New Orleans's Mayor's Office of Cultural Economy has announced it will host a Carousel of Culture event on October 16 and 17, 2021.
The event, which will taking place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in City Park at the Goldring/Woldenberg Great Lawn and Tricentennial Area, located at 8 Victory Ave., will feature numerous artists, musicians, food truck vendors, artisans, and more. The event will benefit New Orleans's cultural bearers who have been negatively affected due to the recent COVID-19 surge in the city.
"Our culture bearers are the foundation of what makes New Orleans special and helping them find ways to survive and even to thrive in the face of a challenging environment is absolutely critical," Mayor LaToya Cantrell said. "Throughout the pandemic we stood up a virtual concert series that gave artists economic opportunities, made grants available, and tried to connect them with funding wherever we could. We will continue to do that and to support the essence of our community."
"We are committed to activate opportunities that directly support economic growth to our artists and artisans," Lisa Alexis, director of the Office of Cultural Economy, said. "The basis of the Office of Cultural Economy is to leverage the innovative and entrepreneurial nature of cultural economy development to achieve deeper outcomes across City projects and priorities. One of the main drivers of our economy is the cultural economy and it behooves us to put as many dollars and resources into it as possible. The people that make that economy possible need to be supported just as much as our other tourism industry sectors."
In addition, the Mayor's Office of Cultural Economy is currently accepting applications for the recently launched New Orleans Tourism and Cultural Fund's Open NOLA Grant, which funds a maximum of $6,000 and supports the re-opening of entertainment venues and their on-going efforts. Culture bearers and venue owners who wish to apply for this grant can do so by visiting notcf.com.
For more information about the Carousel of Culture event, visit neworleanscitypark.com/calendar.
