Preservation Hall and Win Butler and Régine Chassagne Of Arcade Fire Announce Krewe du Kanaval

As you may have heard, we are launching a very exciting new Mardi Gras krewe and event in two short weeks: Krewe Du Kanaval, a joint effort between Ben and Jeanette Jaffe and the Preservation Hall team along with our friends Win Butler and Régine Chassagne of Arcade Fire.

The inaugural Krewe du Kanaval will take place on Tuesday, February 6, 2018. This all day event will feature a celebration in Congo Square with food, drinks, musical performances and tributes; there will also be processions and ceremonies, a block party at Toulouse and Chartres, and will culminate with a "Rhum and Drums" Kanaval Ball at One Eyed Jacks, featuring Preservation Hall Jazz Band, RAM, the Reflektors & other special guests.

Preservation Hall had been hoping to launch a Krewe for some time: 

“For many years my wife, Jeanette and I have wanted to celebrate Mardi Gras in a unique way that reflected our reverence for the spiritual side of this unique holiday.  We had wanted to do something in Congo Square that was inclusive and representative of modern New Orleans, of post-Katrina culture. Through Win & Régine, we discovered the deep cultural connections between Haiti and New Orleans and Krewe du Kanaval is our way of expressing our the mutual love and respect for these two beautiful cultures.” - Ben Jaffe

Régine Chassagne is the daughter of Haitian immigrants who works extensively in the Caribbean country with her organization KANPE:

“I fell in love with New Orleans the same way everybody does… Growing up in a Haitian family in French-speaking Montreal, the Creole culture within New Orleans (La Nouvelle-Orléans) was not lost on me. Preservation Hall has been a family to us and so we invited them to join us in Haiti to see KANPE's work there. There is such a deep historical, cultural and spiritual link between New Orleans and Haiti… we decided to unite and start a Krewe that would benefit underserved people in both places.”

Krewe du Kanaval plans to be a year-round community, working to celebrate the cultures that have enriched New Orleans’ identity and arts for hundreds of years. The Krewe will raise funds through memberships, ticket sales and merchandise sales to benefit the Preservation Hall Foundation and KANPE – two not-for-profit organizations which serve important unmet social and cultural needs in New Orleans and Haiti. Both organizations in their own unique way define the meaning of Krewe du Kanaval, the selfless sharing of means, knowledge and talents to enhance the quality of life for others, through music education and family and community support in remote areas of Haiti and in the city of New Orleans. 

Although the krewe's larger purpose is to raise funds, the majority of the festivities are free and open to the public! The schedule for the all-day event is posted below.

The Congo Square festival and "Rhum & Drums" Ball will feature performances by: Preservation Hall Jazz Band (with members of Arcade Fire), RAM from Haiti (thanks to the generous support of the Positive Vibrations Foundation), Pierre Kwenders, DJ Cosmo Gonik, DJ Windows98, Paul Beaubrun of Boukman Eksperyans, FanFan and his local Rara band, the Lost Bayou Ramblers and too many other special guests to name.

If you are interested in supporting this effort, you can join us at Congo Square, buy a ticket for the "Rhum and Drums" Kanaval Ball, or become a founding member of the Krewe. These memberships will include exclusive benefits, limited edition merchandise and more. Click the link or mail founders@kanaval.org for information about Krewe membership (which will be limited to 150 members and will include luminaries from across the world of music, film and the arts).

Krewe du Kanaval is being formed, in conjunction with a community steering committee, including Sunpie Barnes, Martine Boyer, Dwayne Brashears (Event Producer), Michele Brierre, Win Butler, Régine Chassagne, Eva Chereches, Maryse Dejean, Chief Otto Dejean, Fan Fan, Annie Gaia, Luther Gray, Ariana Hall, Lily Keber, Ben Jaffe, Jeanette Jaffe, Leyla McCalla, Trixie Minx, Monique Moss, Brandan "BMike" Odums,  Charly Pierre, Logan Schutts, and Ryan von Hesseling. 

This Krewe offers something new and needed to New Orleans' existing Mardi Gras calendar -- something that celebrates our city's deep Haitian and Afro-Caribbean roots. It will be uniquely inclusive, and its very purpose is to raise funds to support the important work of KANPE in Haiti and the Preservation Hall Foundation in New Orleans. 

The Ace Hotel New Orleans is Kanaval’s exclusive hotel partner and will be offering discounted rooms to people visiting New Orleans for Kanaval. More information can be found HERE.

Overall info can be found at www.kanaval.org.
 

Kanaval Schedule for Tuesday, February 6, 2018
 

1:00-5:30PM
Kanaval at Congo Square: Soundsystem, food & drinks, musical performances and tributes. (free and open to the public)

2:00-3:00PM
Grand Procession through Treme (optional walking parade, free and open to the public)

5:30PM
Closing Procession to Toulouse & Chartres Block Party (free and open to the public)

5:30-9:00PM
 Gonbo Kreyol Block Party with Haitian DJ's, food trucks, ect. (free and open to the public)

8:00PM Until
 "Rhum and Drums" Kanaval Ball at One Eyed Jacks ($150 tickets benefiting KANPE and Preservation Hall Foundation)

------

RSVP to the Facebook Event

Follow the Krewe Du Kanaval Instagram

Stream the Kanaval playlist curated by Win Butler

Read The Advocate article