New Orleans-style funeral parade kicks off 15th Joye in Aiken festival

Matthew Christian, Aiken Standard, S.C.
·3 min read

Mar. 3—The sounds of "When the saints go marching in" echoed through downtown Aiken on Thursday as Juilliard-trained trumpeter Alphonso Horne and tambourine player Norman Edwards Jr. led a New Orleans-style Funeral Parade around a block of downtown Aiken.

Janice Jennings, executive director of Joye in Aiken, said it was very exciting to see 75-100 people gathered to start the festival with the parade.

"As we've said many times before, Joye in Aiken doesn't belong to us, it belongs to this whole community," Jennings said. "We wanted the whole community to have something that they could participate in."

Thursday marked the second time the festival began with a New Orleans-style funeral parade. Jennings said everyone had loads of a fun the last time the festival started with a funeral parade.

Mike and Joan Gallagher and Jerry and Cindy Fuller were waiting for the parade to start.

"Everything Joye in Aiken does is always excellent and we have not seen this parade so we thought we would come down," Cindy Fuller said.

Joan Gallagher said she thought it was wonderful that Joye in Aiken had returned.

Jerry Fuller said Joye in Aiken was a good addition to the Aiken community.

"I love jazz music and where do you get New York jazz music down here," Mike Gallagher added.

George Funeral Home provided a horse-drawn caisson complete with an empty casket for the parade.

The 15th annual Joye in Aiken festival will continue through Friday.

The Joye of Jazz will be held from noon to 9 p.m. at The Willcox located at 100 Colleton Ave. It will begin with a gospel brunch featuring Horne from noon to 4 p.m. Tickets are $125 for the lobby and $100 for the dining room, and include a two-course brunch menu and a cash bar.

From 6 to 9 p.m., a headline session featuring Jumaane Smith will close out the evening. Tickets are $150 for the lobby and $125 for the dining room, and include a three-course dinner menu and a cash bar.

An all-day pass is available for $250 for the lobby and $200 for the dining room.

Sybarite5, a post-genre quintet, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at St. John's United Methodist Church located at 104 Newberry St. NW. Tickets are $25 but free to people with a student identification card.

Pianist Jeremy Jordan and clarinetist Mark Dover will perform at noon Thursday at First Presbyterian Church located at 224 Barnwell Ave. The event is free.

Also on Thursday, Sarah Jarosz will perform with Sam Reider at the USC Aiken Etherredge Center located at 471 University Pkwy. Tickets are $30 but free to people with a student identification card.

The festival finale is scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday at the Etherredge Center and will feature Rachel Bay Jones. Tickets are $50 but free to people with a student identification card.

For more information, visit joyeinaiken.com. For tickets, call the USC Aiken Etherredge Center at 803-641-3305.