The Greenwich Town Party is excited to announce that the first-ever Greenwich Town Party Parade will march down Greenwich Avenue on Tuesday, May 23 at 5:15pm.
Celebrating this year’s New Orleans theme, members of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Preservation Hall Brass Band will lead the vibrant parade, which will culminate with a Party in the Park at Havemeyer Field in the back of the Greenwich Town Hall.
Featuring food vendors, food trucks and live music, the party will be held from 6:00 to 8:00pm.
The GTP has become a mainstay event of Memorial Day Weekend, where Greenwich can come together and participate in a day of music, food, fun, family, and friendship.
With the addition of the GTP Parade and Party in the Park, a free and non-ticketed event, the organization aims to further their core mission and bring even more people together to experience the strength and spirit of community.
GTP previously announced this year’s “Preservation Hall Super Jam,” a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration of the best of New Orleans music to be held on Saturday, May 27 at Roger Sherman Baldwin Park.
Specially curated by musical legends Ben Jaffe of Preservation Hall Jazz Band and multi-Grammy Award winner Eric Krasno, this star-studded special event will be a party both on stage and in the crowd. The new parade and after-party on May 23 will also take on the celebratory New Orleans’ theme of this year’s event.
In addition to Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Preservation Hall Brass Band, members of the community, local and nonprofit organizations, and local high school bands will march in the parade.
The route begins in the Amogerone Crossway parking lot and continues down Greenwich Avenue and into Havemeyer Field for the evening’s additional festivities.
The deadline to submit an application to participate in the parade is Saturday, May 1 on the GTP website.
In late April, Preservation Hall Brass Band will engage in an education initiative with music students at Greenwich High School and Brunswick School.
The schools’ local band directors will prepare for the visits using Preservation Hall Foundation’s educational materials, Preservation Hall Lessons, which explore New Orleans History & Culture, songs and genres. These award-winning musicians will teach a master class in brass music, perform at all grade assembly days and spend invaluable time sharing musical knowledge and demonstrating instrument-specific techniques with students.
The students will then participate in the parade procession on May 23.
At the party on May 27, the GTP Town Stage will host a musical collaboration featuring members of Preservation Hall Jazz Band and more local students.
The Party in the Park will feature complimentary ice cream from Skip’s Good Humor and New Orleans-style “King Cake” from Black Forest Pastry Shop.
In addition, there will be local food favorites on-site including: PopUp Bagels, Island Fin Poke, Dough Girls, Neil’s on Wheels, LobsterCraft and Wendy’s Weenies. All meals will be $10 or under.
This year, in the spirit of a commonly used New Orleans term “Lagniappe,” which means “a little unexpected extra,” guests will experience a wide array of culture bearers and celebrity artists that all embody The Big Easy’s traditions at the GTP event on Saturday, May 27 and the GTP Parade and Party in the Park on Tuesday, May 23.
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