Friends of Lafitte Greenway’s 13th annual Big Hike event will be reborn as a full-on festival this year. On Saturday, March 23, “The Hike: Tunes, Tales, and Trails Festival” will bring music, food, and libations to the Greenway.
Hosted in partnership with the New Orleans Recreation Development (NORD) Commission, Hike Fest will celebrate the Lafitte Greenway with an all-day lineup of live music featuring Corey Henry & the Treme Funktet, acclaimed singer Robin Barnes, TBC Brass Band, Cajun band Michot’s Melody Makers with members of Lost Bayou Ramblers, Funk Griot, and the Trombone Shorty Music Academy.
Headlining the 2019 Hike Fest: Corey Henry & the Treme Funktet and Robin Barnes
The festival will also highlight the area’s food, drink, and craft vendors from along the Greenway neighborhoods, including Clesi’s Seafood, Liberty’s Kitchen, and Quintin’s Natural Ice Cream; kids activities; and the organization’s signature guided walking tours of the Greenway. During this free, family-friendly celebration, participants will also have the opportunity to share stories about the Greenway and contribute to the vision for the future of this unique public space.
“Hike Fest is a locals’ festival,” said Friends of Lafitte Greenway Program Director Nellie Catzen. “The Greenway connects such diverse and culturally rich neighborhoods, from the Tremé to Navarre and everywhere in between. Hike Fest is not only a celebration of the Greenway, but of the neighborhoods and people that make it such a lively and vibrant public space.”
“NORD is excited to partner with the Friends of Lafitte Greenway for this flagship event,” said NORD CEO Larry Barabino, Jr. “Connecting residents to fun, safe opportunities for recreation and community engagement is a priority for NORD, and the Hike Fest is one way we are accomplishing this on the Greenway.”
Event Details
The Hike: Tunes, Tales, and Trails Festival takes place Saturday, March 23, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Lafitte Greenway Great Lawn, 500 N Galvez St.Event Program:
11:00 AM Trombone Shorty Music Academy
12:15 PM Funk Griot
1:30 PM TBC Brass Band
2:45 PM Michot’s Melody Makers
4:00 PM Robin Barnes
5:15 PM Corey Henry and the Treme Funktet
Guided walking tours will depart regularly from the Lafitte Greenway Great Lawn starting at 11:30 a.m. and concluding at 4 p.m.
Hike Fest is generously sponsored by Wrong Iron on the Greenway, The Greater New Orleans Foundation, The Helis Foundation, Ochsner Health Center, The Positive Vibrations Foundation, Blue Bikes, Stirling Properties, Seven Three Distilling, Second Line Brewing Company and Crescent Crown Distributing, and many more.
photo by Hunter King
Hike History
The Annual Hike event has a legacy of bringing communities together on what is now the Lafitte Greenway. The event began in 2005 as friends and neighbors bushwhacked along an abandoned railroad corridor, and dreamed of transforming the long-blighted space into a trail and park for New Orleans. One year later, they formed the nonprofit organization Friends of Lafitte Greenway. The event grew over the last decade along with the momentum for the creation of the Lafitte Greenway.Hike the Lafitte Greenway events have been held annually since 2005, with a hiatus while the Lafitte Greenway was an active construction site. Since the opening of the Greenway, the annual Hike has seen hundreds of annual participants. The 2019 Hike Fest is the 13th event.
