New Orleans is one of the most lively cities in the country, one that attracts tourist from across the country to come and experience the Nola’ flavor. But the trademark of the city may very well be its diversity.
The eighth annual Treme’ Creole Gumbo Festival presented by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation is one of the best representation of the city’s diversity, attracting people of all races and ethnic backgrounds to come out and enjoy the jazz culture that the city has to offer while also paying homage to the Treme’ area of New Orleans.
“The festival is our tribute to the Treme’ neighborhood and its role in the development of jazz in our cultural history,” said Scott Aiges, the Director of Programs, Marketing & Communications for the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Foundation.
The Treme’ Creole Gumbo Festival is a curator of culture for the city and because of that, Aiges likens the city of New Orleans to its most prominent dish, gumbo.
“The festival also gives respect to gumbo which is our most famous signature New Orleans dish and for us it’s not just food it also represents the melting pot culture of New Orleans, so it symbolizes everything that we are as a people, which of course involves creolization and the blending together of people’s and celebrates the life, the culture, food, music, and the spirit of New Orleans” said Aiges.
That music is also a key attraction to of the festival that people are eager to experience and hear.
“Our tribute to brass band music in New Orleans, it’s the only festival in New Orleans that is a complete 100% tribute to brass band music, and so this year we have a combination of young, hot, exciting brass bands as well as some of the older more traditional jazz bands,” said Aiges.
Historic bands such as the Fairview Baptist Church Brass Band that mixed with some of the more contemporary groups such as Rebirth, Hot 8, To Be Continued, Pinettes, and Lagniappe.
New Orleans resident Waymon Bryant also adds that the melting pot of New Orleans is a product of the tourism that the city has as well, and believes that the Treme’ Creole Gumbo Festival is an accurate representation of the area even though this was his first time in attendance.
“It’s funny that it should be the gumbo fest and it’s representative of what gumbo really stands for considering it is a melting pot, it’s a little bit of this, a little bit of that, all of the ingredients that are combined. You have people from the community of Treme’ and then people from all over New Orleans, as well as the tourists, it’s a bit of everything,” said Bryant.
And for the tourists or the people that aren’t from New Orleans, they are given the chance to come and explore aspects of New Orleans and Treme’ that they may not have experienced before or have been unaware of.
“I’m loving it, all of this jazz music that I never noticed before and everybody seems really cultured down here but definitely the food is the best part,” said Dejah Knox, a Loyola University freshman from Washington, D.C.
The food, of course, is a big draw to the festivalgoers and they are treated to a wide range of food options while at the festival and enjoying the jazz music. Chef Scott, founder of Whoo Doo Barbecue, says once the people smell the food they are going to come.
“The smoke and the smell of the food brings people out, we don’t have to advertise anything, we just show up and cook,” said Scott.
The Treme’ Creole Gumbo Festival has given Scott and his company Whoo Doo Barbecue new life and redemption after losing their kitchen in 2012.
“In 2012 we lost our facility in Hurricane Isaac so we couldn’t participate in the festival. It took me three years to get back to this point, I was in a tailspin, I didn’t have a kitchen to work out of so I had to start working in a food truck to get back to this point. We are truly grateful for this opportunity to come back and we plan on staying for more years to come,” said Scott.
With the gentrification of Treme’ that is currently underway and people having to move from their inner-city residence because of affordability, the festival is an opportunity for Treme’ to show the neighborhood’s history and expose people to the true culture of the neighborhood.
“The HBO series that gave the area more notoriety helped get an image out of the neighborhood but it isn’t just what you see on television. The festival just gives the people that grew up here and the people that come here a chance to keep experiencing the history such as the Circle Food Store that’s here, the seventh ward, all those different places that are here that brings everybody back and also keeps the historical value here, saying hey come out and check us out and see for yourself, it’s not just what you see on TV,” said Bryant.
The more that things change in Treme’, the more they remain the same.
Kameron Hay 