Krewe du Kanaval is not just a weekend, it is a year-round community dedicated to recognizing and celebrating the deep Haitian roots that have enriched New Orleans’ cultural identity and traditions for hundreds of years. 

The spark that inspired the creation of the Krewe came from a fundraising event series our founding non-profit KANPE produced in Montreal starting in 2013. KANPE was founded in 2010 by two women in Montreal of Haitian origin Regine Chassagne and Dominique Anglade. 

After a KANPE-led visit to Haiti by New Orleans institution Preservation Hall Foundation in the Summer of 2015, that spark was building into a blaze. At KANPE’s February 2017 Kanaval at Montreal’s SAT Center, Preservation Hall Jazz Band performed alongside David Byrne, Saul Williams and Arcade Fire for a sold out audience in the middle of a blizzard. 

In 2018, the Krewe du Kanaval was formed in New Orleans as a community engagement program of the Preservation Hall Foundation and held a walking parade through the Treme neighborhood, a free community concert in Congo Square, and a ball at the club One Eyed Jacks in the French Quarter. 2018’s King and Queen were Charlie Gabriel and singer Irma Thomas.

In October 2019, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band went to Haiti to take part in Gede Fest, Haiti's Day of the Dead, at the Hotel Oloffson in Port-a-Prince and in Jacmel Haiti opening for RAM to packed audiences for their first experience with New Orleans traditional jazz in person. The festival grew Krewe du Kanaval’s network in Haiti and created deeper connections with a sister organization in Brooklyn called Pioneer Works that went on to display a groundbreaking Haitian contemporary art exhibit called POTOPRENS.

For Krewe du Kanaval’s second Mardi Gras, New Orleans non-profit Positive Vibrations Foundation teamed up to become an integral partner and sponsor the free concert in Congo Square featuring seminal Haitian roots band Boukman Eksperyans for their first headline performance in New Orleans. The band also performed throughout the celebrations and at the Kanaval Ball, which included DJ headliners Diplo and Michael Brun. Additionally, the Krewe orchestrated an exciting collaboration between Boukman Eksperyans and the Loyola Symphony Orchestra directed by Dr. Jean Montes, one of our Board members. 2019 also featured a weeklong series of lectures, panels, and workshops called “Ti Pale” produced by our community partners Hatianola.  "Ti Pale's" aim is to serve as a platform for open dialogue between those just learning about the connection and the cultural and historical experts themselves. 2019’s King and Queen were  DJ Jubilee and Chef Leah Chase.

The February 2020 Krewe du Kanaval was the largest event yet, little did we know that it would be the last large-scale event for most of the performers involved for over a year. Building on the two previous years, Kanaval’s third edition saw national concert promoter Winter Circle Productions operate the weekend’s major festival events. These included a Mahalia Jackson Center for the Arts sell out show by Arcade Fire and Preservation Hall Jazz Band. The parade that year saw the krewe marching down Saint Charles Avenue as part of the annual Krewe of Freret, one of New Orleans 34 official Mardi Gras parade.

Due to the COVID pandemic and global shutdown, Krewe du Kanaval took a three year hiatus which allowed the core leaders to reset the vision and expectations for the event and community. After months of development and wider community engagement, the organization reformed as its own 501c3 non-profit organization to grow independently and focus on the core mission of the annual celebration in New Orleans during Mardi Gras.

Please join us for our 4th Krewe du Kanaval February 9-12, 2023!