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Next weekend, Armstrong Park will host the 10th annual Congo Square Rhythms Festival, celebrating the music and culture of African diaspora in New Orleans.
Congo Square has been a gathering place for cultural events since before New Orleans’ founding, when Native Americans celebrated corn feasts near the square. Slaves and later freed African Americans would sing and dance together every Sunday in the Square, because they could speak their native languages and practice their religions.
The Congo Square Preservation Society has been the major catalyst in both the continuation of activities in historic Congo Square and the Annual Rhythms Festival.
– Sarah H. Centorino, The New Orleans 100