Atlanta has lengthy been a canvas for Black excellence, however Soul Symphony Weekend painted a wholly new image; one the place tradition, couture, and equestrian sport transfer in concord. The three-day celebration unfolded throughout the town as a reimagined model of Miguel Wilson’s Atlanta Vogue & Polo Basic, a beloved custom now reborn with a deeper objective.
Supply: Paul Biagui / Paul Biagui
Created by Wilson, the movie star menswear designer and powered by his Experience to the Olympics Basis, the weekend was a mission in movement: funding packages that break racial and financial limitations in equestrian sports activities.
Supply: Prince Williams / Wireimage
By means of the muse, Wilson has already co-founded the primary HBCU polo workforce at Morehouse Faculty and the primary all-Black highschool polo workforce at Atlanta’s BEST Academy.
“That is larger than vogue,” Wilson reminded company all through the weekend. “It’s about creating alternatives that change lives.”
The ambiance throughout all three days radiated precisely that—a mix of indulgence and intention. The vitality was as textured because the black-tie robes and white dinner jackets on Saturday night time, and as electrical because the pounding hooves on Sunday’s polo discipline. In all places, there was the hum of ambition and the sound of historical past being made.
A Visitor Listing That Defines Affect
The purple carpets glistened with a mixture of political leaders, leisure icons, and cultural architects.
Supply: Darell Stoney / Darell Stoney
Maryland Governor Wes Moore and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens introduced a statesman’s gravitas. Actuality stars and energy {couples} like Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson (Married to Actual Property), Chris and Nell Fletcher (Love & Marriage Huntsville), and Toya Johnson-Speeding and Robert “Crimson” Speeding mingled alongside actors Clifton Powell, Rob Riley, and Palmer Williams.
Music legends and trade gamers have been simply as current—Kevin Ross, Q Parker, Sean Garrett, and Pastor Troy rubbed shoulders with Coach Ok of High quality Management Music. Media figures like Portia Bruner and Man Lambert added to the star energy. Collectively, they framed Soul Symphony as a press release on what Black luxurious and entry can seem like.
Friday: Rooftop Welcome Occasion at Kimpton Overland Lodge
The weekend lifted off with a sundown welcome get together on the rooftop of Kimpton Overland Lodge, the place the skyline set the temper and Greenwood Whiskey cocktails flowed.
Visitors checked in for media credentials, greeted previous buddies, and met the worldwide polo gamers from London who had traveled for Sunday’s U.S. vs. U.Ok. match.
Wilson addressed the gang with gratitude and a nod to his world imaginative and prescient.
“Yearly I say I stop as a result of I’m achieved, and one way or the other God finds a approach for me to get some vitality and are available again,” he mentioned, recognizing his household, Black-owned spirit sponsors, and the sacrifice of the Atlanta BEST Academy workforce.
The night time felt each intimate and kinetic—like a trendy household reunion and a kickoff for historical past.
Saturday: Black Tie Soul Symphony at Enon Ranch
Saturday night time delivered the weekend’s most cinematic expertise.
Visitors in crisp white dinner jackets and black robes glided into Enon Ranch, greeted by a serenade from violinist Alex Ahn and the sight of Bentley Atlanta’s gleaming fleet.
Inside, the Soul Symphony Orchestra created a soundtrack as designers Shantress, LBOW, Journey XX, and Wilson himself staged vogue reveals between powerhouse units by Brady Turner, Madelyn Brené, Q Parker, Kevin Ross, and R&B icon Syleena Johnson.
Between performances, Wilson shared the deeply private roots of his mission. He recalled discovering “a peace that might not have at residence” whereas working in horse barns as a toddler—a transformative expertise that impressed the Experience to the Olympics Basis.
Governor Wes Moore honored that imaginative and prescient with remarks on Black cultural innovation, and Mayor Andre Dickens offered Wilson with a particular recognition earlier than Johnson’s hovering finale introduced the home to its ft.
Sunday: Atlanta Polo Occasion at Bouckaert Farm
Sunday turned the sprawling Bouckaert Farm right into a derby-style wonderland. Below a vibrant Georgia solar, company sipped champagne and boarded helicopter excursions whereas DJs Smokedog and Mark Battle stored the music bouncing throughout get together tents.
On the sector, historical past thundered. The Atlanta BEST Academy Polo Workforce—six younger males who solely started studying polo two years in the past—made their aggressive debut and defeated Georgia’s Starr Creek Polo Membership 4–3.
“We’re making historical past, and these younger males are blazing a path that we hope others will comply with,” Wilson mentioned to thunderous applause.
Supply: Darell Stoney
The day continued with a spirited U.S. vs. U.Ok. grownup polo match, underscoring the worldwide friendships and alternatives that polo has introduced into Wilson’s life.
As he instructed company, “I’ve buddies in Africa, in England, in Dubai—everywhere in the world from taking part in polo.”
Takeaways: Vogue, Philanthropy, and the Future
Soul Symphony Weekend proved that luxurious and objective can share the identical stage.
From the rooftop welcome to the ultimate chukker, each toast, ticket, and designer look funneled again to a single mission: to dismantle racial and monetary limitations in equestrian sports activities and expose Black youth to transformative alternatives.
Now in its eighth 12 months of evolution, Miguel Wilson’s imaginative and prescient has change into greater than a glamorous calendar date. It’s a motion the place Black artistry, world sport, and social influence trip facet by facet, displaying Atlanta and the world, what true cultural innovation seems to be like.
Supply: Darell Stoney / Darell Stoney
For extra on the Experience to the Olympics Basis or to help its work, go to ridetotheolympics.org.
