About Ebb & Flow Festival

Inspired by Baton Rouge’s identity as the capital of Louisiana and its unique location on the on the Mississippi River, the Ebb & Flow Festival celebrates artists, expands cultural understanding, encourages critical discourse, transforms urban space, promotes the collective economic and ecological connection to water, and all things that ebb and flow.  

Disappearing Coastline and Culture

The delta region and coastline of Louisiana is disproportionately vulnerable to land loss and flooding due to climate change. In addition to economic and ecological impacts, erosion and weather events threaten the loss of Louisiana’s cultural assets. These cultural assets may also provide a resource in the solution to this problem by humanizing the issue and providing a means to help the public understand and connect to water. According to a 2018 report by the US Water Alliance, “Artistic experiences often evoke a sensory and emotional response and have potential to help people see, hear, feel and even taste a unique water challenge, source, or process that would have otherwise been intangible.” Ebb & Flow Festival, with its thematic focus on water and location on the Mississippi River, is a setting to make these connections for people in Southeast Louisiana and on a national and international level. 

an evolving festival

Traditionally, the Ebb & Flow Festival Season has ben a synthesis of festivals, arts events, and happenings in March and April, including, but not limited to the Baton Rouge Blues Festival, Live After 5, Red Stick Digital FutureFest, Third Street Songwriters Festival, and the Young Entrepreneurs Academy Trade Show, and the Arts Council’s Ebb & Flow Festival, a free, outdoor festival in downtown Baton Rouge.

Due to COVID-19, in 2020, Ebb & Flow Festival adapted to a virtual platform. Click here or find 2020 Virtual Performances under History in our main navigation to view all of the artists that joined us in exploring a new reality and opportunity to reach an even larger audience.

This year, we’ve adapted again to give artists and organizations the opportunity and the means to put on exceptional events for our community as a part of the 2021 Ebb & Flow Festival Season this September! Ebb & Flow Festival Grants (EFFG) are unique to the 2021 calendar year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most in-person spring festivals were postponed or canceled, increasing the negative impact on the arts, the cultural community, and the economy. This grant program seeks to provide organizations with the funds necessary to employ arts workers to produce, perform, and present to the community.