It was in Congo Square that enslaved African people gathered on Sunday afternoons to practice their ancestral traditions. Their legacy lives on in our Congo Square Rhythms Festival, a free weekend celebration showcasing the music, food, and dance that made this city known around the world.

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About

The Congo Square Rhythms festival sits on the outskirts of the French Quarter in Tremé, celebrating the neighborhood as a key proving ground in the birthplace of jazz! This year, we’re kicking the weekend off with Big Chief Monk Boudreaux & the Golden Eagles in concert at the George and Joyce Wein Jazz & Heritage Center. The show will be live-streamed for free on Friday, March 22 at 8pm CT on jazzandheritage.org/live

Free Admission – Donations Accepted 

Admission to the Congo Square Rhythms Festival is free. But we will have donation boxes set up at most of the park entrances. If you want to help us keep our events free, please support us with the donation of your choice. Thank you. 

Class Got Brass

Class Got Brass presented by the Gia Maione Prima Foundation is a program of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation to support music education in the schools while promoting the traditional brass band music of New Orleans. We invite middle schools and high schools in Louisiana to create a New Orleans-style brass band of up to 12 members – and then to enter a competition in the form of a “second-line” parade with a who’s who of celebrity judges.  At stake are more than $50,000 worth of instruments and other supplies for the winning schools’ music programs. Class Got Brass takes place in conjunction with Congo Square Rhythms Fest on Saturday, March 23 in Armstrong Park!

Arts Market 

As always, we will feature two Art Markets, with dozens of local artists showcasing beautiful hand-made artworks and crafts.  More than two dozen vendors will be present, offering fine art, photography, jewelry, clothing, and housewares.

Food Vendors 

If you love dark roux chicken and sausage gumbo, Creole filé gumbo, seafood gumbo, and all sorts of other great stuff – from po-boys to shrimp ’n’ grits – then come hungry.

Mardi Gras Indian Battle

The Mardi Gras Indian battle is always a major highlight of Congo Square Rhythms Fest! Three tribes meet in Congo Square to “battle” and then unite in Indian prayer, “Indian Red” and chanting. Check out this video from 2019 shot by OZ crew.

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Kids Tent

Congo Square Rhythms Festival will also feature a Kid’s Tent where our youngest fest-goers can get creative from 12 pm to 6 pm with free activities! 

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Build and Play

The Blocks are Back!  PlayBuild’s over-sized Imagination Playground “Big Blue Blocks” are fun for kids of all ages.  Kids parents, groups of friends, everyone can join the fun, building and playing together.

About Playbuild Nola Founded in 2012 PlayBuild’s mission is to transform urban spaces into dynamic play and learning environments to empower kids to design their futures.  A 501c3 non-profit, we operate from our home base in Central City, providing hands-on creative play activities to aspiring architects and city builders.  Find us online at www.playbuild.org

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Making Dreamcatchers

New Orleans local and creative Michele Mazique will guide participants through creating their very own dream catchers!

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ADA Accessibility

For guests who use need ADA accommodations, the festival will have a number of options:

There will be wheelchair drop-off areas on Rampart Street (at the St. Ann Street Gate) and also in the parking lot near the Mahalia Jackson Theatre of the Performing Arts (enter via the Basin Street Gate).

Wheelchair-accessible toilets will be kept locked for your comfort. To obtain the combination for the locks, please visit any of our information booths located at the park entrances, or check with the staff at the official Merchandise Booth.

All of the food booths will have counter heights of no more than 32 inches. There will be an area reserved only for wheelchairs near the sound booth in front of the stage.

No Outside Food or Beverages or Pets

Keep The Festival Safe and Free: No Outside Food, Beverages or Pets
Like all of the Jazz & Heritage Foundation events, the Congo Square Rhythms Festival is completely free and open to the public – part of the community investment made by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation. Donations, however, are gratefully accepted. If you would like to support the Foundation and help keep this event free, please make the tax-deductible contribution of your choice here.

PLEASE: Except for those with small children or dietary restrictions, please do not bring outside food or beverages to the event – no coolers are permitted.

Although Armstrong Park is usually open to pets, for the safety and comfort of the festival’s large audience, the Jazz & Heritage Foundation asks that guests respect their neighbors and leave companion animals at home (except for service animals, of course).

COVID-19 safety

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation will follow all current safety protocols set by the City of New Orleans which can be found Here. More information to come.

No Recording 

Please: No audio or video recording of our performers. 

Festival Image Gallery

Video capture and livestream of this event is made possible by Jazz & Heritage radio station WWOZ 90.7 FM New Orleans.

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Festival Sponsors

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation is grateful for the support provided by the sponsors of the Congo Square Rhythms Festivals including Cathead Vodka, ChillZone, Louisiana Division of the Arts, Louisiana Lottery, WWNO, Oxbow Rum, Still Austin Gin, and Urban South Brewery.

Class Got Brass is presented by the Gia Maione Prima Foundation. 

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation is the nonprofit organization that owns the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell. The Foundation uses the proceeds from Jazz Fest, and other funds, for year-round programs in the areas of education, economic development and cultural events.