FestiGals ‘Bodacious Bras For A Cause’ Luncheon: Sweet Potato Queen Jill Conner Browne to Headline

 Sweet Potato Queen Jill Conner Browne to Headline

FestiGals ‘Bodacious Bras For A Cause’ Luncheon

New Orleans, LA (May 20, 2014) – A multiple #1 New York Times bestselling author, THE Sweet Potato Queen, Jill Conner Browne has been tapped to headline FestiGals premier fundraising event, The Bodacious Bras For a Cause Luncheon & Auction. Browne joins an all-star lineup of female speakers for the fourth annual celebration that takes place in New Orleans June 19th through June 22nd. This year’s theme, It’s All About YOU, offers something very special for women of all ages.

Jill Conner Browne has penned nine bestselling books with two of her works reaching the coveted #1 spot on the New York Times Bestseller List. The popular book that started it all, The Sweet Potato Queens’ Book of Love, has since been translated into both German and Japanese. Browne’s sassy, down-to-earth humor relays a message of self-reliance and empowerment — a message that resonates perfectly with the FestiGals organization. Based upon a unique philosophy as recounted through her riotously hilarious writings, Browne has created a global phenomenon inspiring more than 6,300 registered Sweet Potato Queen Wannabe™ Chapter Groups in 37 countries around the world.

Browne’s odyssey began in the early 1980’s when while searching for a new direction in her life, she realized that she lived near the sweet potato capitol of the world: Vardaman, Mississippi. Browne volunteered that year to be the queen for the annual farmer’s festival. Although a formal crowning never transpired, she didn’t give up at the prospect of being the queen of something. Browne declared herself to be the Sweet Potato Queen® grabbed a couple of gal pals, a hand-me-down green ball gown and a tiara, and waved to her adoring fans – shocked residents, actually – from the back of a pick up truck for the first annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade in downtown Jackson, Mississippi in 1982. The Queen’s official costume has evolved quite a bit since the 80’s and by 2011 her enormous following had outgrown the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Browne partnered with Fondren Renaissance Foundation to create the annual Zippity Doo Dah® Weekend, a festival that benefits the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children. Since its inception, the event has raised over $260,000 for the sick and injured children of the state of Mississippi.

As a founding member of the Women’s Fund of The Community Foundation of Greater Jackson, Jill Conner Browne has demonstrated her dedication to worthy causes, particularly causes that support women. She raised over $100,000 for hurricane Katrina relief efforts through her popular website and has cooked alongside Chefs for Humanity for law enforcement and victims of the Gulf Coast region. Browne also participated in the nationally televised Mississippi Rising Gala Concert, which raised over $15 million for this most worthy cause.

Browne has appeared numerous times on the nation’s top television morning news and talk show programs including guest spots on ABC’s Good Morning America and NBC’s The Today Show. She has also been featured in several major national and international newspapers and publications, including USA Today, Newsweek, People, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and the UK’s The London Observer Magazine. There’s even a Broadway musical currently in the works based on the Sweet Potato Queens® in partnership with Grammy® Award-winning singer songwriter Melissa Manchester, Oscar® nominated Sharon Vaughn, and multi Tony® Award-winning Rupert Holmes.

“There is no one in America more ‘bodacious’ than the Sweet Potato Queen®,” explains Diane Lyons, FestiGals Founder. “She is a very smart and very talented woman. We are thrilled that she is coming to New Orleans. We know that women throughout the country will want to hear her success story and will appreciate the opportunity to meet her face to face.”

Jill Conner Browne’s highly anticipated keynote speech will be delivered during FestiGals signature Bodacious Bras For A Cause Luncheon & Auction. The coveted event will unfold on Saturday June 21st at 11:30 a.m. in the historic Hotel Monteleone in the French Quarter. During this highly charged celebration, FestiGals entire Bra-ART Collection will be on display and available for silent auction bidding. A few of the bras will be singled out for a special live auction bidding frenzy that will be loaded with plenty of surprises. One hundred percent of the proceeds generated from the auction go directly to the Cancer Association of Greater New Orleans, a United Way community impact partner. Through this event, FestiGals demonstrates their commitment of kicking cancer to the curb, one artfully decorated bra at a time. Through the Bodacious Bras For A Cause Auction, the FestiGals organization has raised over $40,000 in just the past two years.

Some of the many artists who have submitted Bra-ART for this year’s FestiGals auction include Grammy® Award-winning recording artist and ‘Soul Queen of New Orleans’ Irma Thomas, lead singer of the rock band The B-52’s Fred Schneider, New Orleans iconic entertainer Chris Owens, New Orleans Food Goddess and author of New Orleans Chef’s Table: Extraordinary Recipes from the French Quarter to the Garden District Lorin Gaudin, and broadcast sweetheart and host of WWL Radio’s An Open Mind Angela Hill.

FestiGals fourth annual girls getaway weekend, created for women by women, features four days of inspirational seminars, empowerment workshops, a world-class culinary presentation, a second-line parade where “YOU” are the star, unique shopping opportunities and so much more. To purchase tickets and for detailed information on the entire FestiGals weekend, please visit www.FestiGals.org or call 1-855-425-9563.

About FestiGals

FestiGals is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. Diane B. Lyons, DMCP, CMP and ACCENT on Arrangements, Inc., a DMC NETWORK COMPANY, produces the annual event held in New Orleans each June. FestiGals maiden-voyage in 2011 attracted over 150 women. Last year, 400 women from over 15 states throughout the country converged on the Crescent City for the weekend-long celebration. The New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation, the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce all endorse this unique women’s event. Collectively, the FestiGals fundraising initiative, “Bodacious Bras For A Cause,” has raised over $40,000 with 100% of the proceeds dedicated to the Cancer Association of Greater New Orleans, an organization that supports underserved women. For more information on FestiGals, visit www.FestiGals.org or call 1-855-425-9563.

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