Related: New Orleans reflects on lessons of hurricane Katrina, 10 years on  A difficult day began with a wreath-laying ceremony and ended with a party, as New Orleans marked the 10th anniversary of hurricane Katrina’s landfall by remembering what was lost and rejoicing in what remains.  In a city famed for its music it was fitting that the keynote speech of the Power of Community commemoration should be delivered by a noted saxophonist.  Bill Clinton has plenty more that that on his resumé, of course. The former president turned philanthropist, who along with George Bush Sr raised about $130m for disaster relief in the storm’s wake, used his speech on Saturday to laud New Orleans for its against-the-odds recovery and unique spirit and to urge residents to battle problems that blight the city just as surely as still-derelict homes in still-recovering neighbourhoods: chief among them, inequality.  Though the programme of music, prayers and speeches was the signature official event, and tickets were free, the 18,000-capacity Smoothie King Center, where the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans play, was less than a quarter full.  The meagre crowd might partly be explained by the ambivalence of some New Orleanians towards this high-profile anniversary of a trauma that many would prefer to forget. The storm killed more than 1,800 people in the region, displaced about a million, caused an estimated $151bn in damage and left four-fifths of New Orleans under water.  The low numbers inside probably also had something to do with the hundreds of people who were massed outside the stadium as Clinton spoke, acknowledging Katrina in a less scripted but more traditional fashion.  Related: Uneven Katrina recovery leaves Lower Ninth Ward with little love for presidents  A “second-line” parade of brass bands, dancers and spectators snaked its way through downtown streets to the outside of the arena, where members of the Stooges band were waiting to join them.  Walter Ramsey, the founder and leader, said he had “mixed feelings” about commemorating the anniversary so prominently, “but in New Orleans we celebrate life, we’ve got to do this. It’s part of our nature.”  Trombone in his left hand, the 35-year-old added, shortly before he and his band members were absorbed into the booming throng: “The city is coming back and it’s coming back stronger.”  Dustin Thomas, a hip-hop artist, said he thinks people “probably do want to forget the storm, man. It’s been on TV a lot and I really just want to change the channel.” Aged 16 at the time, he and his family evacuated to Mississippi, then he lived for spells in Atlanta and Dallas.  “Why do I want to remember it?” he asked as the Treme Sidewalk Steppers, the Sudan Social and Pleasure Club and others rounded a corner to arrive in the shadow of the refurbished Superdome, the football arena that changed from being one of the city’s most cherished monuments to a storm-battered shelter for thousands.  The parade was led by a venerable but sprightly grand marshal in a black bowler hat, sunglasses and suit. Strutting behind, men in sweat-stained shirts twirled garish, feathery umbrellas while a man in a baseball cap narrowly avoided bumping into them as he drove in figure-of-eight patterns on a mobility scooter.  One man riding a horse stood on the saddle and started to dance. Others held posters with slogans such as “Still on the map” and “our home”. Two large mail trucks insisted on driving down the blocked street and had to be guided through the gyrating hordes by police. As an example of New Orleans’ boisterous approach to sombre occasions, the parade was characteristic in its idiosyncrasies.  Related: New Orleans' beautiful complexity was the one thing Katrina didn't wash away | Amber Qureshi  Power of Community was the culmination of a week of reflections of the city’s past and analysis of its present and future. There were more than three dozen events on Saturday, from a fiesta honoring the Latino immigrants who helped rebuild the city, to a chess festival, to a theatre piece called Katrina: Mother In Law of ‘Em All.  In the morning, the mayor, Mitch Landrieu, and other civic leaders, placed wreaths at a memorial to unclaimed or unidentified storm victims.  George W Bush, who was president when the levees failed, made a stop at a school on Friday and hailed the changes made to New Orleans’ education system. President Obama, who visited on Thursday, praised the city’s progress but said it had long been plagued by inequality.  Clinton told the audience it was every American’s job “always to form a more perfect union.” He fondly recalled past visits, as president and in his youth, including one occasion when as a 15-year-old he was turned away from a nightclub, only for one of his musical heroes, the trumpeter Al Hirt, to let him in.  “On and on and on I have seen this city in every state of repair and disrepair that has existed, for more than 50 years, and even when I was a kid I was paying attention,” Clinton said.  Related: What Katrina left behind: New Orleans' uneven recovery and unending divisions  “You will not lose the history of jazz or the flavour of your gumbo. You can still dance your way down the street at the end of a burial. You will not lose what you offer, if, all of a sudden, without regard to race, we have the same chances at education, jobs, income, healthcare, everything,” he added.  “I’m just telling you, you’ve got a lot to celebrate tonight. But the celebration must be leavened by rededication. The people who died left behind memories and loved ones and legacies that deserve to be fully redeemed by erasing the lines that divide us.  “So my take on this is: have a good time New Orleans, you’ve earned it. Give yourself a pat on the back, you’ve earned it. Laugh tonight and dance to the music, you earned it. And tomorrow, wake up and say – ‘look at what we did. I bet we can do the rest, too’.”
Meagre crowd attends signature event with Bill Clinton, but hundreds gather in the street for music and dancing to end a day that began with wreath laying