#PrinceCelebration2022 at Paisley Park — It’s Happening!
After 3 long years, and a global pandemic, it’s finally happening! Prince Celebration returns to Paisley Park, Chanhassen, Minnesota from June 2nd to June 5th, 2022.
A lot has changed in that time. Most notably, the last Celebration happened in the last days of what we might refer to as “The Graceland Era” — the time when operation of Paisley Park and it’s museum was in the control of Graceland, or “The Elvis People” as some purple people refer to them as.
Those events were great, but not without their flaws. And even back then, it seemed they knew that they would not be running the show for much longer. And indeed, it was later that year that The Prince Estate took their rightful position in controlling and managing Prince’s legendary studio complex, as we covered at the time below.
Of course, the Estate had big plans for Celebration in 2020. Plans that, sadly were scuppered in both 2020 and 2021 due to the global COVID19 pandemic.
Paisley Park, of course, remained in operation for most of this time, with sensible restrictions in place, like many businesses. But not being able to hold Celebration prevented them for holding what is for many fans, the highlight of the year, and the most obvious time to visit.
You see, Celebration is when Paisley Park feels the most alive. There’s fans from all over the world attending. There’s numerous Prince associates there to tell their own stories and experiences. And of course, there’s a full array of associated bands performing. Previous years have seen George Clinton, The Revolution, The New Power Generation, Morris Day & The Time, The Family (fDeluxe), Jesse Johnson, and many more show up to tear the roof off.
And this year, for their triumphant return, is no exception. The lineup this year looks absolutely stellar, with performances from The New Power Generation, The Revolution’s Brown Mark and his truly excellent side project Mazarati, who released their debut album on Paisley Park Records in 1985, the incredible Jill Jones, who is beloved by fans for her stellar Paisley Park Records debut as well as her roles in Purple Rain and Graffiti Bridge, 90’s associate rapper-turned-model-turned-actor Carmen Electra, NPG dancer and vocalist Mayte Garcia (who of course, was also married to Prince in the 90s) and many more. Putting together a lineup for an event like this, let alone such a stellar cast of purple associates, is no mean feat, and The Prince Estate and Paisley Park are to be commended for pulling this together, especially since the shadow of COVID19 continues to hover over us.
The main change for this year (and presumably, future events) is that Celebration is now happening in June, instead of April. This is a brilliant and logical move for the Estate. You see, the weather in Minneapolis, in April? Well… sometimes, it snows (sorry, couldn’t resist). Turns out Prince wasn’t making that up because it sounded good. The first time we visited Celebration, in April of 2018, we arrived in Minneapolis into one of the most intense blizzards we’ve ever seen, causing even our Uber to get totally stuck in the snow. Although 2019 was much nicer, it’s just too unpredictable for the purposes of holding such a large event.
Holding it in June also means that the Estate can make use of more of the property, and this year’s Celebration is set to feature social gathering and food trucks out on the copious lawns of the Paisley Park complex, which sounds absolutely incredible. Plus, the event will kick off with the unveiling of a brand new Prince mural in the city of Minneapolis near First Avenue, which isn’t something you’d want to do in colder weather.
For many fans, Celebration is the only time they get to visit Paisley Park, and so we’re pleased that The Prince Estate are pulling out all the stops to create an amazing event. Tickets are available here, with both Gold (General) and Purple (VIP) variants.
If it’s your first time visiting Celebration, you can check out our handy FAQ video below — made in 2019, but most info should still apply.
We’re super excited for the event, and looking forward to making our way to Minneapolis — See you all there!
Love,
Casey Rain & Kim Camilia
The Violet Reality — Covering all things Prince, on YouTube!
