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Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Add Grammy-winning R&B singer Fantasia to the growing list of musical acts heading to New Orleans Super Bowl weekend.
Sherri Shepherd, host of ABC's "The View," and Grammy-winning gospel musician Kirk Franklin, are hosting the Super Bowl Gospel Celebration with performances by Fantasia, Donnie McClurkin, Marvin Winans and Bishop Paul S. Morton of New Orleans.
The NFL-sanctioned event is in its 14th year and will be held at the UNO Lakefront Arena in New Orleans on Friday, Feb. 1. The game will be played at the Superdome on Feb. 3 with Beyonce as the halftime performer.
Dozens of local acts will perform on stages spread along the city's Mississippi River and in its downtown Jackson Square all weekend.
The gospel celebration will include a performance by this year's NFL "Players' Choice" hip-hop Christian artist Lecrae, as well as the NFL Players Choir, composed of about 40 current and former players.
The show, sponsored by American Family Insurance, will be taped in front of a live audience and will be syndicated for television broadcast.
Since the event's launch in 1999, the gospel celebration has donated a portion of its proceeds and more than 4,000 tickets to local and national charities.
Ticket prices start at $40, and this year's benefactors include the Malcolm Jenkins Foundation, founded by New Orleans Saints player Malcolm Jenkins, and The Sharper Kids Foundation, founded by Darren Sharper _ a former Saints player and brother to former Seattle Seahawks player Jamie Sharper.
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