5 January 2026
By Ivanna Washington
Contributing Writer
The season of cheer was in full swing in New Orleans as Ashé Cultural Arts Center celebrated their annual “Holiday on the Boulevard.”
On Dec. 13, 2025, another opportunity arose for Black businesses and their economic growth. Accompanied by music, food and activities, the event was held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Ashé Cultural Arts Center main campus and was free to the public.
This most recent “Holiday on the Boulevard” made 25 years since its inception, commemorating not just the event itself, but 25 years of Ashé’s commitment to the New Orleans community.
“With activities for kids, hands-on arts and crafts, and community joy filling every corner, it’s truly a celebration for everyone,” said the Erica Glenn, Ashé’s creative production officer. “I can’t wait to share in the spirit, the culture and the collective joy that makes this event so special.”
The event is a marketplace used to bring together the community whilst celebrating the traditions of Kwanzaa and Christmas. Often featuring an indoor and outdoor marketplace, handcrafted goods, musical performances, activities for kids and a community toy, coat and thermal wear drive, “Holiday on the Boulevard” offers family-friendly fun for all ages.
“It’s important that our community have opportunities for economic development, health, wellness and fitness inside of our events,” said Asali DeVan Ecclesiastes, the chief executive and equity officer of Ashé. “It’s especially important for people of color to have things where they can see themselves reflected in ways that honor their dignity, their truth and their history.”
Ashé Cultural Arts Center is an organization with a mission of acknowledging and celebrating the cultural identities and ideas of the African diaspora. Through different forms of art, Ashé creates a comfortable and uplifting environment for locals of African descent in New Orleans to foster community.
“It’s a great time to hear good music and allow people that don’t know Ashé, the opportunity to see some of the things they do during the Christmas season and to be a place that is actually celebrating Kwanzaa,” said City of New Orleans Office of Resilience and Sustainability representative Talva Carlisle. “Putting actions and words towards the celebration of Kwanzaa is nice since we hear about it from a distant realm or a distant place but never actually get the chance to see it,” she added.
Kwanzaa is an African-American and Pan-African holiday that was established in 1966. The holiday spans seven days, from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, as a celebration of family, community, history and culture.
“People like to see themselves in their celebrations. They like to have spaces where they feel welcomed, places where they feel honored and celebrated,” said Ecclesiastes. “Thats what we do at Ashé; our mission is about celebrating places and philosophies of the African Diaspora.”
More information about Ashé Cultural Arts Center and its programming is available online at www.ashenola.org.
This article originally published in the January 5, 2026 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.