St. Bernard Parish struggled to recover after Hurricane Katrina and the devastating floods of 2005. Daneeta and Patrick Jackson, who lived in a relative’s home in Chalmette after the storm, take the bare slabs and dark nights of post-disaster Chalmette as inspiration in “Chalmatia: A Fictional Place Down the Road,” at the Contemporary Arts Center, opening Saturday. … Continue reading →
It can raise your cholesterol, expand your waist and clog your arteries, but it can also make you smile and put your diet plans on hold for just a day. We’re talking about fried food, and on Father’s Day weekend, there’s an entire festival devoted to the sumptuous if sinful fare. The first Southern Fried … Continue reading →
Southern Fried Swamp Fest Music Schedule Capital One Stage 11 a.m. Country Fried 1 p.m. Johnny Angel & the Swingin’ Demons 3 p.m. Jean “Mr. Big Stuff’’ Knight Continue reading →
Sir John Falstaff, whose bumbling, stumbling, intoxicatingly fumbling exploits had the groundlings at the Globe Theater rollicking with laughter 415 years ago, will toast the opening production of the New Orleans Shakespeare Festival at Tulane University this weekend. Widely acknowledged as the funniest of the bard’s 37 plays, “The Merry Wives of Windsor” opens Thursday … Continue reading →
Last year was pianist and organist Joe Krown’s 20th as a New Orleans musician. In a city with a great piano-playing tradition and many talented modern-day practitioners of the keyboard arts, Krown is among the most recognizable piano men. He plays most Sundays at the Maple Leaf Bar, for instance, with the … Continue reading →
The Eat Local Challenge, held in June each year, is in full swing. Farmer’s markets brimming with local produce provide home cooks with fresh flavors — some familiar, some surprising. Meanwhile, more than 40 local restaurants have added the “Eat Local” stamp to their menus, promising New Orleanians that they can dine out and still meet … Continue reading →
FRIDAY NIGHTS AT NOMA: 5 p.m., New Orleans Museum of Art, 1 Collins Diboll Circle, City Park, New Orleans. Lecture by Judith H. Bonner. (504) 658-4100 or http://noma.org. OPENING RECEPTION FOR CHALMATIA - A FICTIONAL PLACE DOWN THE ROAD: 6 p.m.-9 p.m., Contemporary Arts Center, 900 Camp St., New … Continue reading →
MEET THE AUTHOR: noon, Orientation Center and Museum Store, National World War II Museum, 945 Magazine St., New Orleans. Susan Morrison will discuss her book “Home Front Girl: A Diary of Love, Literature and Growing up in Wartime America.” http://www.nationalww2museum.org or (504) 528-1944, ext. 229. BICYCLING THE BACK TRAILS AND TIPS TO TRAIL RIDING: … Continue reading →
“OH, THOSE BABY DOLLS” ACT II, TO DIE FOR: 7:45 p.m., The Old U.S. Mint, 400 Esplanade Ave., New Orleans. $20, general admission; $15, seniors and students. http://www.thelmf.org. “SANCTIFIED”: 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday; 3 p.m., Sunday, Anthony Bean Community Theater, 1333 S. Carrollton Ave., New Orleans. $20, adults; … Continue reading →
THURSDAYS AT TWILIGHT SERIES: 5 p.m., gates open; 6 p.m., performance begins, New Orleans Botanical Garden, City Park, 1 Palm Drive, New Orleans. With Natalie Mae & Her Unturned Tricks. $10, adults; $3, children ages 5-12. http://www.neworleanscitypark/garden. MUMFORD AND SONS: 5 p.m., Mardi Gras World, Port of New Orleans Place, New Orleans. http://www.mumfordandsons.com. Continue reading →
Party for the CoastCelebrate the Louisiana coast while supporting efforts by the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana at a gala with entertainment by the Honey Island Swamp Band. 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Thursday at Generations Hall, 310 Andrew Higgins Drive. $25; call (888) 522-6278. Continue reading →
The French Quarter’s deep history and culture, combined with its oddities and eccentricities, is the muse of the annual Ogden Museum of Southern Art’s Kohlmeyer Circle’s O-Mazing Race — an interactive scavenger hunt that will alter even a local’s perspective of the Quarter. Hundreds of people, in teams of four to eight, will race … Continue reading →
What makes a Creole tomato taste so good? That question, like the delicious tomato itself, is on the tip of everyone’s tongue as the French Market gears up for this weekend’s annual Creole Tomato Festival. The answer is simple: It’s all in the soil. “It’s not about the tree that you put in the ground; … Continue reading →
What happens when a Union soldier is wounded behind Confederate lines, deserts his regiment and is rescued by a group of Southern belles holed up in a dilapidated plantation house? Will he make it out alive? Sorry, no spoilers here. You’ll just have to see “Hell’s Belles” to find out. The original play debuts Friday at … Continue reading →
Despite temperatures that can melt straw hats, the fiddling, singing Michael Doucet of BeauSoleil says it’s cool to play music in the Louisiana heat. “Everybody is out there in it together, so that makes it better,” he said. BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet, Lafayette’s two-time Grammy-winning, 12-time Grammy-nominated Cajun band, is a veteran of the … Continue reading →
The seventh annual Louisiana Cajun-Zydeco Festival takes place Saturday and Sunday on two stages at the Old U.S. Mint. The festival, presented by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, is also programming music at a third stage — at the nearby French Market’s Creole Tomato Festival. The free festival stars Louisiana’s indigenous … Continue reading →
Esplanade Avenue Stage 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mary Broussard & Sweet La La 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Chubby Carrier & the Bayou Swamp Band 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. T-Broussard & the Zydeco Steppers Continue reading →
Hotly anticipated for some time now, the new Peche Seafood Grill might seem a departure for chef Donald Link, whose Herbsaint, Cochon and Butcher menus revere the whole hog. And, to be fair, it is. But don’t get the impression that Peche, on Magazine Street in the CBD, is your standard Crescent City … Continue reading →
‘Sanctified’ In “Sanctified,” the gospel musical-comedy by Javon Johnson, directed by Anthony Bean, a congregation works together to host a revival to save the church. Anthony Bean Community Theater, 1333 S. Carrollton Ave., New Orleans. Opens 8 p.m. Friday; through June 30. $20. (504) 862-7529. http://www.anthonybeantheater.com Continue reading →
“THE ADVENTURES OF BUTT BOY AND TIGGER”: 8 p.m., The Elm Theatre, 220 Julia St., New Orleans. $15. (504) 218-0055 or http://www.elmtheatre.org. “NEXT TO NORMAL”: 7:30 p.m., Thursday-Saturday and 2 p.m., Sunday, Freeport-McMoRan Theater, The Contemporary Arts Center, 900 Camp St., New Orleans. Performance by Southern Repertory Theatre. … Continue reading →
THURSDAYS AT TWILIGHT SERIES: 5 p.m., gates open; 6 p.m., performance begins, New Orleans Botanical Garden, City Park, 1 Palm Drive, New Orleans. With Paul Soniat. $10, adults; $3, children ages 5-12. http://www.neworleanscitypark/garden. SATCHMO SUPPER CLUB: 6 p.m., Whitehead’s on the River, 1755 Tchoupitoulas St., New Orleans. Five course fine dining with live entertainment. … Continue reading →
D-DAY EVENTS: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., National World War II Museum, 945 Magazine St., New Orleans. 11 a.m., recognition ceremony featuring the Victory Belles, remarks by Normandy D-Day survivor Tom Blakey and the ringing of the Normandy Liberty Bell. Noon, Hal Baumgarten presents “D-Day Survivor: An Autobiography.” http://www.nationalww2museum.org. JAMMIN’ ON THE RIVER FOR DOLLARS & SENSE: … Continue reading →
FRIDAY NIGHTS AT NOMA: 5 p.m., New Orleans Museum of Art, 1 Collins Diboll Circle, City Park, New Orleans. Lecture by Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen. (504) 658-4100 or http://noma.org. BIKE GIRLZ: 9 p.m.-midnight, Best Bet, 2350 St. Claude Ave., New Orleans. Artist Missy Graham presents “Bike Girlz,” an art … Continue reading →
The month of June might not end in the letter “r,” but that’s never kept New Orleanians from enjoying one of their most beloved, supported and defended foods: the humble, simple, beautiful oyster. Louisiana and the Gulf Coast have long been famous for their bivalves, since the waters of the Gulf and surrounding environs agree so … Continue reading →
Good food, great music, local arts and crafts, a peek at antique cars, a volleyball tournament and even a road race — it’s all there at the 24th annual Back to the Beach Festival this weekend in Kenner’s Laketown. Sponsored by the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, the festival, held at the end of Williams Boulevard … Continue reading →
but now you can see it isn’t just me we are all one family the lower nine Nia Gates, age 13 (excerpt from poem “My Neighborhood is Changing”) Photographs on display anchored by a giant prose-poem capture the creative spirit of a host of youngsters from the Lower 9th … Continue reading →
Two and a half years after they went dark, the lights are finally back on at Le Petit Theatre. The nearly 100-year-old performance hall in the heart of the French Quarter recently announced its 2013-14 season, and show tickets go on sale Saturday. The announcement appears to bring an end to nearly three years of … Continue reading →
“Just Beneath the Surface,” the opening song on Dawes’ new album, “Stories Don’t End,” has melody, poignancy and cadence of the kind heard in the songs of one of this young Los Angeles band’s southern California predecessors, Jackson Browne. Dawes, featuring singer-guitarist Taylor Goldsmith, his drummer brother, Griffin, keyboardist Tay Strathairn and bassist Wylie Gelber, toured … Continue reading →
In the contemporary culinary landscape, it seems, fortune favors the bold. Chefs across the nation are conjuring up ever more complex flavor profiles and presentations, often inspired by kitchen chemists and “molecular gastronomy.” To stay hip and relevant, cooks are dreaming big: serving scallops in cigar boxes, caviar on staircases and ceviche in miniature waffle … Continue reading →
SOUTHERN FRIED POETRY SLAM The 21st Annual Southern Fried Poetry Slam, Wednesday through June 8, brings the word to various locations in New Orleans. Poets recite original works for cash prizes, and each performance is judged by five randomly selected members of the audience. Free to $7 per event and $10 for … Continue reading →
WORKPLACE WELLNESS LUNCHEON: noon-1:30 p.m., Ashé Cultural Arts Center, 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., New Orleans. Featuring Chef Leah Sarris, program director for the Center for Culinary Medicine at Tulane University. Free. Registration required. (504) 569-9070. MEET THE AUTHOR: 5 p.m., reception; 6 p.m., presentation; 7 p.m., book signing, U.S. Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing … Continue reading →
FRIDAY NIGHTS AT NOMA: 5 p.m., New Orleans Museum of Art, 1 Collins Diboll Circle, City Park, New Orleans. Artist Perspective with Mignon Faget. (504) 658-4100 or http://noma.org. JULIE ROBINSON RECEPTION: 6 p.m.-8 p.m., Octavia Art Gallery, 4532 Magazine St., New Orleans. Reception for the exhibition of Julie Robinson’s new … Continue reading →
“THE ADVENTURES OF BUTT BOY AND TIGGER”: 8 p.m., The Elm Theatre, 220 Julia St., New Orleans. $15. (504) 218-0055 or http://www.elmtheatre.org. “NEXT TO NORMAL”: 7:30 p.m., Thursday-Saturday and 2 p.m., Sunday, Freeport-McMoRan Theater, The Contemporary Arts Center, 900 Camp St., New Orleans. Performance by Southern Repertory Theatre. (504) 522-6545. Continue reading →
THURSDAYS AT TWILIGHT SERIES: 5 p.m., gates open; 6 p.m., performance begins, New Orleans Botanical Garden, City Park, 1 Palm Drive, New Orleans. With Lena Prima. $10, adults; $3, children ages 5-12. http://www.neworleanscitypark.com. OGDEN AFTER HOURS: 6 p.m.-8 p.m., Ogden Museum of Southern Art, 925 Camp St., New Orleans. Tribute to Gary Hirstius. (504) … Continue reading →
To be Greek for a day is to be welcomed into a large, expansive family that wants most to feed you, laugh with you and share stories of their culture. At this year’s 40th anniversary Greek Festival at Holy Trinity Cathedral, revelers can expect just that. Festival-goers are invited to be Greek for a day … Continue reading →
The annual Greek Festival, this weekend at Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral, is a celebration of food, music and fun. But there’s a serious side to the event as well — one that has to do with heritage and faith. Magdalene Maag, chair of the archives committee for Holy Trinity, has been hard at work arranging selections … Continue reading →
Arnez J’s act is, in a word, energetic. The veteran comedian is a blur onstage, jumping between impressions of his mom to a dancing uncle to a whole family of rednecks he once met at a baseball game. The physicality of Arnez J’s act makes perfect sense when one considers that before becoming a standup comedian, … Continue reading →
Alex McMurray may be the hardest-working man in New Orleans show business. His myriad projects include the Alex McMurray Band, the Tin Men (a sousaphone-washboard-guitar trio), the Valparaiso Mens Chorus (a sea chanty group), the Tom Paines (a folk duo) and 007 (an all-star ska band). With a schedule that would make a conventionally employed … Continue reading →
In “Re-Designing Women,” four women running an interior design building have something very special in common. It turns out they’re all really men. Still, “Re-Designing Women,” opening this week at Mid-City Theatre, is not a spoof about men in drag performing women’s roles. This is not “To Wong Foo.” “We are playing the characters as … Continue reading →
The small building at 1919 Burgundy St. is surrounded by quiet Faubourg Marigny homes, but at night its performance space, home to The New Movement Theater, comes alive with uproarious laughter. It’s ostensibly the home of an improv comedy troupe, which stages several popular shows a week. But in a larger sense The New Movement has, … Continue reading →
Every few years a wave of nostalgia grabs ahold of the American pop-cultural heartstrings, and before you know it some previous era revives itself in our movies, our music, even our food. The 1980s had a love affair with the 1960s, and back in the mid/late 1990s, big bands, zoot suits and swing dancing took hold for a … Continue reading →
THURSDAYS AT TWILIGHT SERIES: 5 p.m., gates open; 6 p.m., performance begins, New Orleans Botanical Garden, City Park, 1 Palm Drive, New Orleans. With Alex McMurray. $10, adults; $3, children ages 5-12. http://www.neworleanscitypark.com/garden. OGDEN AFTER HOURS: 6 p.m.-8 p.m., Ogden Museum of Southern Art, 925 Camp St., New Orleans. Featuring Seth Walker. (504) … Continue reading →
“THE ADVENTURES OF BUTT BOY AND TIGGER”: 8 p.m., The Elm Theatre, 220 Julia St., New Orleans. $15. (504) 218-0055 or http://www.elmtheatre.org. “NEXT TO NORMAL”: 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, Freeport-McMoRan Theater, The Contemporary Arts Center, 900 Camp St., New Orleans. Performance by Southern Repertory Theatre. (504) 522-6545. Continue reading →