The second coming of Christ has arrived on Abbott Elementary: Ava Fest is back. Now named “2 Ava 2 Fest,” this year’s celebration—which is just Abbott’s Open House rebranded as a celebration of Ava (Janelle James)—plans to feature Questlove as a headliner. But after Lauryn Hill didn’t show up at last year’s festival, can anyone trust Ava to actually pull it off now?
No, of course not. But Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph), Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter), and Jacob (Chris Perfetti) are all aware of this and try to do damage control before too many parents get their hopes up. But Ava is so delusional that she thinks an appearance from Questlove is actually happening—they’re friends! They go way back! Ava almost “Yoko Ono-ed” The Roots, and Questlove owes her for not following through. He’ll show up.
But Melissa, Barb, and Jacob are still uncertain. To put a few fires out before they even start, Jacob whips out Canva—of course Jacob is a Canvanator—to make a new graphic. “QUESTLOVE WILL NOT BE PERFORMING,” reads the new invitation for 2 Ava 2 Fest. They’ve saved their asses this time around, and to replace Questlove, Melissa promises to do a few questionable celebrity impressions to really woo the parents.
