Local Event
Though there are many festivals, conferences and nightlife options The City has to offer, none have a focus on exclusively featuring local Black talent, surrounded by a sumptuous theme, with a downtown edge. BlaCOEUR is a network composed of conduits to everything that is valuable about our culture. We connect the collective experiences that beat in our hearts and radiate the frequency of pure inspiration. BlaCOEUR blends these elements into a crescendo that spotlights the Black diaspora during Juneteenth weekend—Friday, June 16th.
San Francisco is a world class city for a reason. The expression of every ethnicity on the planet can be found here. Our mission is to preserve, amplify and advance culture—and there is no better way to truly consume culture than through the stories of food and wine. Join in the sharing as we honor this moment to exchange stories from premier chefs and vintners with you and the world that visits our great city.
Chef Yaku Moton-Spruill // Food Network, Cut-Throat Kitchen
Standing at 6 feet 9 inches, Yaku, 33 (San Francisco), was pretty much guaranteed to have the basketball world’s attention from an early age. But even while playing professionally in Europe, he couldn’t shake the fact that nothing made him as happy as cooking did. Born in Inkster, Mich., Yaku learned the art of the hustle, selling chicken dinners out of his dorm room in college to make money. Yaku draws his food philosophy from his Southern and Caribbean heritage, and he specializes in Latin American, stick-to-your-ribs comfort food that's shareable.
Paula Harrell // P.Harrell Wines
Most Californians love wine, but few can match the passion of San Francisco native, founder, and creator of P. Harrell Wines - Paula J. Harrell. Paula is a staple in the San Francisco and Oakland communities - having cultivated a formidable reputation as a businesswoman, entrepreneur, and community leader.
She credits her parents - her mother an immigrant from Panama and her father an Oklahoma-born American military veteran - for instilling the entrepreneurial spirit in her and her four siblings as they built a thriving residential care facility business in San Francisco starting in the late 1960s. While pursuing her BA at UCLA, Paula studied abroad in Madrid, Spain and sparked her passion for wine. After graduating UCLA, she returned to San Francisco where she received an MBA in Small Business Management & Entrepreneurship from San Francisco State University and joined her father in running the family business. She also launched what has become a longstanding career in real estate investing and mortgage finance. Paula continues to run the family real estate business today.
This city was made for performing artists and its heart needs them. Their expression, carried through the bars in their lyrics, the keys of their piano, the vibrations of their voice, their guitar strings and SP 500s are the batteries of the city. BlaCOEUR’s role is to support and broadcast their gifts to ensure they oscillate well after the event.
Lauren Adams
Lauren Adams is an Emmy award-winning artist from San Francisco, CA. She is a graduate of Hampton University and has 17yrs of experience teaching Music & Theater to students of all ages. Her musical gifts shine and heal in her role as the Music & Arts Director at The Way Berkeley, and as a co-facilitator & member of Emmy Award winning collectives, SOL Development, & BE-IMAGINATIVE.
HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS*
The W Hotel of San Francisco and BlaCOEUR (presented by COEUR415) have partnered to craft a truly vibed out experience intended to resonate with the passionate wanderlust in you for Juneteenth weekend. This is a beautiful time to sink into the heartbeats of our ascended architects, while celebrating their unwavering determination to survive, cultivate, elevate and evolve—for us. Choose up to a 4-night stay in one of the beautiful king rooms the W has to offer.
*Accommodations available exclusively with the purchase of Descendent's Retreat Package ticket level.
TICKET INCLUDES
—Official lineup announced the week of May 29th
TIMELINE
THE THEME
Every story has a narrative. Our curated guest chef and vintners collaborate to create culinary stories with a narrative honoring ascended Black slaves, accompanied by a page out their own history book reflecting their inspired passion and their menu or wine varietal—a meaningful expression of how descendants of enslaved Black visionaries can feel supported when sharing their rich stories. This year’s theme for BlaCOEUR is New Day Renaissance.
EVENT MISSIONCOEUR415 assembles and connects the collective talents that remain in our cosmopolitan city that create our distinct culture, then amplifies and advances the culture by leveling up the framework to correspond to the pulse of current innovations as our society evolves in the Information Age. BlaCOEUR is an expression of this mission and we are honored to nurture the natural aptitude and gifts that live inside local visionaries of today who craft the excellence of tomorrow.
SPONSORS