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BY ASHLEY THOMAS
DAYTONA TIMES
The three-day event was fueled by gospel, jazz and R&B as well as a special ceremony at the Babe James Community Center on Feb. 9 as 165 guests gathered that evening for the official renaming of the Black Heritage Museum to the Mary S. Harrell Black Heritage Museum.
"We felt like Saturday was a good day," said Jimmy Harrell. "It was our rhythm and blues and jazz day. There were six live acts on stage, and we think it went really well. The vendors did well also."
As for Sunday’s gospel event, Harrell insists the day was a success although it began at 29 degrees.
"The program went on as planned. We had about seven local church choirs and had a good ol’ gospel fest in spite of the cold weather."

Music, food and fun were on the menu at the New Smyrna Beach Black Heritage Festival this past weekend. The event, which rounded out the second weekend of Black History Month, was founded 21 years ago by Mary and Jimmy Harrell.