Anba Dlo throws educational, spirited celebration
The Muff-A-Lottas strut their stuff during past Anba Dlo festivities. The parading group will once again march in this year"s costumed parade, along with dance troupes like The Star-Steppin" Cosmonaughties and BateBunda, beginning at 6 p.m. on Saturday (Oct. 17). (Photo from the Anba Dlo Festival)
Kicking off the Halloween season, the eighth annual Anba Dlo Festival will entertain and enlighten participants. On Saturday (Oct. 17) at the New Orleans Healing Center (2372 St. Claude Ave.), the free, multifaceted experience combines educational panels with costumed revelry to raise awareness of global water crises while exploring New Orleans" own tumultuous relationship with water.
Haitian Creole for “beneath the waters,” Anba Dlo embraces the city"s spiritual heritage with this year"s theme, “The Invisible Waters of Return.”
“In voodoo tradition, there"s an invisible body of water all around us. That watery medium gives the greatest access to the spirit world,” says Sallie Ann Glassman, festival founder. “Our identity is so involved with water, which is sustaining and threatening at the same time. New Orleans may be the canary in the coal mine, but water issues are not just local.”
To spur discussion of issues ranging from drought to clean drinking-water access, the festival launched an Instagram campaign for photos of neighborhood water issues at #WaterWatch and #AnbaDlo.
The day begins at 10 a.m. with a walking tour focused on exploring the city"s evolving relationship with the Mississippi River.
The dialogue continues during the festival"s water symposium with panels of experts including environmental scientist Mark Davis, director of the Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy, and Tulane water scientist Tim McLean. Moderated by Travers Mackel of WDSU-TV, the panel series and complimentary light lunch begin at noon.
Transformed into an underwater oasis, the venue will host live music on two stages, including performances by Tank and the Bangas and Sweet Crude; multimedia interactive art installations; burlesque and acrobat performances; and a midnight voodoo ceremony paired with the unveiling of a water sculpture by Ricardo Pustanio.
The event is produced in partnership with the A Studio In the Woods, a program of Tulane University, and WWOZ radio.
