OFFICIAL BEAUCOUP HOODOO FEST 2025 SCHED

Welcome to BEAUCOUP HOODOO FEST! Join us for our official OPENING CEREMONY for DAY 2 of the 2ND ANNUAL BEAUCOUP HOODOO FEST. 

Sponsored by the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI).

For over 300 years people of African origin have called New Orleans home and have created a culture that is abundant & beautiful. This two hour tour will show you the French Quarter and a small part of Treme from the view of African people.

This tour is as colorful as the creole cottages & shotgun homes that line the streets of Treme. This walking tour of the oldest African American neighborhood in the nation explores the legacy of this culturally rich area. You will discover in this tour the roots of Jazz, Storyville, Black Mardi Gras Indians and visit some of the most cultural significant sites in New Orleans.

Studio Be was a vacant warehouse which was transformed into 35, 000 square feet of beautiful and inspiring black art created by Brandan “BMike” Odums as his first solo show as an artist.

My discussion is about which words to Use and How To utilize & absorb them in your worship journey, regardless of your chosen religious and/or spiritual practice. This will include a Q & A. This discussion is particularly great for those who are interested in learning from and connecting with elders. Mama M'Tam initiated as a priest of Osun in 1979 and is a member of one of the oldest African-American Lucumi houses in the United States of America.

In this session Charlotte Dueer James talks about her practice working with ritual and Sacred Earth Medicines to reach expanded states of consciousness.  In this expanded state we have the opportunity to travel deep within our roots to meet our ancestors, our spirit guides, and our true guiding Source.  We will touch on how one can incorporate these practices into our lives as modern beings, as well as how to safely engage with these practices.  

*TBA: Rapeh Ceremony will be offered in the evening.

The paradox of managing ancient traditions in modern contexts.

We will talk about the businëngë maroons, these communities built from several cultures and
traditions of West Africa.

They are Afro-descendants from South America. Precisely in Suriname and french-Guiana,
countries where direct descendants of Africans maintain the languages, religions and
lifestyles similar to West African communities like Akan people .

● How were these Afro-descendant communities able to keep ancestral knowledge
and how to transmit it today, in a way of life where we must resist assimilation and in
which we are made to believe that our customs, our gods, our spirits, our ancestors
don’t have a place to exist ?
● What is the place of the Maroons in a contemporary society today, their connections
with Africa as well as spirituality?
● What is winti ? I would talk about my personal experiences in the spirituality of the
Maroons.

Plant Power. Learn about some of the natural healing techniques of our ancestors, how they protected their secrets, and used natural remedies to both save lives and to resist against their oppressors.

It will be a "Red Tent Moon Lodge", to honor and celebrate our wombs through body literacy.
Body literacy is listening, learning, and understanding your body through focusing on your menstrual cycle, to measure your overall health. We'll be tapping into our ancestral practices, natural rhythms, and changes to help us understand our cycle as a vital sign.

We created this extracurricular excursion for the foodies! Get a taste of BLACK New Orleans cuisine featuring award winning chefs and brunch with a beat.

TOUR STOPS:
Addis NOLA for Afrobeats Brunch
Followed by dessert at Lorretta's.

Facilitated by Zella Palmer, Food Scholar and Author. 

PLEASE be prepared to spend up to $100. Cash form of payment at the restaurants are preferable as one of the restaurants doesn't split checks.

Are you so busy with your daily lives that you don't have time for yourself?  Come explore:  Why spiritual practice is important?  Why is it important to remember our ancestors?  What are some strategies for self-care?  How do you make time for yourself in your busy life?
 

Black women’s bodies are sites of wealth, wellness, and abundance. In this interactive workshop, join Erin Trent Johnson, founder of BlackMamaBody, for an exploration of the lineage of Black women’s spiritual, ecological, and embodied healing practice.

We are in a time of divine feminine revolution. The earth is raging from the abuses of colonial extraction and capitalist exploitation. These same systems have stolen African bodies, labor, land, and resources for centuries. Yet, we know how to do more than just survive. We have life-systems of repair, rebellion, and spiritual resources within our bodies that are aligned with spirit. We make a way out of no way. In this session, we will explore the liberatory possibility of connecting with our body's gut feelings, intuition and sensorial inner knowing. Trusting in our source of creation allows us to manifest health from our inherent worth and our core values.

Black women’s bodies are divine ecosystems within social systems. We be knowin’! Our bodies are sites of viral imagination. We be sharin’! In the face of terror, we have created ways to open roads and imagine pathways to freedom. When we trust our inner wealth, worthiness, and wisdom, we can practice everyday colonial rebellion. We have the radical possibility to see the unseen to heal the wounds of body-mind-spirit. Our healing is communal alchemy that has the power to transmute forces of destruction. When our bodies heal, all bodies and the earth can thrive.

Using the lens of spiritual somatic activism, we will explore the ways African-descended women have always had the tools for our collective wellness, ecological health, and liberation.

In this session, we will explore various ways that African-descended women’s earth-honoring, spiritual liberatory practice including ATRs, ADRs, Hoodoo, Astrology, divination, and African cosmologies of care and deep root medicine.

Erin will guide us through somatic practices that allow us to regulate our nervous systems and tap into our inner source of power. We will then visit the crossroads of the gut-brain axis to metabolize generational wounding, elevate conscious awareness of survival and trauma responses, and discover the digestive system powers of discernment, choice, and free will that can support collective healing, liberation, and transformation.

Dream Hygiene and Ancestral Messages. A look at tools to aid in recalling dreams, removing nightmares, and connecting with your ancestral court.

DANCING SPIRITS: An Embodied Vodou Offering Through Movement & Ritual

Dancing Spirits Movement Sessions are designed to uplift, inspire & inform, while intersecting Wellness (Haitian Folkloric Dance) + Spirituality (Haitian Vodou) collectively.  

WORKSHOP #2 "Ibo, Liberation & Legacy"


We will use the dance & drum rhythm Ibo, which salutes the strong, prideful Ibo people, from Iboland, present-day Nigeria to tap into ancestral connections, strength and liberation.  
Let’s raise those vibrational frequencies with bold, vibrant color!
Suggested Attire: BOLD African fabric! This can be a combination of your choice: head wrap, skirt, pants, shirt, tank, waist sash, etc... Make it work for your comfort level.

Additional Info:
Workshops are suitable for everyone with or without a dance background. Dance barefoot or with sneakers.

A practical workshop where participants will create Ori Vision boards based on destiny, sacred alchemy, and individual spiritual goals.

MATERIALS:
Magazines
Scissors
Glue sticks
Favorite pen or marker

Why Do We Turn to Astrology? Since the beginning of time, humans have been on a quest to better understand our existence and make meaning of our lives. This talk will focus on the significance of astrology today and why so many are engaged with this connection between the sky and life on earth.  I'll provide an overview of the hows and whys astrology has come to mean so much to all of us.

In this session, we're going to discuss why understanding CHIRON is the key to DOING THE WORK bka SHADOW WORK bka HEALING YOUR LIFE.

This workshop will be discussing the basics of
Haitian Vodou, as well as dismissing and
clarifying common misconceptions. The goal of
this workshop will be for those attending to gain
a clearer understanding of Haitian Vodou beliefs.

A look into my journey from a spiritual practitioner to an Akan priest in America. This discussion delves into my introduction to the Akan tradition, spiritual training, and obligations as a practicing traditional healer.

Are you ready to deepen your relationship with your ancestors
through meditation? Are you looking to understand clearly your
purpose in this lifetime from an indigenous African view? Look no
further, this workshop is rooted in the origin wisdom of the Dagara
Tradition in Burkina Faso to understand elemental medicine: fire,
water, mineral, earth and nature. We will also connect to Tenbalu and
Tingan through ritual. As brought to us by world-renowned author,
teacher, diviner; initiated Dagara Elder Malidoma Patrice Somé.

Learn how to second line and perfect your FOOT WORK game with NOLA's favorite darling, SECOND LINE SHORTY!

In this class we will discuss creating a yearly prosperity altar and my recommendations for ways to keep prosperity work going through the entire year for oneself and/or one's family. We will discuss the ideal location of the altar, how to construct a prosperity plate, a powerful psalm we can use for this work, and how to batch work so that it's easy to always keep work going for ourselves.

Are you on the road to healing and empowerment through immersion in Afrikan-centered spiritual practices? If so, then you know that one of the most important parts of discovery is honoring your ancestors. However, besides the daily important rituals and customary ceremonies, what does this work look like? This workshop will discuss the need for aligning our African traditional spiritual practices with pan-Afrikan based work. Iyalosha Sister Kemba shares with us her unique experiences in being raised in the Yoruba Lukumi religion as well as, a cultural revolutionary community, and the significance of both. She will share some unique insights and tools on Afrikan spirituality coupled with Afrikan liberation education, as we forge forward on this journey for uplifting ourselves and our Afrikan people.

This workshop will be centered in how to raise your kids and family in African spiritual traditions and how that journey will change the trajectory of your ancestors AND descendants.

This workshop will be discussing the basics of
Haitian Vodou, as well as dismissing and
clarifying common misconceptions. The goal of
this workshop will be for those attending to gain
a clearer understanding of Haitian Vodou beliefs.

Take your power back by honoring your energy and unique gifts with the self-awareness tool of Human Design. This workshop will be an empowering session learning about the pillars in Human Design. We will discuss a practical grounded way to work with your Profile, Energy Types, and Non-Self themes more.

( *Human Design is a self-awareness tool that helps you understand how your energy operates. It provides insights into our unique personality traits, decision-making processes, and how we interact with the world around us. )*

It will be my pleasure to introduce you or invite you to take a deeper look into Human Design a system that returns the power to us and removes conditioning.

This workshop will center the most
important spiritual tool in your arsenal: YOU!
We will explore the intersections between
the Yoruba concept of Ori and the more recent
concept of Human Design and outline
practical ways to implement your ori's unique
strategies for success.

Iya Michelle will go into depth about how to best activate your guides and protections by sitting at the white table, what to do at your boveda and communicate with spirit through powerful prayer.

This workshop will focus on exposing the
intersections of Africanisms and Christianity,
demonstrating that Hoodoo, Vodou and other
Black spiritual practices and Christianity are first
cousins, and how White Supremacy was the first
liar to begin with.

The why and the way you Breathe, Move, & Dance matters. We start there, then marry the two: Orisha and You.

Start with breathing gently. Start with compassion. Acknowledge your body. There are generations in there who brought you to this moment. You matter in this moment. You have to matter. The why and the way you Breathe, Move, & Dance matters. We start there, then marry the two: Orisha and you.

This year 2023 is dedicated to Yemaya + Oshun.

Activities: Breathing with Orisha, Dance as Cleansing/Ceremony, Orisha Songs, Musicology of the Anya/Drum.

Nana Sula will share chants rituals and teachings
that honor the African Mothers Nana Buruku,
Yemaya, Mami Wata, Oshun, Oya, Obba & Yaa
Asantewaa.

Learn more about the African origins of the Tarot, as well as African symbolism present in the traditional Rider-Waite tarot. Learn about how to communicate with the ancestors with tarot. Learn how to build and maintain a relationship with your tarot deck.

Preparation:

Before the ceremony, prepare in the day by eating lighter foods and hydrating.
Come with a focused intention that you want to work on for yourself.
Plan to arrive between 7-7:30PM. Once we open the circle we will be unable to grant anyone late entry so, please give yourself plenty of time to arrive without rushing.

Please bring:
• something to sit on (this circle will take place outside sitting on the Earth)
• water
• Journal/pen (optional)

Please note that Rapeh is not a psycho-active or psychedelic substance. This medicine, made from a base of Amazonian tobacco, helps us to clear our mind and ground into the earth. It can sometimes cause a stinging or burning sensation and occasionally causes purging. The “effect” can last anywhere from 5-30+ minutes, depending on how present you are with the medicine. You will be able to walk/drive etc. and attend the Black Panther screening afterwards with no issue.

Rapeh (pronounced ha-peh) is a Sacred Earth Medicine from the Amazon region that helps support increased clarity and sense of grounding when used with reverence and respect. Rapeh, also known as Shamanic snuff, is a blend of tobacco with other healing plants and roots that is blown into the nose using a tepi (applicator). While Nicotine may be a widely abused substance in our modern world, for many indigenous cultures, tobacco is a sacred plant known to cleanse both individuals and ceremonial spaces.
Building a relationship with Rapeh can;

Focus and sharpen the mind.

Clears a person or space of distracting, bad energies in preparation for intention setting.
Detox both body and mind, and clear your energetic field (because of this, rapeh is often used in conjunction with other medicine ceremonies)

Clear sinuses of mucus and bacteria, thereby helping to combat colds and respiratory ailments.
Provide a calming, grounding effect on the emotions that lasts much longer than the initial sensation.

Can be used in conjunction with other treatments for addiction and mental illness