We're Not Leaving: Dance & Dissent Party

New Orleans is more than a headline.

In the wake of recent national climate coverage declaring New Orleans a “point of no return,” many people across Southeast Louisiana were left frustrated, exhausted, and once again forced to watch outsiders debate whether our communities deserve a future.

At the same time, communities across Louisiana are grappling with growing uncertainty surrounding voting rights, representation, and the future of the state’s congressional map. In moments like these, when so many people are feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, or unheard, we believe it’s more important than ever to come together.

So we’re responding the New Orleans way: together.

We’re Not Leaving: Dance & Dissent Party is a community gathering rooted in joy, resistance, culture, and collective care. Hosted by The Water Collaborative (TWC) and Glass Half Full (GHF), this event brings people together to process climate anxiety, challenge harmful narratives, and celebrate the people who continue fighting for this city every single day.

The evening will feature:
🌊 Waterside Chats with local leaders, organizers, and cultural voices
🎧 DJs and dancing throughout the night
🤝 Community action tables from local organizations
✨ Space to connect, organize, grieve, celebrate, and move together

Facilitated by TWC Executive Director Jessica Dandridge-Smith & GHF Co-Founder and CEO Franziska Trautmann, the conversations throughout the evening will explore climate narratives, displacement, media harm, resilience, and what it means to fight for the future of New Orleans without abandoning the people who already call it home.

Because this city has never survived through fear alone.
We survive through culture. Through joy. Through each other.

Come dance. Come organize. Come remember that we are not powerless.

We’re not leaving.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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Host or Publisher The Water Collaborative