NEW ORLEANS — Broad Community Connections (BCC), in partnership with the Bayou Road Business Association and the Black Bayou Cultural Heritage & Economic Development Foundation, invites the public to celebrate the HomeFest 2025 Kickoff, a two-day festival highlighting culture, community, and creativity along historic Bayou Road.
This year’s festival features expanded programming with nighttime experiences on Friday
and new health and wellness activations throughout the weekend.
The festivities begin Friday, October 17 at 5:00 PM with the André Cailloux Park Ribbon
Cutting Ceremony, featuring community acknowledgements, a libation ceremony, and a performance by the Jam & Jelli String Quartet. Remarks will be shared by Al Jackson, Curator/Director of Tremé’s Petit Jazz Museum, and Rev. Dr. Denise Graves of the Congo Square Preservation Society. The evening continues with a Block Party featuring DJ Captain Charles from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, About the Andre Cailloux Park Project
Broad Community Connections, alongside Bayou Road Business Association, Black Bayou Cultural Heritage & Economic Development Foundation, is leading the revitalization of André Cailloux Park, a public green space in the heart of the Seventh Ward that honors the neighborhood’s deep cultural legacy. The project reconnects the community to its history—paying tribute to Captain André Cailloux, a pioneering Black Union Army officer whose heroism during the Civil War became a beacon for Black freedom and political rights.
Originally named for Ernest Kruttschnitt, an architect of Louisiana’s 1898 “Jim Crow” Constitution, the park was renamed in 2020 to honor Cailloux. The revitalized park will feature lush native greenery, new seating and tables. The restoration of Bob Tannen’s 1980 sculpture “Shotgun Temple” is planned for 2026.
This project is made possible through generous support from the Mellon Foundation, Hive Fund, State Senator James Jimmy Harris, III, and the New Orleans Beautification Project, with additional collaboration from McKenna Museums. Project partners include Alembic Community Development, Spackman Mossop Michaels Landscape Architects, Mastodonte, Land Craft Design Build, Synergy Engineering, and Plugged-In Electric, LLC.
Bayou Road Nights: Community Business Activations
- #bEHRconnect Health App Mixer and Showcase – 6:00–9:00 PM, 2509 Bayou Road
- Community Book Center Panel: Community in a Captive State: Building Opportunity
and Seeking Justice in the Face of Mass Incarceration – 6:30–8:00 PM, 2523 Bayou
Road (in partnership with The Historic New Orleans Collection) - Nonno’s Cajun Cuisine “Glow and Flow” Back Porch Karaoke – 7:00–11:00 PM,
2517 Bayou Road - Addis NOLA “Afro Soul” Celebration of Black Music and Culture – 9:30 PM–1:30
AM, 2514 Bayou Road - DJ Captain Charles – Club 2441 Block Party – 6:00-9:00 PM
Join us for a weekend of music, movement, and community as Bayou Road celebrates its living history and the bright future of André Cailloux Park.
About Broad Community Connections
Broad Community Connections (BCC) is a New Orleans nonprofit committed to building equitable and vibrant neighborhoods through community development, small business support, and cultural preservation along the Broad and Bayou Road corridors. For more information,
www.broadcommunityconnections.org.