Essence Fest honors Mitch Landrieu with 'Woke' award

Essence Fest is always a big deal for New Orleans, and Mayor Mitch Landrieu says the festival and New Orleans are a perfect match.

Posted 3:22 p.m. Jul 3, 2017 — Updated 3:22 p.m. Jul 3, 2017

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NEW ORLEANS, LA — Essence Fest is always a big deal for New Orleans, and Mayor Mitch Landrieu says the festival and New Orleans are a perfect match.

The festival's organizers agree.

At Friday's empowerment seminars, organizers presented Landrieu with an honorary "Woke" award. They said being "woke" is being aware of social problems in the community.

Essence is known as a party with a purpose, so there's always a social element involved.

"The Haitian proverb comes to mind that after every mountain, there is another mountain," Landrieu said today after he accepted the award. "I was hoping that wasn't the end of the proverb. When somebody first said it to me, after every mountain we can take a lap around the pool a lay out and get a pina colada. I was hoping that was the end of the story."

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