Fans to Celebrate Prince’s 60th Birthday With Minnesota Festival
A group of Prince fans plan to celebrate the late icon’s 60th birthday with a three-day gathering in Henderson, Minnesota, near where scenes from Purple Rain were filmed.
Minnesota resident Joel King, who served as a camera operator on Prince’s Graffiti Bridge and several music videos, is co-organizing the event, which will feature bus tours of Purple Rain locations, a screening of the 1984 film and performances by local musicians, the Mankato Free Press reports.
Despite a population under 1,000 people, Henderson, Minnesota is already the home of a street dubbed “Purple Rain Road” and a stone bench dedicated to Prince, who resided at Paisley Park in Chanhassen, Minnesota outside of the Twin Cities.
The free gathering begins on June 7th, which would have been Prince’s 60th birthday. The legendary artist died of an accidental overdose in April 2016 at the age of 57. The festival also promises appearances by “secret guests” associated with Prince and a meet-and-greet with members of Prince’s family. Additionally, donations from the three-day festival will go toward the painting of a mural of Prince leaning against a “little red corvette.”
The Prince estate recently partnered with Roots drummer Questlove for an orchestral tour this fall, “4U: A Symphonic Celebration of Prince.”