On Saturday, September 9, the fifth installment of the Downriver Festival will take place at the New Orleans Jazz Museum. This year’s theme – “Shrimp and Sno-balls” – will come alive through live music, cooking demonstrations, presentations, panels, and walking tours that celebrate the environmental, cultural, and economic impact of the Mississippi River and the land it built. Ten local vendors will serve up shrimp dishes and your favorite sno-balls while performances from an array of musicians including Javier Olando, Sunpie & the Louisiana Sunspots, and Fredy Omar con su Banda will provide the soundtrack. Director of the New Orleans Jazz Museum Greg Labousy says of the forthcoming festival “The influence of the Mississippi River flows through every aspect of New Orleans culture. Downriver Fest celebrates New Orleans and its connections with the rest of the world through lectures, food and musical performances.”
Running from 10:30am to 8pm at the museum located at the Old U.S. Mint and French Market, Downriver Fest will include a cooking demonstration stage as well as a series of lectures. Topics include “Shrimp: From Net to Table to Economic Powerhouse” to “Water: The Next Generation: Educating our children about coastal restoration and all things related.” Much of the focus will center around education, particularly in the realms of ecology and preservation. “We know that true change won’t come about without engaging community youth in real coastal preservation work,” says Sunny Summers, a teacher at the New Harmony XQ Super School and Downriver Festival “Water: The Next Generation” panelist.
The music schedule is as follows:
10:00 -11:00: Kinfolk Brass Band second line and performance in Jackson Square. Second line begins moving at 10:30 and heads to NOJM.
11:00 – 11:45: Soul Brass Band & Dancing Man 504
12:00 –1:45: Arrowhead Jazz Band with special guests Wendell Brunius, Richard Scott & Corinne Walters
2:00 – 3:15: Bluezy Pink Magnolias
3:30 – 4:30: Fredy Omar & con su Bonda
4:50 – 6:15: Sunpie & the Louisiana Sunspots
6:30 – 8:00: Javier Olondo & AsheSon Band/Bookoo Reuda
Food vendors include:
Loretta’s Pralines
Palmer’s Cuisinne
Café Dauphine
Crepes a la Carte
Gulf Tacos
Oceana Grill
Monty’s on the Square
The Yakamein Lady
Plum Street Snowballs
La Delayos
Curly Q Fries
Downriver Festival is presented by a coalition of institutions that include the New Orleans Jazz Museum, The Friends of the Cabildo, The French Market Corporation, The New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, and the Louisiana Museum Foundation, this year’s festival partners include The Louisiana Seafood Board, The Restore the Mississippi River Delta Coalition, The Louisiana Children’s Museum, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, the Consulate General of Mexico in New Orleans, Cervantes Foundation, Water Collaborative, Ripple Effect, WWNO Radio, Gamble Communications, Parish of St. Bernard, Islenos Museum, Offbeat, Jamalar Agency, Tulane’s Center for the Gulf South.
