Treme Creole Gumbo Festival
Celebrating the long heritage of what is believed to be the oldest neighborhood of free African Americans in the United States, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation hosts the annual Treme Creole Gumbo Festival in mid-December each year, just in time for the holidays.
For its first few years, the festival was staged in Congo Square in the corner of Louis Armstrong Park, North Rampart Street at St. Peter Street. Renovations to the park resulted in it moving temporarily to the Jazz & Heritage Gallery at the corner of Rampart and Governor Nicholls, on the edge of the Treme district and opposite the French Quarter.
The two-day event, held on a mid-December weekend, features music, food and holiday shopping. Admission is free.
The highlight of the festival, in addition to the gumbo of its theme, is the great traditional New Orleans jazz performed by artists who grew up in the historic Treme neighborhood, including many of the musicians seen in episodes of the popular HBO TV series "Treme." Trumpeter Kermit Ruffins, a Treme resident who has frequently appeared on the show, is a regular performer at the festival, as is John Boutte who sings the opening theme song. Other Treme resident performers include trumpeters Glen David Andrews, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, Shamarr Allen and several brass bands, including the neighborhood's namesake Treme Brass Band.
In addition, you'll discover some of the best gumbo cooking to be found in the region. Representing the cultural mix of New Orleans, gumbo is a type of soup that is a signature dish at many of the city's great restaurants, several of which always maintain a presence at the festival. The ingredients of gumbo vary from one cook to another but basic elements may include okra, chicken, sausage (including spicy andouille), shrimp, crab, crawfish, oysters and other types of seafood and fish. It is traditionally served with white rice and should be at least mildly spicy. The sign of a good gumbo is, when you bite into it, it should bite back!
Other signature New Orleans dishes may be served at the festival as well, including macaroni and cheese, shrimp and grits, fried catfish and – for dessert – bread pudding and banana bread pudding with rum sauce.
The Treme Creole Gumbo Festival coincides with the annual Jazz & Heritage Holiday Bazaar, a unique sale of official Jazz Fest merchandise plus locally-produced, hand-made jewelry, wearable art and furnishings for the home. The Holiday Bazaar is the only place to get vintage, official JazzFest T-shirts outside of the Fair Grounds during the festival. The Bazaar started after Hurricane Katrina as a way of helping returning residents replace T-shirts and other Jazz Fest memorabilia lost in the flood. The sale has since expanded to include many other types of handicrafts as well.
For more information about the festival contact the Jazz Foundation at 504-558-6100 or visit the festival website: www.jazzandheritage.org/treme-gumbo/.
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When: TBA
