Old Algiers RiverFest
New Orleans, LA -Old Algiers RiverFest will expand from one day to two days and will add community outreach programs in 2008. Scheduled for April 5-6, the event will be preceded by an extensive classroom program designed both to enhance the learning opportunities in New Orleans schools and to promote the Old Algiers area’s role in the development of jazz.
Old Algiers RiverFest is presented annually by Old Algiers Main Street Corporation, whose mission is to preserve and revitalize the historically commercial corridors of Old Algiers. From 12 noon to 6 p.m. on both days, the riverfront area in front of the historic Algiers Courthouse will be filled with the sound of great jazz, gospel and brass bands, the aroma of New Orleans cuisine and a dizzying visual display of fine arts and crafts. The Mohawk Hunters will again kick off the event with a parade from the Algiers Ferry to the festival site.
Children’s programming is being expanded to include additional entertainment and a mural project in which the children will work on sailcloth to help design a skirting for the stage in 2009. Puppet plays and craft projects are also planned.
The current entertainment line-up includes
the following:
Algiers Brass Band
Dr. Michael White’s Liberty Jazz Band
George French Band featuring Germaine Bazzle
Kevin O’Day Band
Mohawk Hunters Mardi Gras Indians
Panorama Jazz Band
Shades of Praise Interracial Gospel Choir
Walter “Wolfman” Washington
Classroom Program
The classroom program will be rolled out in late January in the Recovery District Schools and the Algiers Charter Schools, as well as Algiers parochial schools. It will include lesson plans for lower elementary, middle school and high school students. As a culmination of the lessons, local musicians will visit the schools to perform and explain the influence of early jazz sounds and rhythms on their music. All students will be invited to participate in the poster contest, now in its fourth year. A contest winner is selected from grades K-8 and from grades 9-12. Each is awarded a $250 savings bond, and the schools the winners attend receive $250 for art and/or music supplies.
Rollin' on the River: A Symposium
Also as part of the outreach, OAMSC will present
a symposium on Saturday, April 5 at 10 a.m., during which a panel will discuss
the development of jazz and the river’s role in transporting the music
to the nation and the world. WDSU-TV (NBC affiliate) Anchor Norman Robinson
will moderate the panel, which includes Ellis Marsalis, the patriarch of
the musical Marsalis family and a jazz scholar and teacher, Patty Gay, executive
director of the Preservation Resource Center; Tom Morgan, host of Jazz Routes
on WWOZ Radio; Jack Stewart, jazz historian and musician and Kevin Herridge,
producer of the “Brooklyn of the South” jazz history tour and
founder of the Algiers Historical Society. Additional panelists may still
be named.
A 30-minute bus tour will follow the symposium. The event is free, but reservations
are required. Call (504) 362-8813 to reserve a seat.
Preview Party
The preview party is scheduled for March 28. The event will include food offerings from festival vendors, as well as other food and beverage purveyors, live entertainment and a silent auction that includes items from festival craft vendors and other arts and music related items. Tickets will be $50 per person, with proceeds used to support the festival costs. Please check back for details or contact us to make sure you are on the mailing list.
Jazz at Church
Several Old Algiers churches will honor the jazz tradition during their services on Sunday, April 6. Visit the Website later for a list of churches that will participate and how they will integrate the jazz tradition into their services.
For more information about Old Algiers RiverFest
or Old Algiers Main Street Corporation, please visit: oldalgiersmainstreet.com.
For the most recent info on this event and others,
check our New Orleans Special Event Calendar.
