Fet Gede (Haitian Day of the Dead)

About this happenin

Each November the New Orleans Healing Center on St. Claude Avenue hosts Fèt Gede, the Haitian Day of the Dead, anchored by a Vodou ceremony that La Source Ancienne Ounfo, a New Orleans society, has held for more than four decades. The Gede are spirits of the dead and tricksters at the crossroads of life and death, and their colors are purple and black. Guests are encouraged to wear those, or white with a purple head scarf. Offerings are welcome: rum, cigars, flatbread and peppers, plus sunglasses with a single lens, which the Gede are said to enjoy. Bring photos of your own dead for the main ancestors altar. It runs from 5 to 10 p.m. and costs nothing. Happy hour takes the first two hours, with shots of Barbancourt Haitian rum at a by-donation bar, alongside an art market and altars made by local artists. The ceremony starts at 7 in the Grand Hall with heavy drumming and chanting. Guests under 16 need an adult. At 10 a procession heads to St. Roch Cemetery, where people feed the dead and speak the praise names of the Beloved Dead.

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Where

New Orleans Healing Center · 2372 St. Claude Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117