Piggybacking off of a longstanding New Orleans tradition, the Telluride Jazz Festival is excited to once again present the New Orleans 2nd Line Parade! This year’s parade will kick-off at noon on Sunday, August 6 from Elks Park and feature Cha Wa Mardi Gras Indian Band and Hooligan Brass Band.
The Parade
The Telluride Jazz Festival’s New Orleans 2nd Line Parade is open to the public and welcomes everyone to join in on the fun on Colorado Ave (Telluride’s Main Street)! Colorful costumes, floats, beads are all welcomed and encouraged. The Parade will start at Elk’s Park and conclude in Telluride Town Park where the Hazel Miller Gospel Band will be taking the Main Stage. Participants can meet the parade at the top of Main Street in Elk’s Park at noon. Floats are recommended to be ready to line-up on the West end of the peak of Main Street around 11:45 am. Once the drums and horns from Cha Wa Mardi Gras Indian Band begin, the parade will start.
Cha Wa Mardi Gras Indian Band
To capture the NOLA theme, the parade will be lead by Cha Wa Mardi Gras Indian Band. Cha Wa is Mardi Gras Indian slang for, “We’re coming for you!” Funk is the mission of this New Orleans band. Cha Wa is lead by Honey Banister, Big Chief of the Creole Wild West tribe, and by drummer and Berklee College of Music graduate Joe Gelini. Gelini, after moving to New Orleans, was enchanted by the music and traditions of the Mardi Gras Indians and dove in head-first. “It's a spiritual thing. It's more than the music.” NOLA Indian culture was once underground but is now a proud and very visible aspect of New Orleans ritual. Huge, beautiful feather crowns, polyrhythmic grooves, chanting and singing mark the look and sound of the tribes.
Hooligans Brass Band
An ensemble of Caleb Chapman's Soundhouse, the Hooligan Brass Band brings the street music of New Orleans directly to Telluride's Colorado Ave. Combining elements of funk, hip-hop, and jazz, the high-energy grooves of this high-energy student band is guaranteed to turn heads!
Pre-Parade Events
We have plenty of events and kids events to start your Sunday off right before the Parade and the main festival events begin!
First Note Yoga - Start your morning off right with First Note Yoga provided by the Telluride Yoga Festival! Enjoy a fluid yoga flow, activating breath practice, liberating movement and playful exercises to discover new realms of embodied pleasure. Guests of all skill levels are welcome to join Sunday morning at 8:30 in Elks Park. Participation is free!
For The Kids - Leading up to the Parade The Wilkinson Public Library will host a kids program. This program will run 10am to 11, is free and will feature jazz themed children's activities. Following the Kids Program children can prepare for the parade in Elk’s park with a complimentary Kids Costume Making and Face Painting.
Tickets for the Telluride Jazz Festival are on sale now!