NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana Cultures Camp invites you to experience a weekend of music, dance, food, heritage crafts, and cultural sharing at the 3rd Annual Louisiana Cultures Camp.
The event will take place Friday January 16- Sunday January 18, 2026.
This unique gathering builds cross-cultural community by inviting participants to explore the rich tapestry of diverse cultures that make our regions of Louisiana so unique.
The event will take place at an event venue at Fontainebleau State Park outside of Mandeville on the Northshore. The event site includes a dancehall, commercial kitchen, bathrooms, showers, dorms, hiking trails, a large field, a lakefront beach, balconies, and patios.
Participants will have the opportunity to come for one session, one day, or spend the entire weekend immersed in live music, jam sessions, heritage crafts and a variety of workshops that focus on music, dance, and cultural sharing. Do not miss this chance to connect, learn, and celebrate the beauty of our diverse heritages!
The schedule includes dance workshops, music workshops, meal times, language-learning tables, jams, cultural sharing workshops, and live music performances. The Friday January 16- Sunday January 18, 2025 Culture Bearers will include:
Friday
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5 pm -10 pm Dinner: Filipino Cuisine with Barbekyu Nola
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5:00 pm Welcome, Meet, and Make Workshop (Doug Fazzio, Houma Nation)
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6:30 pm Land Acknowledgement and Historical Context (Scierra LeGarde, Choctaw)
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7 pm Bachata and Merengue Dance Workshop (Melissa Joy, Dominica Nola Dance Krewe)
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8 pm-10 pm Fermín Ceballos + Merengue4Four (Femin Ceballos, Dominican)
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Ongoing: Jam sessions with Kamau Philips (Congo Square Preservation Society and FIYIYI Black Masking Indian group)
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Ongoing Jam sessions with Lyle Werner (Old Time, Appalachian, Cajun-Creole, and Americana)
Saturday
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9 am Vietnamese Cultural Sharing (Chef Anh Lu, Vietnamese)
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10 am Choctaw Songs, Round Dancing and Cultural Dancing (Choctaw, Scierra LeGarde and KirkMcMillan)
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TBD Arabic Cultural Sharing
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10am-12 Heritage Wild Crafting (Dr Tammy Greer, Houma Nation, Center for American Indian Research and Studies (CAIRS))
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Noon- Lunch with Numada (Garifuna) and La Milpa (Salvadoran) Cuisine
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1 pm Afro Diasporic Dance (Kai Knight)
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1 pm- Stick Ball Game (Kirk McMillan, Choctaw)
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2 pm Gospel Music
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2 pm Philippine Cultural Sharing
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3 pm Islenos Cultural Sharing
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3 pm Nature Walk (SunPie Barnes)
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4 pm Rhythms of Congo Square (Kamau Philips, Congo Square Preservation Society)
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5 pm Dinner with Numada (Garifuna) and La Milpa (Salvadoran) Cuisine
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6 pm Cuban – New Orleans Connections (Margie Perez, Latin)
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7 pm Creole Cajun Dance Workshop (Corey Porche, Louisiana Creole)
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8-10 pm T Marie and Bayou Juju ( Cajun-Creole- Louisiana French)
Sunday
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9 am – Movement with Capoeira New Orleans , Intro with Cajun-Forro Musical Similarities
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10 am- Fusion: Rhythms and Themes across Congo Square, Caribbean, and Creole-Cajun Music (SunPie Barnes)
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11 am Sula Sprit & The Maroons (Sula Spirit, Afro Diasporic Live Music)
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Jam sessions with Kamau Philips of Congo Square Preservation Society and FIYIYI Black Masking Indian group
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Jam sessions with Lyle Werner (Old Time, Appalachian, Cajun-Creole, and Americana)
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Noon – Participatory Mural and Lunch with Creole Cuisine (Food Vendor May change)
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Noon- 2 pm Talent Show and Participatory Cultural Sharing and Closing
For further information
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Visit our website www.LouisianaCulturesCamp.org
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contact the Louisiana Cultures Camp Team at LouisianaCulturesCamp@gmail.
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Call Marie-Isabelle (‘t Marie) Pautz at 337-344-7442.
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