.

The Heritage Gala will take place the following day on Friday, January 13, 2012 at the David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts (1010 N W. C. MacInnes Place, Tampa) featuring the gifted duo Black Violin.

The South Florida natives, whose daunting array of musical styles and influences produce a signature sound, have broken down walls and defused stereotypes by their style of music.  The two classically trained violinists and their DJ redefines the music world with influences ranging from Shostakovich and Bach to Nas and Jay-Z. Black Violin blends the classical with the modern creating a style that has swept the country and is a global phenomenon in the industry.  Doors open at 6:30 p. m.

The very popular 2-day Heritage Street Festival, will take place at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park on Saturday and Sunday, January 14-15, 2012. The Street Festival draws in thousands of patrons from across the globe and will feature Grammy Award Winning multi platinum selling group, Rose Royce and the phenomenon of saxophonist, Paul Taylor.

The Heritage Street Festival celebrates Tampa’s history, cultural beauty, promotes proactive health and wellness, all while keeping the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. alive. Villages at the festival help promote these initiatives and this year’s Children’s Village is in partnership with the Glazer Children’s Museum, tickets for the museum and all other street festival activities are FREE of charge to everyone who registers at  www.tampablackheritage.org.

For more information, to register for FREE Festival tickets, and for a complete list of Heritage Festival Events visit www.tampablackheritage.org or call 813-972-3409.  Like us on Facebook.com/TBBHF and Follow us on Twitter.com/TBBHF.