REBUILD GREEN/NEW ORLEANS
*2ND ANNUAL LOWER 9TH WARD PEOPLES FESTIVAL, MAY 2nd*

*Free Festival Accommodates & Celebrates
the Resilience of New Orleans?
?Have Nots? Communities*

*New Orleans, LA* ? A coalition of grassroots non profit organizations will
present the second annual Peoples Festival, a free multicultural event to
occur on May 2nd, 7pm, at Dr Martin Luther King Jr School, 1671 Caffin, in
the Lower 9th Ward. The area is New Orleans? most devastated post Katrina
community, which is still struggling to recover and to bring its residents
home, almost four years later.

This years line up presents a wide range of musical genres, including some
repeating audience pleasers, from last year, all of them foregoing
performance fees. Spearhead?s *Michael Franti*, returns to bless the
community with his infectious socially conscious hip
hop/reggae/jazz/rock/folk fusion style. It was Franti?s representative,
Guerilla Management, out of San Francisco, which offered Spearhead last year
to play the Lower 9 at no cost, as well as provide logistical support. That
original offer blew up into a fledgling but full blown festival, featuring
New Orleans? finest, such as Cyril Neville, Rebirth Brass Band, Revolution 2
nd Line, Big Chief Victor Harris, Spirit of FiYiYi & the Mandingo Warriors.

Blues rocker, *Sister Otis* also returns, as well as hip hop freestyler &
poet, *Truth Universal*, both big hits with last year?s attendees. This
year?s event also features the funkjazz of *Kirk Joseph*?s Backyard Groove,
*Big Pearl*?s eclectic rock, *Guitar Lightnin Lee?s *delta* *blues, Brazil
sounds & dance of *Casa Samba*, *Bayou DeVille* Cajun rhythms,
Africa?s *Zulu
Connection*. Mr. Lightnin Lee grew up in the L9, graduated from McCarty
school, which operated on the current Dr. MLKJr School site, in 1958.

Much interest has been generated and more performers will be added to the
roster and announced when confirmed.

The ?Peoples Festival? offers Working-class and poor communities of New
Orleans, striving diligently to bounce back from the flood?s destruction, an
affordable event to celebrate their culture, their music and their will to
survive. Organizations sponsoring the engagement include, Rebuild Green,
Lower 9th Ward Village, Save Wesley United, Plenty International, and
LowerNine.org.

The theme of this year's Peoples' Festival is: ?A Celebration Close to
Home?. No admission is required, though contributions will be accepted to
defray expenses.

The Lower 9th Ward setting will present out-of-towners and the media an
opportunity to observe that significant parts of the area (and by extension
other working-class neighborhoods of New Orleans ) are currently very far
from being ?back? and much work still begs to be done.

Come celebrate the courage of New Orleans ' original inhabitants and its
diaspora, in unity with all our friends from near and far, in the spirit of
peace, love, and social justice!