Black Springbreak gets new, focus, name, location

BILOXI, Miss. – Black Springbreak officially has been moved from the Mississippi Coast to New Orleans and renamed Spring Rap-Up.This year’s event, which is scheduled for April 5-6, is expected to draw as many as 60,000 young people to the Crescent City and is being billed as “a celebration of hip-hop culture and music.” For the past two years, Black Springbreak had been held on the Coast. Problems with traffic and large crowds in 2000 caused police to tighten security at last year’s event. Many who attended said they did not have a good time and would not return.Spring Rap-Up will be held at Jazzland Theme Park, said Patrick Evans, public relations manager for Jazzland.”At Jazzland we deal with crowds every day, and we know how to deal with them,” Evans said.”We work very closely with the New Orleans Police Department.”Some of the weekend’s featured events include concerts, rides, step shows and a Mardi Gras parade. The park covers 140 acres, Evans said, so there is room for all of the events planned.”We’re setting up a stage in one area of the park,” he said. “It’s not as big of an area, but it has the same feel of the grassy area at JazzFest.”Rumors began circulating in January that the event would be moved to New Orleans.The Multi Image Resource Group in New Orleans is handling the event, but no one from the firm returned phone calls this week. This is the same group that handled Black Springbreak two years ago.According to the event’s official Web site, www.springrapup.com, the festival “mixes a hearty helping of hip-hop music, a dash of Spring Break fun and a pinch of Mardi Gras madness.”Tickets can be purchased on the site. They cost $20 for a one-day pass or $30 for a two-day pass.Spring Rap-Up is being held the weekend before the theme park is opened to the public.