A Program of Old Algiers Main Street Corporation
P.O. Box 740181
New Orleans, Louisiana 70174
February 6, 2008
Media Contact: Valerie Robinson
504-529-4341

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Old Algiers RiverFest™ Expands to Jam-Packed Two-Day Event

New Orleans - For two days, April 5-6, music will waft over the river as Old Algiers Main Street Corporation presents the fourth annual Old Algiers RiverFest™. This year's expanded festival, a celebration of the cultural heritage and jazz history of the area, will also offer many other community participation opportunities .

"This is a pivotal year for this event," said Valerie Robinson, OAMSC president and festival chair."We are reaching out well beyond the neighborhood and expanding the programming so that it benefits the public and our goal of promoting the importance of the Old Algiers area in the development of jazz. "

There are five major components: The Main Event: Old Algiers RiverFest™ - From 12 noon to 6 p.m. on both days, the riverfront area in front of the historic Algiers Courthouse will be filled with the sound of great jazz, gospel and brass bands, the aroma of New Orleans cuisine and a dizzying visual display of fine arts and crafts. The Mohawk Hunters Mardi Gras Indians will again kick off the event with a parade from the Algiers Ferry to the festival site. Children's programming is being expanded to include additional entertainment and a mural project, which the youngsters will produce during the event. A puppet play and special performers, as well as arts and crafts, are also scheduled.

A tentative music line-up includes the following: Algiers Brass Band, Dr. Michael White's Liberty Jazz Band. George French Band with Germaine Bazzle, Kevin O'Day Band, Kirk Joseph and the Backyard Groove, Mohawk Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, Panorama Jazz Band, Shades of Praise Interracial Gospel Choir and Walter "Wolfman" Washington.

Preview Party - The preview party is scheduled for March 28. The event will include food offerings from festival vendors, as well as other food and beverage purveyors, live entertainment and a silent auction that includes items from festival craft vendors as well as entertainment packages, spa treatments and more. The official poster, created by acclaimed artist Terrance Osborne, will be unveiled at the event, and one of the working sketches, as well as the original five-foot by five-foot artwork. Osborne and his wife will be at the event at the historic Algiers Courthouse Carriage House. Tickets are $50 per person and may be purchased by calling 362-8813.

Classroom Program - A classroom program has been provided to the Recovery School District and the Algiers Charter School Association. It is available to everyone via a download from the Web site at www.oldalgiersmainstreet.com/riverfest. It includes lesson plans for lower elementary, middle school and high school students. As a culmination of the lessons, local musicians will visit the schools to perform and explain the influence of early jazz sounds and rhythms on their music. All students will be invited to participate in the poster contest, now in its fourth year. A contest winner is selected from grades K-8 and from grades 9-12. Each is awarded a $250 savings bond, and the schools the winners attend receive $250 for art and/or music supplies.

Rollin' on the River: A Symposium - Also as part of the outreach, OAMSC will present a symposium on Sat., April 5 at 10 a.m., during which a panel will discuss the development of jazz and the river's role in transporting the music to the nation and the world. WDSU-TV (NBC affiliate) Anchor Norman Robinson will moderate the panel, which includes Ellis Marsalis, patriarch of the musical Marsalis family and jazz scholar; Patty Gay, executive director of the Preservation Resource Center; Jack Stewart, jazz historian and musician; Kevin Herridge, producer of the "Brooklyn of the South" jazz history tour and founder of the Algiers Historical Society, and Tom Morgan, host of "Jazz Roots" on WWOZ Radio. The event will be held at Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church, one of the oldest African American churches in the city. A 30-minute bus tour will follow the symposium. The event is free, but reservations are required because of limited space. Reservations may be made by calling (504) 362-8813.

Jazz at Church - Several Old Algiers churches will honor jazz during their services on Sunday, April 6 to provide an opportunity for visitors to get the flavor of this unique neighborhood prior to the festival opening at 12 noon. A complete listing will be released at a later date.

"This event is has grown exponentially since we started," Robinson said. "It is an authentic New Orleans event -- real New Orleans music, food and arts and crafts. We have found that people have a great appetite for that, and they will come from around the city and around the globe for that kind of experience. While we make some money with the event, the goal is much broader. We want to spread the New Orleans, and particularly Old Algiers, musical aura to the world."

For more information, call 504-362-8813 or visit www.oldalgiersmainstreet.com. Old Algiers Main Street Corporation, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation, is dedicated to the preservation and revitalization of the historically commercial corridors of Old Algiers.

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