Photo by Steve Eberhardt
On February 22, brass instruments, vibrantly colored beads, and a procession of floats with masked and costumed revelers, aka “krewes,” will parade through Kirkwood in celebration of Lanta Gras.
Founded in 2014 by Andy Greene, a Delta pilot and former New Orleans resident, Lanta Gras is more than an event; it’s a nonprofit organization that provides music-lesson scholarships and instruments for children within the Jackson Cluster of the Atlanta Public Schools system. The annual festival is its primary fundraiser. While free to attend, donations from the event provide a year’s worth of weekly music lessons for six to eight children at local music school Guitar Shed.
Photo by Steve Eberhardt
Beginning at noon, the parade rolls from Bessie Branham Park to downtown Kirkwood at 1 p.m. Once the floats are parked, the street festival continues all afternoon on Hosea L Williams Drive, with live music from acts such as the Michael Foster Project and the Squirrelheads. Headlining this year is Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers. “We want everyone in the community to be able to come and enjoy it, and we want to keep it free,” Greene says. “The festival isn’t just supporting local children, it’s also supporting the professional musical community.”
A Lanta Gras kick-off fundraiser will be held the night before the festival on Friday, February 21, at Pullman Yards AlcoHall.
Photo by Steve Eberhardt
