The 2021 edition of the Tremé Cultural Festival will be held on Saturday, April 24, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on the lawn of the New Orleans Jazz Museum at 400 Esplanade Ave.
It will feature live performances from the Tremé Brass Band, the James Andrews Band, and clarinetist Dr. Michael White for a small VIP audience of 100 guests. The event will also feature an outdoor auction and food from local chefs. Tickets are available for $100.
After the festival was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 restrictions, it has been reinvented for 2021 as both a live in-person event, as well as a virtual broadcast. Said broadcast will be shown live on the Facebook pages of both the Historic Faubourg Tremé Association and the New Orleans Jazz Museum.
The Tremé Festival celebrates the history and cultural heritage of the very first African American neighborhood in the United States. For over 200 years, Tremé has been a place of significant cultural, political, and social events. The neighborhood includes several cultural landmarks such as the African American Museum, the Backstreet Cultural Museum, Congo Square, and St Augustine Church, the first Catholic church for African Americans in the country.
All proceeds from the festival will be used to support the Historic Faubourg Tremé Association's effort to promote and preserve the architecture, culture, and history of the Tremé community. The festival was developed by the association for the singular purpose of benefiting local musicians by providing gigs, investing in small businesses, raising funds to provide grants to essential institutions, and building awareness of the unique history and culture of Tremé. In the past, proceeds from the festival have gone directly to St Augustine Church and the Tomb of the Unknown Slave.
The festival's virtual broadcast will include a series of pre-recorded "I am Tremé" moments from sponsors, prominent residents and businesses owners, and all organizations and parties that contribute positively to the Tremé community.
The live, in-person event will comply with the standard health and safety guidelines of social distancing, mask wearing, and limited attendee capacity.
For more information on the festival, visit the Historic Faubourg Tremé Association's website.
