The Krewe du Kanaval, an organization that celebrates the cultural ties between New Orleans and Haiti, will host a gathering for Gede at The Broadside, 600 North Broad St., on Saturday, October 23, from 1 to 4 p.m. Fèt Gede, the Haitian Day of the Dead, is one of the most significant holidays for Vodousaints, when reverence is paid toward deceased ancestors.

RAM, a mizik razin band from Haiti, will perform in the company of New Orleans’ drummers and dancers. Tickets are $20 with children 12 and under free. Come dressed in your Kanaval colors of pink, green, silver and/or black. Krewe members are requested to wear official jackets. Proceeds will support RAM’s monthlong residency in New Orleans.

Founded in Port-au-Prince in the early 1990’s, RAM has a 25-plus year history as Haiti’s premier kompa, rara, rasin, twoubadou, and voodoo-rock ensemble. The group’s music incorporates traditional Vodou lyrics and instruments (such as rara horns and petwo drums) along with traditional Caribbean rhythms and dance, modern rock, and lyrics sung in Haitian Kreyol and English to forge their own sound, which NPR has championed as “soul food for a troubled land.”

Although the historical relationship between Haiti and New Orleans dates back for more than two hundred years, the conception of Krewe du Kanaval can be traced back to 2015, when Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, a daughter of Haitian immigrants, brought members of Preservation Hall to Haiti. Their experiences planted the seeds of a Mardi Gras krewe to celebrate the shared connections between the two cultures. “Wherever I go in New Orleans I feel Haiti,” says Chassagne. “The music I hear, the food I taste, the colors, the movement, the spirit of the city. Our Krewe aims to celebrate and strengthen this deep bond.”

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the website for The Broadside.