Bimbé Cultural Arts Festival headliner Monica unable to perform due to booking error

The Bimbé Cultural Arts Festival is Saturday in Durham.

The family-oriented event is a celebration of African and African American history, culture, arts and traditions. WRAL is a proud community partner.

This is the 54th annual Bimbé Cultural Arts Festival. The first festival was held in 1969 in Duke Gardens. A group of African-American students from Duke University, North Carolina College at Durham, now North Carolina Central University (NCCU), established the event in honor of the West African festival of harvest and celebration.

Headliner Monica will not perform

Controversy is impacting the festival this weekend. Despite announcements from organizers that Monica would be headlining the event, Monica shared on social media that she will not be in attendance -- and that she was never even booked.

"Unfortunately, they are sharing that I was booked to perform today, which is absolutely untrue and impossible," she said. "I am about to perform here in Rochester and tomorrow I'll be in Baltimore."

Monica says she was never booked for the festival - but says she would have loved the opportunity.

Durham Parks and Recreation responded to the incident on Saturday morning, saying they had been working with a trusted booking agent who had given them the impression since January 19 -- and then reaffirmed on Feb. 9 -- that arrangements had been secured for Monica to appear.

Durham's Mayor Leonardo Williams says in its 50 year's of existence, Bimbé has never had this happen before.

He says he's working with city staff to get to the bottom of where the miscommunication occurred.

Could rainy weather impact the Bimbé Cultural Arts Festival?

The Bimbé Cultural Arts Festival will be held from 1 to 7 p.m. at Rock Quarry Park in Durham. The event is rain or shine.

With the festival being outdoors, visitors will want to keep an eye on the weather, which includes a 70 percent chance of rain both days.

On Saturday, much of the state, including the Triangle, is under a Level 1 risk for severe weather.

"There could be a few strong to severe storms with some gusty winds possible," WRAL meteorologist Anthony Baglione said. "As it looks now, this risk is not huge, but we will continue to watch for updates."

What to expect at this year's Bimbé Cultural Arts Festival

Performers include JL Regal, Drie$e, Carolina Soul Band and Blacc Print Experience. Monica was originally advertised to be the headliner, but the star posted on her Instagram story that she will not be performing.

There will also be a family fun zone celebrating the spirit of the African diaspora, engaging kids of all ages to bring out the “Kuumba,” (koo-OOM-bah), or creativity, within each of them. There will be drum circles, arts and crafts, face painting, storytelling and a video game truck.

The City of Durham's water truck will be on site so people can refill their water bottles or cups.

The Durham County Library will be on-site with its Bookmobile, Destination Literacy. Guests can register for a library card and even receive a free book.

Admission to the festival is free. Free parking is also available in the Durham County Stadium parking lots at 750 Stadium Drive across from Rock Quarry Park. The parking lot will only be accessible via Wisteria Avenue. Stadium Drive will be closed to thru traffic.

Public transportation is also an option. There are two bus stops near Rock Quarry Park where Bimbé will be held.

Bimbé Festival rules:

• No Pets
• No Drugs
• No Drones
• No Coolers
• No Smoking
• No Alcohol
• No Weapons
• No Explosives
• No Glass Bottles
• No Unapproved Vendors
• No Private Tents/Canopies