ITHACA, N.Y. -- Premiere gospel vocalist Karen Sheard along with the Clark Cornerstone Cathedral Choir of Ottawa headline the 27th Annual Festival of Black Gospel (FBG) at Cornell University, Friday, Feb 14, through Sunday, Feb. 16.

Concerts will be held Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. in Bailey Hall. Tickets are required for the Friday evening concert only. The fee is $12, general admission, and $10 for all students. Children under 8 years of age will be admitted free of charge. The Saturday and Sunday events are free and open to the public.

Advance tickets can be purchased at the Willard Straight Hall ticket office on the Cornell campus and in downtown Ithaca at Alta Spa, 308 E. State St.; the Clinton House ticket center at 116 N. Cayuga St.; and at Ithaca Guitar Works in the DeWitt Mall, 215 N. Cayuga St.

Friday's opening concert features Sheard and the Cornerstone Choir. On Saturday at 10 a.m., the public is invited to attend a Mass Choir Workshop led by choral director Sandra Hudson, of Detroit, held in Bailey Hall. The festival's Gospel Extravaganza, titled "Sealed With A Promise," begins Saturday at 7 p.m. in Bailey Hall and features local and regional choirs and artists as well as the FBG Mass Choir. Closing ceremonies and a worship service will be held Sunday at 4 p.m. in the Willard Straight Hall Memorial Room, with the Rev. Felicia Faye-Long, youth minister for the Greater Allen Cathedral of New York, presiding.

The Festival of Black Gospel was established in 1976 by the Rev. Samuel Perry, former pastor of Ithaca's A.M.E. Zion Church, and the late Rev. Jack Lewis, former director of Cornell United Religious Work. The event has been enthusiastically supported by diverse audiences ever since. FBG is a student-led organization that puts on the festival as part of its faith-based mission, which also includes visits to area youth correctional facilities and public schools.

For more information, contact FBG adviser, the Rev. Sonya Hicks, at (607) 255-0626 or the FBG office at (607) 255-6514.