Pinellas News

New Orleans comes to Tarpon Springs

Photos

KELSEY GRENTZER
Suncoast News Correspondent
Published: June 27, 2012

TARPON SPRINGS - For several Pinellas County residents, Saturday started off with a bang.

A bang on a bass drum, that is.

"Kids! Gather 'round!" yelled the bass drum player of New Orleans' Hot 8 Brass Band as he stood in front of the Union Academy Family Center.

More than a dozen children crowded around as the band members told them about their instruments and the sounds they make. Some giggled as a deep note rang out from band leader Bennie Pete's tuba.

It was the start of a day of New Orleans-style festivities, including a parade, Mardi Gras mask-making and jambalaya tasting. The event was coordinated by the city's Department of Cultural and Civic Services, the nonprofit organization Citizens Alliance for Progress and the Tarpon Springs Public Library as a way of bringing community members together.

Kanye Wilson, 8, watched eagerly as the brass band demonstrated the sounds of their instruments. "It helped me learn how to play drums and all the different instruments," he said.

Pete said the band enjoys teaching the children so they have a better understanding of what they're doing as they perform. They sometimes receive emails from parents saying that their children were inspired to start playing an instrument after seeing their band play, he said.

"That's always real positive for us to hear," Pete said.

In preparation for the parade, attendees gathered for a free breakfast of sausage biscuits and breakfast burritos at the Union Academy Family Center. Children pasted gold glitter and colorful feathers on cardboard and plastic masks to add a bit of New Orleans flair to their outfits.

Fatima Talbird, an 84-year-old pre-K teacher from Clearwater, sat at one table sipping orange juice and watching children flock to a piano in one corner. She decided to check out the event because she had never heard of any New Orleans-style music in the area, Talbird said.

"I've never been to New Orleans, but this is a taste of it," she said. "I'm so glad I came by."

At 11 a.m., the tunes of "E Flat Blues" and "Down By the Riverside" resounded through the streets as the Hot 8 Brass Band marched from the family center to the Tarpon Springs Public Library, followed by about 30 community members who joined in. Bystanders clapped in time to the music.

Pete describes the band's upbeat songs as "feel-good music" that represents New Orleans, where the eight band members were born and raised.

As the band paraded down Lemon Street, some adults strutted to the music, belting out the lyrics to "When the Saints Go Marching In." Decked out with their feathered masks and Mardi Gras beads, the youngsters wandered ahead, leading the way.

The parade concluded at the library, but there was more New Orleans flavor to come.

That evening, Zante Café provided jambalaya at the Tarpon Springs Performing Arts Center, and the brass band performed one last time.

For CAP Program Director Carmen Wilson, the event meant more than just bringing people together. She said it was a way of getting to know the community and being able to better serve its citizens through her organization.

"That's what really excites me about this," she said. "I get to learn a little bit more about the people and what they need."