Good Nola

Good Nola is Getting a Makeover

2011-04-20T11:26:00.000-05:00

Dear readers,

We are making some changes, please bare with us! Expect a new and improved website by the beginning of next week! Hope you enjoy.

Shercole

NEW ORLEANS IS GETTING A “MAKE-OGRE” SHREK THE MUSICAL

2011-04-11T12:54:00.002-05:00

DreamWorks Theatricals and Neal Street Productions, Ltd. are pleased to announce that SHREK THE MUSICAL will play at the Mahalia Jackson Theater for eight performances: Tuesday, May 31 – Sunday, June 5, 2011. Tickets go on sale Friday, April 8 at 11:00 AM.

The role of everyone’s favorite swamp-dwelling ogre, Shrek, will be played by Eric Petersen, who joins the tour from the Broadway production. He recently appeared as the socially challenged Barfee in the National tour of The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Haven Burton, also from the Broadway Company, will play the feisty Princess Fiona. Haven previously played Margo the Dog Whisperer on Broadway in Legally Blonde and understudied Elle Woods. Alan Mingo, Jr. is Shrek’s lovably annoying best friend Donkey. He was an original company member of The Little Mermaid where he played the role of Sebastian, and prior to that played the role of Tom Collins in RENT on Broadway. David F. M. Vaughnplays the vertically challenged villain Lord Farquaad. He, too, joins the tour from the Broadway Company. He also has appeared in Les Misérables and Saturday Night Fever.

Rounding out the cast of misfit fairy tale characters, the peoples of Duloc and Far, Far Away are: Joe Abraham, Holly Ann Butler, Carrie Compere, Emily Cramer, Tyrone Davis, Jr., Sandra DeNise, Hayley Feinstein, David Foley, Aymee Garcia, Brian Gonzales, Derek Hanson, Benjamin Howes, Cara Kem, Sean McKnight, Mara Newbery, Denny Paschall, Sarah Peak, Keven Quillon, Morgan Rose, Jason W. Shuffler, Blakely Slaybaugh, Danielle Soibelman and Julius Thomas III.

“We are thrilled to send SHREK THE MUSICAL to theatres across the country,” said Bill Damaschke, President of DreamWorks Theatricals, “and for American families to experience their favorite ogre and fairy tale creatures live on stage.”

An entirely new musical, SHREK THE MUSICAL is based on the story and characters from William Steig’s book Shrek!, as well as the DreamWorks Animation film Shrek, the first chapter of the Shrek movie series.

SHREK THE MUSICAL tells the story of a swamp-dwelling ogre who goes on a life-changing adventure to reclaim the deed to his land. Joined by a wise-cracking donkey, this unlikely hero fights a fearsome dragon, rescues a feisty princess and learns that real friendship and true love aren’t only found in fairy tales.

SHREK THE MUSICAL features a book and lyrics by Pulitzer Prize^® winner David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole), music by Olivier Award-winner Jeanine Tesori (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Caroline, or Change), and is directed by Tony Award^®nominee Jason Moore (Avenue Q) and Tony and Emmy Award-winner Rob Ashford (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Promises Promises). SHREK THE MUSICAL has set and costume designs by Tony Award^® winner Tim Hatley (Private Lives, Spamalot), lighting design by Olivier Award winner Hugh Vanstone (A Steady Rain), sound design by Peter Hylenski(Rock of Ages); choreography by Josh Prince, music supervision by Tim Weil, music direction by Andy Grobengieser, and orchestrations by Danny Troob & John Clancy.

SHREK THE MUSICAL was initiated when Sam Mendes, a big fan of the first Shrek film, suggested the idea of creating a musical to DreamWorks Animation’s Jeffrey Katzenberg around the time the second film was in production. The musical is produced by DreamWorks Theatricals (Bill Damaschke, President of DreamWorks Theatricals and Co-President of Production for DreamWorks Animation) and Neal Street Productions, Ltd. (principals Sam Mendes and Caro Newling).

Schedule and Tickets:

The eight performances are scheduled from Tuesday, May 31 – Sunday, June 5 2011. Performances are Tuesday through Friday at 8:00PM, Saturday at 2:00PM and 8:00PM, and Sunday at 2:00PM and 7:30PM.

Tickets go on sale Friday, April 8 at 11:00 AM. For more information on tickets, visit http://BroadwayInNewOrleans.com,http://www.mahaliajacksontheater.com or the Mahalia Jackson Box Office. Tickets are also available at all Ticketmaster locations, http://www.ticketmaster.com or via phone at 800-982-2787 (ARTS). Group discounts for 20 or more are available by calling 504-287-0372.

For more information, visit www.ShrekTheMusical.com or http://www.mahaliajacksontheater.com/event/15242. Join the award-winning Shrekster.com, the Official Fan community of Shrek The Musical delivering news, media and exclusive contests to fans of the Shrek Series and Shrek the Musical. Log in and join the New Orleans group for access to the most up to the date news, information and member’s only exclusive content form Shrek and Donkey’s first “whirlwind, big city adventure” across the country: www.shrekster.com/neworleans.

Mahalia Jackson Theater is located in Armstrong Park at 801 N. Rampart Street, New Orleans, Louisiana. Information on the Capital One Bank Broadway Across America-New Orleans series and venue policies and accommodations may be obtained online at www.mahaliajacksontheater.com. Group Sales information is available at 504-287-0372. Box Office information is available at 504-287-0351.

Why New Orleans Is the Coolest Start-up City in America

2011-04-09T10:42:00.000-05:00

Everyone in New Orleans has a Katrina story, and those tales are typically tinged with loss, frustration, and grief. Five years after the storm, you still hear them, of course, and you still see evidence of the devastation that killed over 1,800 people and left more than one million homeless. But Katrina gave New Orleans another story to tell, and it's one that just may have a happy ending for the city's entrepreneurs. Each year from 2007 to 2009, 450 out of every 100,000 adults started up businesses in the New Orleans metro area, well above the national average of 320, and more than double the number six year ago.
FULL STORY

FestivalCrashers:001

2011-04-08T10:30:00.001-05:00

Each year I and my cousins Deshandalyn, Helen and Regine take in as many festivals as possible. We love the food, art, music and most importantly the people. Each year our festival attendance goals get more ambitious. This year we wanted to step it up a little. We decided to call ourselves “The Festival Crashers”; we are like a mix of tornado chasers meets Wedding Crashers. This year we plan to attend 30 festivals if not more, hopefully our super powers will kick in.

We started our season as The Festival Crashers with attendance to two festivals on Saturday. We visited Fete Festival and Freret Street Festival. Fete Festival was a fundraiser for Ecole Bilingue de la Nouvelle-Orléans. The festival had local eateries, music and lots of children activities. Highlight: Frites and more Frites.

Next we visited one of our favorite festivals, Freret Street Festival. So much culture lined Freret Street for you to take in! The food, art, the people is an indulgence like no other. We walked the street overdosing on the beautiful are of different forms from the creative people you can find throughout the city. We witnessed headbands shaped like cupcakes, hats any mad hatter would love, art that probably belongs in a museum and just so much more. The high concentration of the creative class in New Orleans just is mind boggling. Then along different streets we experience all types of music from rock to brass bands.

The food decisions were tough so many wonderful things to pick from! We all felt it was necessary to indulge in Shrimp and Chicken Pasta from Good Eats Catering, which definitely made it into our Top 10 pastas you have to taste in your life! That yummy goodness will keep you smiling all evening. Thanks Owner Samantha Massey!

We felt the best way to wash it down was with a snoball, is there really any other way? We had a huge snoballs from Snola that kept us definitely cooled down. My wedding cake snoball will be on my mind all week!

Freret Street Festival definitely left some pretty high standards and requirements for the rest of festival season.

Let us know your favorite festival.

Here are some things we saw along the way!

Baked Buffalo Wings With Blue Cheese Dressing

2011-04-06T13:01:00.018-05:00

Contrary to popular belief, I was not born in the south but in a cold, lovely northern town called Buffalo NY, which is also the birthplace of the legendary Buffalo Wings. They originated at a little place called Anchor Bar and unsurprisingly go well with cold beer and a good game on TV. They also make good use of Louisiana’s famous hot sauces. Traditionally, margarine is the fat in the sauce but I prefer butter for “health” reasons. In this line of thinking, I like to bake my “healthy” version of those famous wings rather than deep-fry them. Fear not, fellow gluttons—I’m including a recipe for an equally unhealthy blue cheese dressing. Enjoy.

FOR THE CHICKEN WINGS

· 3.5 lbs chicken wings (15 whole wings), fresh or thawed

· 1 cup all-purpose flour

· 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

· 1 tablespoon kosher salt

· 1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

Preheat the oven to 425°. Pat the wings dry with a paper towel and season them with the salt and pepper. Toss them in a bowl with the oil in. Put the flour in a Ziplock bag and put the wings inside, shaking the bag to cover them evenly with the flour. Remove the wings from the bag one-by-one, shaking the excess flour off each one. Put them on a nonstick baking tray or on a regular baking tray with greased aluminum foil, being careful not to crowd them. Bake for 20 minutes, then turn them over and bake for another 20 minutes. Toss the wings gently with the Buffalo sauce and serve with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing.

FOR THE BUFFALO SAUCE

· 9 tablespoons Frank’s RedHot (or other Louisiana hot sauce)

· 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (or margarine)

· 2 teaspoons Tabasco (or Crystal)

· 1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar

· 1/4 teaspoon cayenne

· 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

· 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

· 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

While the wings bake, combine all the sauce ingredients in a pan or small pot and bring to a simmer over low heat. Turn off the heat. That’s all. The sauce might seem extremely buttery, which may convince you as to why I baked the wings instead of deep-frying them. This recipe is for a medium level of spiciness. If you prefer mild, remove a few spoons of RedHot and Tabasco accordingly and substitute paprika for the cayenne. If you prefer more heat, add more cayenne.

FOR THE BLUE CHEESE DRESSING

· 3/4 cup sour cream

· 1 1/3 cups mayonnaise

· 4 ounces blue cheese, chopped or crumbled

· 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

· 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

· 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

· 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

· 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Whisk together the sour cream, mayo, and Worcestershire. Mix in the garlic and mustard powders, salt, and pepper. Mix in the blue cheese. (I prefer to preserve the chunks rather than make the dressing completely smooth.)

The dressing actually tastes better after sitting in the fridge for a few hours or even overnight. Also a block of actual blue cheese tastes better than the pre-crumbled pre-packaged variety, trust me.

Companies donate $150,000 for New Orleans recreation programs

2011-04-06T10:29:00.001-05:00

Mayor Mitch Landrieu this morning is set to announce $150,000 in private donations to help pay for recreation programs in New Orleans.

Grant Capital Management, a Maryland-based provider of lease financing to the public sector, has given $100,000 to the New Orleans Recreation Development Foundation, the fund-raising arm of the NORD Commission, a public-private entity that voters authorized last year to take over the city's struggling Recreation Department.
FULL STORY

A Green-It-Yourself Workshop

2011-04-05T20:00:00.002-05:00

A Green-It-Yourself Workshop: Financing Green Upgrades- Tax Incentives and Green Loans

Interested in improving the energy efficiency of your home but not sure how to finance the upgrades? Take part in this workshop to learn how to find the funds to green your house. Jackie Dadakis of Clean Energy Solutions and Terri Miller and Penny Sandras of ASI Federal Credit Union will be on hand to discuss tax incentives, rebate programs, and green loans that can help you invest in energy and money-saving home improvements.

Tuesday, April 26

6pm-8pm

Green Building Resource Center

841 Carondelet St.

New Orleans, LA 70130

TENNESSEE WILLIAMS/NEW ORLEANS LITERARY FESTIVAL Reminder

2011-04-05T14:40:00.000-05:00

The beauty of springtime in New Orleans is unparalleled. Especially in the French Quarter. The sun is bright and warm on the faces of school children on field trips, walking hand-in-hand with their little heads cocked back as they watch the centuries old architecture move slowly along. Foliage on the trees that line select streets is as green as you’ve seen anyplace else. Sweet breezes flow into open doors and floor-to-ceiling windows and rustle unfolded napkins in the laps of restaurant patrons. Sunlight presses softly on the shoulders of young Spring-breakers getting an early start on Bourbon Street. Coming out of winter and just before summer, the weather in New Orleans is perfect and Tennessee Williams, whose birthday is situated in the center of that corridor of time, would not have had it any other way. It has been during this time for the past twenty-five years that New Orleans has hosted a festival in the playwright’s honor. For a long four-day weekend, The Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival takes over various venues across the French Quarter, not only to commemorate the author and his contributions to American arts and letters, but also to observe other leaders in literature, film, music, and other creative arts.

The Festival’s appeal is broad, covering topics everywhere from jazz music, to sports writing, to cooking demonstrations. The Festival draws presenters who have reached worldwide acclaim and although the Festival brings in these varied talents and does not generally operate on a central “theme,” when I attended the Festival on Friday, March 25 I seemed to fall into events that centered on the distinct Southern-ness of the works of the Festival’s presenters.

The first panel I attended was all about rising talents in Southern literature. I took a seat in the nearly-full grand ballroom of the Royal Sonesta Hotel, which occupies a block of Bourbon Street between Bienville and Conti. The room, a large rectangle, had three double-door entrances at the rear and was filled with chairs laid out in long, neat rows. Large, ornate chandeliers hung from the high ceilings, decorative trim lined the walls, and intricate plaster patterns adorned the bases of fixtures. In the front of the room was a modest stage with a skirted table, just high enough that anyone seated in the audience could see. Flanking the table on one side was a large podium bearing the hotel’s insignia. A modest banner hung in the center of the stage above the table which read: TENNESSEE WILLIAMS/NEW ORLEANS LITERARY FESTIVAL—a simple reminder.

Proclaimed as the voices of the New South, authors Josh Russell, Skip Horack, and Minrose Gwin discussed, in the context of their latest works, how they differ from Southern writers in that they don’t fall into archetypal stories of the Old, antebellum South. Their stories, were mostly about outsiders, immigrants or indentured servants who were brought here—sometimes by force—and their respective characters had to adapt to a life that we would find typical, ordinary—and their stories prove that life in the New South is anything but conventional.

I had met Skip a couple years ago at the last Louisiana Book Festival in Baton Rouge and I was eager to catch up with him. Skip spent a number of years in Baton Rouge, so he was well acquainted with the region, and in talking to him I learned that he was glad to be back in New Orleans. Because last year’s Louisiana Book Festival was cancelled due to State Library budget cuts, Skip wasn’t able to come down and promote his newest novel. But luckily, next year’s festival is back on, so Skip and other writers who want to come back to South Louisiana will have the chance in 2011.

After the New Southern Voices panel I came out of the ballroom and wandered up the corridor of the hotel, stretching my legs and fiddling with my cell phone. I paused when I noticed Robert Olen Butler coming off the elevator. He held a sleek leather portfolio under his arm. His feet moved briskly on the shiny floor. His eyes were focused on the half-dozen people crowding the doorway of the Regal Suite—the room where he would read from several typed pages that were the first chapter from his forthcoming novel. His concentration and stride broke and he swung himself in my direction when I stepped up to him and said: “Mr. Butler, Would you sign my book?”

He took the paperback copy of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain—which earned him a Pulitzer—from my hands and said he’d love to autograph it. We found a spot for him to set the book down and he folded back the cover, found the title page. As he inscribed a little note and his signature he said, “You know, if this is the only copy you’ve read then you haven’t read the entire book.”

I told him I didn’t understand and he responded: “Well, when Penguin’s rights to the book expired, Grove Press picked it up and I added two Vietnam stories.” With a slight smirk on his face, as if he loved telling this story, he continued, “There are two bonus tracks on the Grove Press edition.” I told him that I was looking forward to getting that edition so I could read the new stories. We chatted for a few minutes more, mostly about a former creative writing teach of mine whom Butler had instructed in the MFA program at McNeese back in the 90s. Before heading into the room for the reading, Robert Olen Butler—affectionately known to the other authors as Bob—told me that New Orleans was a great city to be in, especially for a writer. It was made apparent that Butler, as many writers do, holds a deep affection for our city when he read that first chapter—about a woman taking a room at familiar hotel in the French Quarter.

Later in the day I attended the Southern Humor panel, and it did not disappoint. Authors James Wilcox, Mark Childress, and Dorothy Allison spoke to the notion that we as southerners have a humor that is distinct to this region and, oftentimes, leaves those not familiar with our way of life both confused and uncomfortable. Wilcox attributed the distinctness in southern humor to the fact that many of us are born into bizarre circumstances, entrenched in the absurd at a very early age. He recounted that when he was born in Hammond he and another baby were switched at the hospital and sent home with the wrong parents, the error having been found out days later! Dorothy Allison upped the ante when she told her story. She was an illegitimate child to two fifteen year olds. Allison was, her parents being children themselves, raised largely by her aunts. One day, not long after her birth, her young father came to the house to claim her and take her with him. The aunts stood by as he picked up Allison, and those aunts were hurled into a fit of laughter when Allison—the bastard child of this fifteen year old boy—relieved herself all over him, after which he let her down and ran away. The panel knew that this story was certainly peculiar to the South, and that if it were told to the wrong crowd, the reactions would be so different than the roaring laughter that exploded from the ballroom.

I truly didn’t know what to expect when I headed back into the ballroom for the Conversation with Winston Groom. I am unfamiliar with his work, but my girlfriend is fan so, trusting her judgment, I knew it would be worthwhile. He was larger than I had expected. Well over six feet tall—built like the former University of Alabama football player he is. He sat comfortably in his chair with his hands perched in his lap, fingers interlocked the way a storyteller would do. His voice, deep and certain and unmistakably southern, resounds with life experience. He had been to rigorous military school as a young boy, played collegiate sports, served in the United States Army in Vietnam. Groom had lived and worked in major American cities like New York and Washington. He spent his days with famous literary figures, speaking of people like Truman Capote and Kurt Vonnegut the way any of us would tell stories about our college roommates.

Groom told anecdotes about being a fiction writer. He said when he had finally decided that’s what he wanted to do with his life he was working at the Washington Star. His epiphany moment came when, one day, sitting at his desk in the news room he realized that he “did not want to be one of those journalists who, whenever he opened the top desk drawer, would find a pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes, a pint bottle of whiskey, and an unfinished manuscript of a novel.” Groom leaned back in his chair and smiled as he said, “And I knew that if I told my editor that I was leaving to write fiction, I could never set food back in that newsroom.” And that’s what he did—going on to pen eight best-selling novels, one of which was the famed Forrest Gump—which earned Groom national recognition at the time of its publication and worldwide acclaim once it was optioned for the film starring Tom Hanks. Despite the novel’s achievements, Groom spoke of the “little book” with a humility that is reminiscent of the novel’s main character, Forrest, referring to its title in a sweet, almost grandfatherly voice as simply: “Gump.”

After the Conversation, Winston Groom adjourned to a suite adjacent to the grand ballroom for an autograph session. Nestled tightly in the corner and draped in a beige tablecloth was the small round table where Groom sat. The table looked even smaller in front of the man’s large frame. A line formed and in a matter of moments was out the door. People stood in crooked single file clutching copies of Groom’s various works and chatting with one another about their excitement for meeting the man whose words they had followed for years. Groom removed his glasses and set them aside as the first person presented him with a book. Like most writers, Groom supplied his own ink pen. The man took his time talking with each person, signing their title pages thoughtfully, and wishing them a good day. When it was finally my turn I handed him a copy of Forrest Gump and he examined the cover and smiled, then looked up at me and asked my name in a soft, sweet voice—not the commanding one he used during the conversation.

“My name is Zach, but the book actually belongs to my girlfriend. Could you make it out to Lauren?”

He obliged. As he wrote, his mouth moved but I couldn’t make out what he was saying. His voice held a quiet, almost inaudible reverence. There was a meekness about this man who had accomplished so much. He sat with his knees nearly touching and his large feet jutting out from under the table so far that I had to side step them to keep from tripping as I leaned down, asking him to repeat what he had said. Carrying South Alabama in his mouth, Groom said: “Where are you from? Here in New Orleeyuns?”

“No sir,” I said. “I’m from Shreveport and my girlfriend is from Baton Rouge; we moved to New Orleans last summer.”

He pushed himself back from the table, thought for a moment as if recalling dozens of memories all at once. He smiled a wide toothy smile and said: “Oh, isn’t this a great city to be in?”

Indeed, New Orleans is a great city to be in. Maybe even the greatest. I think it was for Tennessee Williams. Few writers have taken as much from this city as he did. Like Faulkner said, New Orleans was the last of the bohemias—a place where literature and art and music flourish like nowhere else. Earlier that day Josh Russell read a passage from his latest novel (about a German immigrant coming to New Orleans) and the words stayed in my ears. I thought over them, imagining that they could have been the words of Tennessee Williams himself, or maybe they could have been the words of any one of us:

“I arrived in New Orleans in springtime. My first day in the city I rode the streetcar without a fixed destination, changing lines at every transfer point and searching for signs offering a job and a place to live, signs a sailor promised I would see everywhere I looked. I was eighteen and had been in America for only a few hours; his promise seemed plausible. The car rocked like yet another boat, which was comforting, and from its window I saw, instead of signs, bushes of burning pink flowers I would later learn were azaleas. In the pure light the live oaks glowed like neon signs in the shapes of trees. The Munich March I’d left was cold and gray; New Orleans’s version was warm and green. I smelled perfume coming from behind the ears and off the necks of girls and women on their way from school and shopping, a mingled fragrance of flowers and fruit. When I finally saw a placard in a window advertising a room for let, I stepped down from the car and stood below a blooming tree and realized what I’d smelled was New Orleans.”

YLC KICKS OFF 2011 WEDNESDAY AT THE SQUARE CONCERT SERIES

2011-04-05T13:21:00.003-05:00

The city’s official kickoff to spring is back! Wednesday, March 30 marked the first Wednesday at the Square (WATS) concert of 2011 and featured a performance by The Radiators. Young Leadership Council (YLC), the country’s oldest independent young professionals’ organization, serves as host of the event, which serves as the organization’s largest fundraiser. Since its founding in 1986, the YLC has raised more than $25 million for the community.

The 2011 Wednesday at the Square concert schedule is listed below:

· April 6: Soul Rebels Brass Band / Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue

· April 13: Coot / Kermit Ruffins

· April 20: Honey Island Swamp Band / Anders Osborne

· April 27: Irvin Mayfield & the Jazz Playhouse Revue

· May 4: Gal Holiday & the Honky Tonk Revue / Marcia Ball

· May 11: The Lee Boys / George Porter, Jr.

· May 18: Los Po-Boy-Citos / The Iguanas

· May 25: Navy Band New Orleans Full Steam Brass Band / Tab Benoit

· June 1: The Revivalists / Eric Lindell

· June 8: Marc Stone / Galactic

· June 15: Gravy / Cyril Neville and Monk Boudreaux

Because of the increasing popularity of the free concert series, the YLC is expanding the footprint of the concert grounds to include North Mae St., the area between 650 Poydras and Lafayette Square. The enlarged concert area will accommodate the growing crowd and will help to provide faster service. It will feature an Abita Beer tent, cocktail tables and more ticket booths. Also new this year will be extended sets by premier local performers on select days.

In addition to offering great music, YLC’s Wednesday at the Square features artists from around the city and across the region selling glass art, handmade jewelry, ceramics, photographs, t-shirts, paintings and more. A varied selection of food and beverages is available with proceeds from these sales benefitting the YLC’s many community projects that help to improve the quality of life in the region such as Power Ties, College Admissions Project, Seeds of Change and One Book One New Orleans. Food and beverage tickets are available on-site and online at www.wednesdayatthesquare.com.

Outdoor Nola: Festivals

2011-04-01T13:06:00.004-05:00

Festival Season is upon us!!! If it seems everywhere you look people are celebrating something (including every ingredient of every Louisiana dish), it’s because they are. In the coming months, there will be festivals in the Greater New Orleans area dedicated to each of the following: wine, French culture, oysters, strawberries, jazz, barbeque, tomatoes, Italian culture, crawfish, Zydeco music, watermelons, beer, gospel, cocktails, shrimp, oranges, Greek culture, and many, many more.

This past weekend was Roadfood Festival and the Tennessee Williams Festival. The Roadfood festival, , which took place on the 300-600 blocks of Royal St. in the French Quarter, featured small plates from all over the United States. It also featured a beignet-eating contest between the Fire Department and the Police Department as well as free samples of the world’s largest po-boy, estimated at three city blocks long. The Tennessee Williams Festival, always a classic in New Orleans, took place last weekend as well, featuring literary events as well as its infamous “Stella” shouting contest.

Coming up this weekend, we have the Freret Street Festival on April 2^nd, which is basically a mega-version of the usual market. This year there will be four stages of music as well as the usual food, crafts, drinks, and general merriment. If you’re feeling cultural, also stop by the annual Fete Français at Ecole Bilingue on General Pershing Street. This event features French food, music, and children’s activities.

If you were hoping to escape the city, it’s a perfect weekend to head over to Algiers Point on the free ferry leaving from the French Quarter. This weekend is the annual Old Algiers River Fest featuring gospel and brass band music, food, and a Mardi Gras Indian parade! There will also be free shuttles from the ferry landing to the festival.

On Saturday night, if you are feeling artsy, the New Orleans Art District is presenting Jammin’ On Julia- a fundraiser featuring music, food, and 21 museums and galleries opening from 6-9 to showcase some amazing artwork.

All of these events are going on THIS weekend! It is a perfect weekend to take advantage of all of these wonderful free outdoor events complete with music, food, and drinks- what more could you want? This, in fact, is only a preview of even more Louisiana festivals to come later on this month. Next week is the famous French Quarter Festival, the Cajun Hot Sauce Festival, and the Fleur de Lindy Exchange (featuring swing dance bands & competitions from around the U.S.)!

Even though it’s only the beginning of the week, it’s never too early to start planning for the weekend! Check nola.com’s festival calendar here:

(http://www.nola.com/festivals/index.ssf/2011/03/south_louisiana_festival_guide.html) , pick some festivals that sound good, and mark your calendar. I hope you are feeling FESTIVE and ready to enjoy free Louisiana entertainment at its best!

Spring Is back- ADD COLOR TO YOUR LIFE!

2011-03-31T15:12:00.001-05:00

Save the Date -
SATURDAY, APRIL 2nd
12 Noon to 4pm
UNO Amphitheater
Admission is FREE!

UNO's Student Activities Council, Chakra Indian Student Association, and the Nepalese Student Association have teamed up to bring the Hindu festival, Holi, to UNO's campus for one of the craziest, most memorable experiences that you will never forget.

OPEN TO STUDENTS, FACULTY, STAFF, COMMUNITY MEMBERS, FAMILY, AND FRIENDS!

Have we struck your curiosity or not sure what the festival is all about, GOOGLE IT!

You can expect:
-Free Traditional Indian Cuisine
-Live Performances and Music
-Messy Unadulterated Fun with Colored Powders
-Water Activities
-Henna Tattoo Artists
-and MUCH MORE!

Important Information:
-You will check-in either as a student or community member.
--Student Participants (with college ID) - receive 2 packages of free colors (Can purchase more after)
--General Participants - $5 for 2 colors
-Traditionally people wear white clothes.
-Colorful old clothes are advisable.
-Bring a few extra dollars for henna tattoos and goodies from Student Organizations.
-COME READY TO HAVE FUN AND GET MESSY!

Tell ya friends, tell ya mom, and tell ya sister too, because this is the UNO Event of the Year that won't want to miss!!!!!

For more information contact,
SAC at sac@uno.edu or visit our website http://www.sac.uno.edu/

Chakra at chakra.uno@gmail.com

Good Things to Do in New Orleans

2011-03-31T14:05:00.002-05:00

With the arrival of warm (soon to be HOT) weather, it’s time to get outside and experience some of the great events the city has coming up.

April 16^th looks like it will be a busy one for the city. A number of events are going on, but two of my favorites are the Community Records’ Block Party and Crawfest. The Community Records’ Block party, headlined by California’s RX Bandits, will feature 2 stages of 20 touring and local punk, ska, and reggae bands. The Block Party gets better every year and you’re sure to discover some new, amazing bands. Tickets are $20 or $17 in advance.

The Big Top

1638 Clio St.

Noon- Midnight

Crawfest is Tulane University’s annual crawfish and music festival. Featuring 16,000 pounds of crawfish (your mouth is watering, isn’t it? Mine is too.) and local bands, Crawfest is a great time for anyone looking to dance, drink, and eat a ton of crawfish. Admission to the festival is free and crawfish/drinks are $10 to anyone who is not a Tulane student or staff member.

6828 St. Charles Ave.

11am-9pm

If you’re out doing some shopping, why not contribute to a good cause? The New Orleans area Habitat for HumanityHabitat ReStore holds sales for home building materials and household goods. This is a chance to get some great deals (and score some great finds—the store recently featured some beautiful claw foot tubs) and give back to the community. If your house is too cluttered to justify buying anything else, do a little spring cleaning and make a donation. You can also volunteer to help out at the ReStore!

2830 Royal St.

Open Tuesday-Saturday, 8:30am-4pm

Even though school is out during the summer, there’s still an opportunity to learn some new skills! For those of us who wish we could replicate restaurant-style Cajun and Creole favorites, Crescent City Cooks offers cooking classes for $30. Each class will teach you to cook 4 different dishes, including jambalaya, etouffee, gumbo, and even pralines. With a different class each day, you’ll soon be whipping up classic New Orleans dishes like your name is Emeril. Bam!

1 Poydras Place

Monday-Sunday, 10am-12:30pm

If you’re not looking to potentially add inches to your waistline during swimsuit season, there are also various dance classes at Crescent Lotus Dance Studio. Crescent Lotus offers various dance classes throughout the year, including belly dance, burlesque, and pole fitness. Beginning May 13^th, they will also be offering a 3-part self-defense class. Be sexy AND safe!

3143 Calhoun St.

*Photo Credit: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=485817517446&set=a.437549817446.239187.133048957446

Miss Malaprop Earns Green America’s Business Seal of Approval

2011-03-29T09:58:00.000-05:00

Local company Miss Malaprop is thrilled to announce it has been awarded the Green America Business Seal of Approval. The seal is presented to businesses that go beyond product and service quality to set the highest standards in environmental sustainability and social justice, and work to solve, rather than create, environmental and social problems.

To be considered for the Seal of Approval and earn a listing in the annual National Green Pages™, businesses complete a rigorous screening process to ensure they meet Green America’s standards for the environment, community and labor.

Miss Malaprop began as a blog in 2006, showcasing the best in handmade and eco-friendly products, as well as highlighting work by artists throughout the Gulf South region. Owner and founder Mallory Whitfield expanded Miss Malaprop's offerings in 2009, by selling carefully curated, handmade work by other artists at events throughout the greater New Orleans area. In March 2010 an online storefront was launched, and the offerings of handmade and eco-friendly products have continued to expand. Ms. Whitfield is currently working towards creating a full retail storefront for handmade goods in New Orleans.

“I'm so excited and proud to have finally received the coveted Seal of Approval!” said Ms. Whitfield. "They put you through a very thorough screening process, and they kept coming back with additional questions to make sure I am doing my very best to be as environmentally friendly as possible. I'm also proud to now be one of only 3 Green America approved businesses in the state of Louisiana! And one of the other businesses, Paper NOLA, is a local company whose recycled handmade greeting cards I already offer in my shop."

Miss Malaprop is now an Approved member of the Green Business Network, a distinguished and celebrated group of companies that use their products and services as a vehicle for social and environmental change.
More on Miss Malaprop:

Miss Malaprop is your source for unique, handmade and eco-friendly products that you can feel good about buying. Owner Mallory Whitfield began documenting her love of all things handmade in 2006 with her blog athttp://www.MissMalaprop.com. In spring 2010, she expanded her offerings to include an online shop,http://www.shopMissMalaprop.com, which sells handmade and eco-friendly goods made by a variety of talented artists, including many artists from the Gulf South region. Mallory Whitfield is also one of the founding members of the New Orleans Craft Mafia, a collective of craft-related businesses.

--
Miss Malaprop online shop | blog | Facebook | Twitter

proud member of the New Orleans Craft Mafia

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Sénica Mom of the Year Essay Competition 2011

2011-03-28T21:15:00.000-05:00

Do you think your mother should be the "Sénica Mom of the Year "? Tell us why and she could win a Sénica gift basket valued at $100 and you could win a $25 Sénica gift certificate for a job well done. The essay can be about your mother or someone who has played the role of a mother to you. Essay Submission Deadline: May 5, 2011 12:00am CST

http://www.senicanaturals.com/

Nomination Form

Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival Has Arrived

2011-03-25T10:10:00.000-05:00

The Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival is officially under way. If anyone is still at a loss for what festival events to attend, well, they probably haven’t been reading Good Nola—in any case there are still more events to keep in mind.

2011 is a year of anniversaries at the festival. Not only does this year serve as the festival’s 25th year and Tennessee’s 100^th birthday, but also marks the 50years since the publication of Walker Percy’s novel The Moviegoer. Percy, a literary scholar, author of numerous books of fiction and non-fiction, and longtime resident of Uptown, penned this National Book Award winner (beating out the likes of Richard Yates’s Revolutionary Road and Joseph Heller’s Catch 22). At 10 a.m. Saturday, panelists Sheila Bosworth, Valerie Martin, and Chris Wiltz will discuss Walker Percy’s life and work, focusing special attention on The Moviegoer. Tickets are $10.

Festival-goers who feel a rumbling in their bellies Saturday at 1 p.m. might want to check out The Quintessential Brunch with Chef John Besh hosted by Besh himself at his Besh Steak Restaurant inside Harrah’s Casino. Besh will discuss the tradition of this classic New Orleans meal, complete with a cooking demonstration that is sure to impress. Locals should also make a note to catch Besh’s new cooking show, which premiers Saturday, April 2 at 9:30 a.m. on WYES-TV in New Orleans. Brunch tickets are $35.

It wouldn’t be The Tennessee Williams Festival without seeing a play or two. On Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m. The Le Petit Theatre is proud to present one of Tennessee’s most famous productions, The Glass Menagerie (Tickets at $35). Another special production will be brought to Le Petit, this time by the University of New Orleans’s Department of Film, Theater, and Communication Arts. Hitting the stage will be last year’s One-Act Play Contest winner, a play by Josh Billig entitled Outside Sitka. The show starts at 11 a.m. and tickets are only $5. Anyone eager to get a jump on next year is invited to attend a staged reading of this year’s contest winner for a staged reading at Le Petit Theatre. Again, tickets are $5.

At 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, celebrated New Orleans musician Irvin Mayfield will be at the Palm Court Jazz Café where he will read from his new book, A Love Letter to New Orleans as well as perform songs from his new album, which bears the same name as the book.

As occurs every year, to close out the festival, those who have little to no shame will take the street corner below the balcony of The Gumbo Shop just off Jackson Square to compete in the Stella! Shouting Contest. Watch as men of all ages shout for their Stellas. Ladies are also invited to join the Stanley Shouting Competition. Preliminaries are selected at the Gumbo Shop and finalists will give an encore at Le Petit’s Mainstage where a winner will be chosen. Following, all guests are invited to Tea with Tennessee including cake, toasting, and hearty singing of Happy Birthday to Tennessee.

And don’t forget to check out the Louisiana Road Food Festival for some great eats on Saturday and Sunday (featuring pedestrian-friendly culinary creations from across the country between the 300 & 600 blocks of Royal Street—just around the corner from the Tennessee Williams Festival’s main venues).

Taste at the Lake Wine and Food Event Debuts in Lakeview

2011-03-24T09:44:00.000-05:00

The Lakeview Civic Improvement Association (LCIA), in partnership with WGNO ABC26, THIS TV and NOLA38, is hosting the first Taste at the Lake, a premier event featuring an assortment of fine restaurants and lively libations, on March 26 from 6:30pm to 9:30pm in front of Lakeview Grocery located at 801 Harrison Avenue. Presenting sponsors of the event include Iberia Bank and Banner Chevrolet.

Taste at the Lake will present an attractive array of dishes from more than 25 different restaurants from the Greater New Orleans area including Andrea’s Restaurant, City Park Caterers, Cochon Butcher, Copeland’s Restaurant, Copeland’s Cheesecake Bistro, Deanie’s Seafood, EcoCafe, Galatoire’s, Jacques Imo, Koz’s Lakeview, La Madeleine, Lakeview Harbor, Harrison Cove, LeForet, Madrid, Mike’s On The Avenue, Mondo, Oceana Grill, Pigeon Caterers, Redemption, Reginelli’s, Sara’s, Saundus Sauce, 7 on Fulton, Steamboat NATCHEZ, The Fit Gourmet, The Steak Knife, Vincent’s, Voodoo BBQ, WGNO’s “In the Kitchen with Uncle Larry” and Zea Rotisserie & Grill (as of March 10).

Snowballs from NOLA Snow Snoballs, flavored vodka for the snowballs provided by Republic National Distributing Company, coffee from Starbucks, beer from The Bulldog in Mid City and Southern Eagle-Budweiser, wine provided by Neat Wines, Vino Wholesalers and Partners Wine Group, bottled water from Dixie Springs Water and lemonade from Who Dat Lemonade will help patrons clean their palates as they move from booth to booth sampling chargrilled oysters, shrimp and tasso pasta, alligator ravioli with sauce piquant, lemon grass crab bisque, red fish pate, crawfish boulette and much more.

To add to the culinary thrill, the Desoto Street Band will entertain guests with their blues and cover music while celebrity hosts announce the lucky winners of some exciting door prizes. LCIA will be selling a poster for the event for $20 designed by New Orleans artist, Bunny Matthews.

Tickets are on sale for $40 in advance and $50 at the event. They can be purchased online athttp://www.tasteatthelake.com/, www.wgno.com, www.wnol.com or in-person at the Lakeview Branch of Gulf Coast Bank. Proceeds will benefit LCIA projects that help to restore and maintain Lakeview.

For more information on LCIA or Taste at the Lake, please visit http://www.TasteAtTheLake.com, http://lakeviewcivic.org/ or call (504) 569-0964. Stay up-to-date on the latest news and events happening in Lakeview through Facebook athttp://www.facebook.com/LakeviewCivic and Twitter @LakeviewCivic. For more information on Bunny Matthews, visithttp://bunnymatthews.com/.

Lakeview Civic Improvement Association, established in 1924, is a non-profit civic organization dedicated to the continued restoration and beautification of Lakeview.

A New Orleans Dining Experience with a Rebuilding Agenda

2011-03-23T23:07:00.000-05:00

House of Blues Foundation Room, The Patrón Spirits Company team up with St. Bernard Project and Louisiana Seafood and Marketing Board to rebuild homes and lives for families in the New Orleans area, to bring more Hurricane Katrina survivors home in 2011.

Sit-down, five-course dinner and paired specialty cocktails prepared by top New Orleans chefs, Patrón mixologist; proceeds go to St. Bernard Project’s rebuilding program

New Orleans, Louisiana, April 2, 2011 – House of Blues Foundation Room New Orleans, Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board and The Patrón Spirits Company have partnered with St. Bernard Project, a CNN Hero award-winning rebuilding organization in the New Orleans area, to bring more Hurricane Katrina survivors home in 2011.

On Saturday, April 2, House of Blues Foundation Room New Orleans will host a five-course sit- down dinner of Southern cooking prepared by some of New Orleans’ top chefs, including Brian Landry of Galatoire’s restaurant and Justin Devillier of La Petite Grocery.

Each course will be paired with a specialty Patrón Tequila cocktail to compliment the flavors of each dish. The staple of this dining experience is fresh-caught, healthy and safe Louisiana seafood. Since the oil spill, Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board has worked hard to support the fishermen of Southeast Louisiana whose livelihoods were devastated by the BP oil spill, and tell the rest of the country that Louisiana seafood is not only delicious, but safe.

“In Louisiana, seafood revolves around family. It is harvested by families who have been in the seafood business for seven or eight generations and it is served at family celebrations and gatherings. Not only will guests at tonight’s dinner get to experience the freshest and best tasting seafood in the world, but they will be supporting Louisiana fishermen and the families who are helped by St. Bernard Project,” says Ewell Smith, chair of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board.

All proceeds from this event will go to St. Bernard Project, a nonprofit disaster rebuilding organization serving residents in St. Bernard and Orleans parishes. SBP's mission is to remove the physical, mental, and emotional barriers for vulnerable families, senior citizens and disabled residents who are struggling to recover from the devastation and trauma caused by Hurricane Katrina and, more recently, the oil spill. With just 8-12 weeks of volunteer labor and about $20,000 worth of building supplies, SBP can move another family home. With the money raised from the event, SBP will be able to move another family home, almost six years after the storm.

“St. Bernard Project is excited and honored to bring together such a group of socially conscious companies and organizations for this great event,” says Zack Rosenburg, cofounder and CEO of St. Bernard Project. “The problems in the New Orleans area are solvable, and with their help, and the help of our guests, we are working toward tangible solutions for deserving American families.”

For those interested in purchasing tickets to the event, you may do so here (look for the “SBP Events” section on the page) or you may reserve a spot by emailing rsvp@stbernardproject.org.

St. Bernard Project is a proud United Way Partner Agency. Live United.

8324 Parc Place, Chalmette, LA 70043 || www.stbernardproject.org || 504.277.6831

About St. Bernard Project: St. Bernard Project has been working tirelessly to help solve the enduring housing and mental health needs in the New Orleans area resulting from Katrina and, more recently, the oil spill. St. Bernard Project serves those most in need by rebuilding homes, providing a free high-quality mental health and wellness care clinic, and now, job training in residential construction. St. Bernard Project takes donated funds, materials, and energy and puts them to work with efficacy and speed.

Founded in 2006 by Zack Rosenburg and Liz McCartney of Washington, DC, SBP with the help of over 29,000 volunteers and 4,000 donors and partners has rebuilt 349 homes in the region, provided free mental health services to hundreds of uninsured patients and created jobs for local residents. Because of these results, SBP has received numerous awards and accolades including 2010 Louisiana Social Innovators Award, 2009 Gambit New Orleanians of the Year, 2008 CNN Hero of the Year, and was mentioned in President Obama's 4th and 5th Anniversary Hurricane Katrina speeches.

About the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board: The LSPMB was created in 1984 by the state of Louisiana to support their vast historical commercial fisheries industry. The Board is composed of 15 members and each member represents a sector of the industry: harvesters, processors, wholesalers, restaurateurs/retailers, fisheries resource managers, public health officers and marketing specialists.

The Board’s operating budget is derived from license sales to Louisiana commercial fishermen and seafood wholesalers/retailers as well as state and federal grants. The Board represents over 12,000 fishermen while promoting and marketing $2.6 billion of retail seafood sales annually to the consumer.

More to do at the cenTENNial

2011-03-23T21:52:00.000-05:00

Tennessee Williams is a literary giant who has been survived by a body of work that is read by many and rivaled by few. The Tennessee Williams Festival does not take its namesake lightly, and thus, strives to bring to its venues the talents of critically acclaimed writers of both fiction and non-fiction.

On Friday, March 25, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Olen Butler will teach a Master Class entitled “Creating Fictional Art.” The class focuses on the fundamental aspects of the creative process for fiction writers by exploring what art is, as well as attempting to define the essential characteristics of fiction as an art form. Butler formerly taught Creative Writing at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana. It was there that he penned his 1993 Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of short stories, A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain, set entirely in Louisiana. Those who are more interested in Butler’s life and works should consider the Writer’s Read Panel in the Royal Sonesta’s Regal Suite on Friday at 11:30 a.m. (ticket price: $10), but anyone who desires to write better fiction should not miss this Master Class, which begins at 3:00 p.m. at The Historic New Orleans Collection and costs $25 (tickets should be purchased in advance).

In addition to Master Classes led by modern literary icons, The Tennessee Williams Festival brings in great modern authors for in-depth discussions. Almost everyone remembers the 1994 film Forrest Gump, about the simple, but wise, man from Alabama who never ceased to fall into extraordinary adventures. The author of the book on which the movie was based hosts a panel discussion at the festival on Friday, March 25. Winston Groom, author of eight novels and seven books of non-fiction (one of which explores the roles of Andrew Jackson and Jean Laffite during the Battle of New Orleans), will discuss his life and work. The panel will be held at the Royal Sonesta Ballroom at 1:00 p.m.; tickets are $10.

Panel discussions at the Tennessee Williams Festival are not just for authors of historical and literary works. Journalism is the most accessible medium by which Americans indulge in the words of talented writers. Sports journalism has seen a particular rise, partially due to the recent successes and controversies of New Orleans’s own players and teams. Although the city’s beloved Saints aren’t hitting the turf this off-season, sports columnists are active at their keyboards covering the stories the Who Dat Nation wants to read. On Saturday, March 26, Times-Picayune Saints staff writer Jeff Duncan and national award-winning columnist (and son of New Orleans) Ellis Henican take the stage at the Royal Sonesta Ballroom to discuss the joys and challenges of covering the New Orleans Saints. The aptly titled panel discussion, “Who Dat Say Dey Gonna Write Dem Books? Writing About the Saints,” begins at 1:00 p.m. Tickets are $10.

Shop at Swap

2011-03-23T11:29:00.000-05:00

Swap Boutique—the best designer consignment store in New Orleans, hands down. Actually, in my life, I’ve never been to a better store that sells used clothing. This little shop at 7716 Maple Street is the only place I go anymore, especially when I want to avoid the mall. Walking into this little place, you’d never know it was mostly second-hand, though there is quite a bit of new clothing and shoes that are overstock from local boutiques.

They only take items in near perfect condition and only accept vintage and current things that reflect today’s trends. The best part is that it’s high-end items, often new with tags, that I could never afford otherwise--$400 Diane Von Furstenberg dresses for $100, and $650 Chloe shoes for under $90! The lowest brand they take is Banana Republic; I’ve stocked up on $100 cardigans for $30 a pop.

The owner is a really wonderful woman named Michelle Reinhardt who started the store with the philosophy of recycling. She wants to bring fashion into the green movement, and I can see why her clients are so loyal—she genuinely wants the women who shop there to be happy and confident with their appearance. The staff goes out of their way to help customers find what they’re looking for, and it’s always fun to shop in such a warm atmosphere.

Consigners have to make appointments, but they can bring in any amount of items. If Swap decides to sell them, the items are sold at 30% of the retail price and the consigners can make 40% commission in cash or 50% commission in store credit. There’s also a super cute Swap for Kids store next door.

For locals and tourists alike, this is a must-see stop for shopping. It’s incredible what you’ll find—I never leave empty-handed because everything goes on sale after 30 days. The markdowns get to 60% off; I definitely have my eye on a sequined Tory Burch dress and Prada shoes that I can only hope other people are blind to!

http://www.swapboutique.com/

*Photo Credit: http://www.swapboutique.com/consign.html

KING KONG

2011-03-22T10:36:00.005-05:00

In partnership with the New Orleans Museum of Art, the New Orleans Film Society presents a FREE outdoor screening of the classic 1933 film King Kong in the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden on the grounds of NOMA.

Bring a lawn chair or a blanket and enjoy this special screening.

New Orleans Museum of Art

One Collins C. Diboll Circle,
City Park
Friday, March 25
7:30 p.m.

Tickets: FREE and open to the public.

*Photo Credit: http://neworleansfilmsociety.org

SPRING GARDEN SHOW

2011-03-22T09:34:00.000-05:00

The New Orleans 2011 Spring Garden Show will be held at the City Park Botanical Garden on April 2-3 from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. each day.

The Spring Garden Show is a great place to find rare and unusual plants not commonly available at garden centers, according to Russell Harris, LSU AgCenter Orleans Parish horticulture agent and show coordinator.

“I’m looking forward to this year’s show,” Harris said. “We are recruiting new vendors, and we also have a great line up of speakers.”

Speakers on April 2 will include Dan Gill, LSU AgCenter horticulturist, at 11:30 a.m., presenting “A Few of My Favorite Things: The Plants I Love”; Buddy Lee, creator of Encore Azalea, will discuss azaleas past and present at 1 p.m. Allen Owings, LSU AgCenter horticulturist, will discuss Louisiana Super Plants and other landscape plants to consider at 2:30 p.m.

Speakers on April 3 will include Patrick O’Connor, president of the Greater New Orleans Iris Society, talking about the Louisiana Iris at 11:30 a.m.; Ed Bush, LSU horticulture professor, will discuss how to increase garden and landscape productivity using prescription fertilization at 1 p.m.; Russell Harris, Orleans Parish horticulture agent, will answer the question: “What can a county agent do for you?” at 2:30 p.m., and Raghuwinder Singh, from the LSU AgCenter Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic, will discuss ways to solve your plant health problems at 3 p.m.

Master Gardeners and LSU AgCenter horticulture experts will be available to answer questions from homeowners, who also may bring soil samples for analysis by the LSU AgCenter's Soil Testing Lab. The cost for each one-pint soil sample is $10, payable by check or money order.

“Visitors to this year’s show will find everything they need for their spring garden,” Harris said. “The diversity of vendors at this show provides buying opportunities for individuals with a wide range of tastes.”

As with past shows, exhibits and sales booths will be featured throughout the botanical garden. And again this year, 4-H members will be helping in the kid’s discovery area.

Admission is $8 for adults and $4 for children ages 5-12. Children under 5 and members of Friends of City Park may enter for free.

More information about the Spring Garden Show is available from Harris at 504-483-9471.

www.garden.neworleanscitypark.com

Broadway in New Orleans Unveils its 2011-2012 Season

2011-03-21T13:23:00.002-05:00

After a hugely successful second season back in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina, Broadway Across America is pleased to announce the line up for the 2011-2012 Broadway in New Orleans Season. Playing at Mahalia Jackson Theater, the series, which features classics to contemporary, includes:

The Addams Family September 15 - 24, 2011

Rock of Ages November 1 - 6, 2011

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific November 29 - December 4, 2011

Blue Man Group January 31 - February 5, 2012

Disney’s The Lion King March 14 - April 15, 2012

According to David Skinner, general manager of the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts, “New Orleans continues to be one of the top cities in the United States for professional touring theater. With today’s announcement of the 2011-12 Season, we are excited to bring some of the best shows from Broadway to audiences in the Gulf South.

“We are thrilled New Orleans was selected as the city to launch the national tour of The Addams Family, and are also pleased that Broadway in New Orleans will offer the Gulf South premiere engagement of Disney’s The Lion King, one of the most impressive and popular musicals on Broadway. We expect demand will be great so The Lion King is scheduled to perform 40 shows in a five-week period. The season is rounded out with the Pulitzer prize-winning South Pacific; and we introduce Rock of Ages and Blue Man Group as perfect alternative complements to the line-up.”

Season tickets are on sale now!

Five-show Broadway in New Orleans season ticket packages are on sale now, and prices start at $128. For more information, patrons can visit BroadwayInNewOrleans.com or call the Broadway Across America Season Ticket Hotline at 1-800-218-SHOW (7469) during extended renewal hours of Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Current Season Ticket Holders will receive renewal packets in the mail in the next two weeks but can view their renewal invoice online now at BroadwayInNewOrleans.com. The renewal deadline is Monday, April 18. Season Ticket Holders enjoy the privilege of premium seating locations, priority ticket opportunities, lost ticket insurance, and exchange privileges on their existing seats. On-sale dates for individual shows will be announced in the coming months. Groups of 15 or more can reserve seats now by calling 504-287-0372.

September 15-24, 2011

The Addams Family is a smash-hit musical comedy that brings the darkly delirious world of Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Grandma, Wednesday, Pugsley and, of course, Lurch to spooky and spectacular life. This magnificently macabre new musical comedy, based on the bizarre and beloved family of characters created by legendary cartoonist Charles Addams, features a book by Jersey Boys authors Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice with music and lyrics by Drama Desk-winning composer Andrew Lippa (The Wild Party). The creative team also includes choreographer Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys) and Olivier Award-winning director/designers Phelim McDermott & Julian Crouch (Shockheaded Peter) with creative consultation by four-time Tony Award® winner Jerry Zaks. Come meet the family. We’ll leave the lights off for you.

November 1-6, 2011

It’s five-time, Tony Award-nominated smash-hit musical Rock of Ages, a hilarious, feel-good love story. In 1987 on the Sunset Strip, a small town girl met a big city rocker and in LA’s most famous rock club, they fell in love to the greatest songs of the 80’s. Rock of Ages, an arena-rock love story told through the mind blowing, face-melting hits of Journey, Night Ranger, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Poison, Asia, Whitesnake and many more. Don’t miss this awesomely good time about dreaming big, playing loud and partying on! Critics call it “Impossible to resist! - Charles Isherwood, New York Times and "Rock and comedy in perfect proportion!" - David Cote, Time Out.

November 29-December 4, 2011

“Simply wonderful! Beguiling Theatrical Magic!” hails the New York Post for Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific. This breathtaking new production of South Pacific is based on the 2008 Tony Award-winning Lincoln Center Theatre production, directed by Bartlett Sher. Set on a tropical island during World War II, the musical tells the sweeping romantic story of two couples and how their happiness is threatened by the realities of war and by their own prejudices. The beloved score’s songs include “Some Enchanted Evening,” “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair,” “This Nearly Was Mine,” and “There is Nothin’ Like A Dame.” USA Today cheers, “Four stars! Gorgeous! South Pacific doesn’t just float; it soars!” Based on James Michener’s Pulitzer Prize winning book Tales of the South Pacific, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific has music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan.

January 31-February 5, 2012

Experience the Phenomenon. Blue Man Group is best known for their wildly popular theatrical shows and concerts which combine comedy, music and technology to produce a totally unique form of entertainment. The New York Times heralds the show as “One of the most delightful performance pieces ever staged.” E! Entertainment News exclaims, “Blue Man Group is what every live performance aspires to be.” The Baltimore Sun raves, “Blue Man Group packs a wallop. It’s a big, loud, funny, silly, visually arresting production!”

Although it is impossible to describe, people of all ages agree that Blue Man Group is an intensely exciting and wildly outrageous show that leaves the entire audience in a blissful, euphoric state. With no spoken language, Blue Man Group is perfect for people of all ages, languages and cultures. Blue Man Group is now on the road for its first U.S. theatrical tour. This unique experience is a form of entertainment like nothing else; guaranteed to be an outing you will never forget.

March 14-April 15, 2012

Experience the phenomenon of Disney’s The Lion King. Marvel at the breathtaking spectacle of animals brought to life by award-winning director Julie Taymor, whose visual images for this show you’ll remember forever. Thrill to the pulsating rhythms of the African Pridelands and an unforgettable score including Elton John and Tim Rice’s Oscar-winning song “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” and “Circle of Life.” Let your imagination run wild at the Tony Award-winning Broadway sensation Newsweek calls “a landmark event in entertainment.” New Orleans’ most eagerly awaited stage production ever will leap onto the Mahalia Jackson Theater stage March 2012.

General Information

The Mahalia Jackson Theater is located in Armstrong Park at 801 N. Rampart Street, New Orleans, Louisiana. Information on the Broadway Across America - New Orleans series and venue policies and accommodations may be obtained online at www.mahaliajacksontheater.com. Group Sales information is available at 504-287-0372. Box Office information is available at 504-287-0351.

Arts Center Enterprises – New Orleans, LLC - (ACE) is a theatrical facility management company with more than 30 years of experience in the field of professional performing arts facility management and theatrical property development. Allen Becker, together with his partners David Anderson, Gary Markowitz and Kirk B. Feldmann have succeeded in establishing a successful business model that combines an entrepreneurial operating strategy, with a wealth of industry relationships, which result in active, vibrant, well-managed and self-sustaining performing arts facilities. Not only has this business model served to uplift communities through the presentation of powerful live performances, but it has served to also provide economic stimulus into urban corridors in need of revitalization. Please visit ACE New Orleans online at www.mahaliajacksontheater.com.

Broadway Across America is part of the Key Brand Entertainment family of companies, which includes Broadway.com, and is owned and operated by British theatre producer John Gore (CEO) and entertainment industry veteran Thomas B. McGrath (Chairman). Broadway Across America presents first-class touring musicals and plays across 40 North American cities. Broadway.com is the premier theater website for news, exclusive content and ticket sales. Under the supervision of Beth Williams (COO and Head of Production), Broadway Across America is also dedicated to the development and production of new and diverse theatre. Current Broadway productions include How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying starring Daniel Radcliffe and John Larroquette, Million Dollar Quartet, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Jerusalem,Memphis, La Cage Aux Folles, the West End production of Million Dollar Quartet and the touring production of Dreamworks’ Madagascar Live! For more information, please visit BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com and Broadway.com.

New Orleans Theatre Association (NOTA) is a 501(c) 3 non-profit corporation whose mission is to attract and present the finest theatrical and performing arts attractions available in New Orleans. NOTA is also dedicated to financial and technical support of local non-profit institutions in New Orleans that are dedicated to the furtherance of theatrical and musical education and production.

*press release*

Photo Credit: THE ADDAMS FAMILY Original Broadway Cast. (Photo by Joan Marcus)

Spotlight Nola: Elizabeth Shephard, LifeCity

2011-03-21T13:00:00.001-05:00

The following is an interview with Elizabeth Shephard, founder and President of NOLA start-up, LifeCity, Inc.

Good Nola: Tell us about yourself: Where are you from? College?

Elizabeth Shephard: I grew up on the Gulf Coast in Tampa, Florida, and studied psychology and environmental science at Carleton College. Post-college I spent a year as Carleton’s Sustainability Coordinator before moving to New Orleans for Teach for America. I then worked for the Gulf Restoration Network on a report that measured how well each state along the Gulf implemented the Clean Water Act. I joined the Alliance for Affordable Energy where I served as Office Manager and then Senior Administrator for two years.

GN: How did you become so eco-conscious? What experience and training do you have in all things green?

ES: During my sophomore year at Carleton I immersed myself in the culture of the ocean instead of going abroad to another country. While studying with Semester at SEA, learning nautical science, oceanography, and maritime history, I sailed a 145 ft. 10-sailed sloop and we regularly rotated community tasks such as dumping our trash overboard,pumping our greywater, and sailing the boat (using the stars and horizon as our guide). It was then I realized I had been dumping waste into my environment my whole life but never had to physically do this myself. It was then that I truly came to understand that we live on one planet and brought back my interest to my college and my everyday life, and have since made it my career path.

GN: Tell us about your New Orleans experience: What brought you to here? What keeps you here?

ES: I visited classrooms while visiting NOLA with the environmental studies department ;at Carleton. I had previously deferred Teach for America, but after this visit, and falling in love with the city, I decided to come down and take the job as a teacher in New Orleans. I was determined to continue learning about the question: "How can New Orleans truly become sustainable?"

GN: Where did you come up with the idea for LifeCity? What has been the best thing about the experience? The most challenging?

ES: I was researching water quality as I co-authored a report that measured how well the Gulf States were implementing the Clean Water Act. It was clear that both educational and political systems are more reactive than preventative (Louisiana got an F on the report card by the way). I believed that the desire to go green was there but the information was not accessible. At the time Google had a contest "Ideas to Change the world". I thought Google could change the world with "Google Green" an application that clearly conveyed the best-practices for sustainability at different geographical scales, and showed where to find such resources on a map.

What I discovered is an idea is only as good as its execution. Google wasn't about to do it, but I have the passion and work ethic to see my vision realized. The best part about my experience has been the process of creating something new. The most challenging aspect is not knowing what the future will hold--but then again, we all must face an unknown future and not be afraid to step forward regardless.

GN: Why do we need Life City? What makes LifeCity unique and important?

ES: Current business rating systems don't include behavioral change and rarely measure performance over time. LifeCity understands science and psychology--both are needed to ensure a sustainable future. New Orleans has witnessed 2 major environmental disasters, so it is up to us to tell the nation the lessons we have learned. We now have the opportunity to lead the sustainability movement in our city--and it must start with business and public-private partnerships. This change is not merely a scientific or technological/structural change, but a change in behavior and community partnerships.

GN: What is one thing that everyone can do right now to help create a greener world?

ES: Reflect. Take the time to be more intentional about what you do.

GN: What is your short- and long-term vision for Life City?

ES: In the short-term, I would like to continue to grow the green business certification, and eventually grow it to a national level.

Long-term, I would like to make LifeCity a leader in the green business marketplace and leverage new solutions and support those that are truly making an impact.

GN: Is there anything else you would like to add?

ES: I encourage everyone to check out our website (www.mylifecity.com) and Facebook page (www.facebook.com/mylifecity), to consider buying our green business discount card (the Green Card), and to register your business in the Green Games. Thank you!

Interview by: Guest Writer, Nicholas Peddle

Benardett Wins Statewide Award

2011-03-21T09:24:00.000-05:00

Benardett K. Jno-Finn, owner of Sénica, LLC was announced as the winner of the 2011 Small Business Administration (SBA) Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the State of Louisiana. The SBA announced the regional winners of the Small Business Champion Awards On March 8, 2011.

"I was surprised and humbled when I found out I received this award. There are so many young entrepreneurs with viable businesses that will help sustain their communities, I'm truly honored to be among them and the one who was chosen to receive this distinction," said Jno-Finn.

The award recognizes entrepreneurs under the age of 30 who demonstrate entrepreneurial potential necessary for long-term business success and economic growth, utilize innovative or creative business methods and serve as a majority owner and operator or bear principal responsibility for operating a small business with a three year track record.

“Small business owners embody the spirit of entrepreneurship and strong work ethic that lie at the heart of the American dream. They are the backbone of our Nation’s economy, they employ tens of millions of workers, and, in the past 15 years, they have created the majority of new private jobs. During Small Business Week we reaffirm our support for America’s small businesses and celebrate the proud tradition of private enterprise they represent.” Barack Obama, President of the United States, 2010 Small Business Week Proclamation.

Founded in 2007, Sénica is a New Orleans-based company whose mission is to promote a holistic approach to health, beauty, wellness and restoration by providing quality natural products for bath, body, hair and home. Product offerings are complimented by resources that link nutrition and a healthy lifestyle as integral parts of achieving natural beauty. Sénica has won several notable awards and has begun to garner a solid reputation on local and national levels. Most recently, the Company was featured at the 2010 Miss Universe Gifting Suite. For more information on the company, please visit www.senicanaturals.com.

National Small Business Week 2011 will be celebrated the week of May 15, 2011. During this week, Ms. Jno-Finn along with seven other SBA business champions will be honored at a reception at the Governor’s Mansion and a local luncheon.

Fête Française: “Spring Time in April!

2011-03-20T13:41:00.000-05:00

Ecole Bilingue de la Nouvelle-Orléans is proud to present it’s annual fund-raiser Fête Française: “Spring Time in April!” Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 02. French culture comes to life in NOLA. Be transported to Paris in April where the air will be filled with music, laughter, and tempting aromas. This wonderful event features great food, wine, musical performances, arts and crafts.

The high caliber restaurants participating in Fête Française 2011 include: Link Restaurant Group, Patois, Boucherie, M bistro, Martinique, St. James Cheese Shop, Amanda Carvajal, Taceaux Loceaux, Pinkberry, Crepes a la Cart, La Petite Grocery, Crepe Nanou, Nirvana, Welty Deli and the très célèbre Les Deux Papas - who all will serve their legendary authentic savory mussels and pommes frites.

To quench your thirst, Lillet will feature it’s specialty drink “Joie de Vivre,” and this year we are pleased to have Kronenbourg as our official beer for Fête Française.

Fête-goers will enjoy great music from fabulous local musicians including Marie & Jacques Letalon (Jazz/French), Panorama Jazz Band, Sunpie & the Louisiana Sunspots (Zydeco), Ingrid Lucia (Swing/Jazz), Charmaine Neville (R&B/Jazz) and Tit Canaille (Cajun).

There will be plenty of children’s games and activities, face painting, a rock-climbing wall and much, much more. Fête Française will also have a market place, silent auction, works from many local area artists and a raffle that is sure to delight one lucky winner.

Fête Française is Ecole Bilingue de la Nouvelle-Orléans largest annual fundraiser and is critical to providing supplemental funds to support extracurricular activities as well as preserving the Francophone heritage in New Orleans and Louisiana.

Follow Them: www.facebook.com/fetefrancaise or www.ebnola.com.
*Press Release*

NORDC/NOBA Center For Dance Seniors Take Top Medals at Greater New Orleans Senior Olympics

2011-03-18T11:15:00.001-05:00

On March 12, 20 older adults from the Behrman and St. Bernard NORDC centers won top awards in the Team Dance segment of the New Orleans Senior Olympics, held at Clearview Mall. The “Sassy Seniors” from the Behrman NORDC Center won silver, and the “Jazzy Seniors” from St. Bernard NORDC Center won gold.Each group performed two dances, with music ranging from Donna Summer’s Last Dance to songs from the movieGrease.

In partnership with the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission (NORDC), NOBA has initiated its fourth year of innovative programming that combines stretching, social dance and ballet skills in classes for more than 100 older adults in the local community. Aline De Souza, the teaching artist, engages her classes by integrating sequential skill-building and drawing on the participants’ memories, life experiences and music preferences.

The goal is to improve their overall health and increase their knowledge of and skill in dance. Classes are taught at the NORDC Behrman and St. Bernard Centers and are offered on Mondays and Wednesdays at the Behrman NORDC Center in Algiers and on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the St. Bernard NORDC Center in Gentilly. Both centers offer classes in stretch and cardio, and are free and open to the public.

NORDC/NOBA Center For Dance

The NORDC/NOBA Center For Dance is a cultural community partnership between the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission (NORDC) and the New Orleans Ballet Association (NOBA). Founded in 1992, The Center was born out of a need to make dance accessible to all school-age children. A program that began with just 30 students now has an enrollment of more than 350 children per semester at 7 locations citywide. With a core curriculum of ballet, classes are open to any child in Orleans Parish with a demonstrated interest in dance. Through a professional faculty, master classes by NOBA Main Stage artists and other visiting artists, a mentor program and field trips, the Center works with each child to cultivate dreams and strengthen futures. The Center is the recipient of many awards and honors for excellence, including the 2002 Coming Up Taller Award, nominated for the Big Easy Classical Arts Award for best dance performance, national grants through the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Guild of Community Schools for the Arts, among others.

Photo Credits: Senior Olympics 2011-St. Bernard Center & Senior Olympics 2011-Behrman Center

*press release

New Orleans Moonshiners to play Concert in the Courtyard this Friday

2011-03-17T13:42:00.001-05:00

The Historic New Orleans Collection’s spring Concerts in the Courtyard series, sponsored by AOS, kicks off Friday, March 18, with a performance by the New Orleans Moonshiners. Abita Amber and Foxhorn Chardonnay, provided with support from Republic National Distributing Company, will be served.

The Moonshiners formed in early 2008 as a group of young musicians interested in playing traditional jazz. With an enthusiastic following of swing dancers, music fans and fellow musicians, The Moonshiners add a creative modern energy to traditional jazz and write their own original tunes. Banjo player and bandleader Chris Edmunds is joined by Greg Smith, Bryan Besse, Bruce Brackman, Chuck Brackman, Ronell Johnson, and Mark Braud.

Republic National Distributing Company, the second-largest distributor of premium wine and spirits in the U.S., formed in 2007, when Republic Beverage Company and National Distributing Company combined their businesses in 17 states. Abita Beer, which debuted with Amber in 1986, has grown from brewing 1,500 barrels of beer in its first year to brewing more than 109,000 barrels of beer in 2010. Located in Abita Springs, the brewery is privately owned and operated by local shareholders. Foxhorn Vineyards wine is produced in the small town of Griffith in Southeastern Australia. Using grapes grown in the warm, sandy soil and adding decades of experience as a small lot winemaker, Belinda Morandin creates rich, ripe and reasonably priced wines. The featured chardonnay has been described by FearlessCritic.com as “refreshing, bright with citrus, and with just enough oak to make it juicy.”

Admission to the concert is $10, free for members of The Collection, and includes three complimentary cocktails. Household memberships begin at $35 per household and are valid for one year. Guests must be 21 or over. The spring concert series will continue April 15 with Glen David Andrews, May 20 with Otra, and June 17 with Sunpie and the Louisiana Sunspots. For more information, call (504) 523-4662 or visit www.hnoc.org.

The Historic New Orleans Collection, 533 Royal St., in the French Quarter

Oak St. Block Party for the Cure

2011-03-16T13:52:00.002-05:00

This is your opportunity to be a hero for kids with cancer!

New Orleans has a St. Baldrick's event, and whether you decide to shave your head, volunteer, or donate, be a part of the excitement.

The St. Baldrick's Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity that funds more in childhood cancer research grants than any organization except the U.S. government.

Get involved and you'll be giving hope to infants, children, teens and young adults fighting childhood cancers. Thank you!

If you choose to support a participant or team at our event, your name will appear on their donor list. To support our event in general and appear on our event donor list, please click "Make a donation" to give online, or donate by phone or mail.

ACTIVITIES

Noon - 12:05 Kick-off the event!
2 p.m. 610 Stompers perform! Then shave!

Event Date:

March 19, 2011

START TIME
12:00 pm

ADDRESS

8300 block of Oak St. New Orleans, LA 70118

FUNDRAISING

Raised: $18,579

Goal: $30,000

For More Information

*Photo Credit: http://www.stbaldricks.org *

Nola Youth Programs

2011-03-16T13:46:00.000-05:00

I recently attended a Unified Non Profit Meeting which focused on some of the great youth programs in the City of New Orleans. Wanted to share a few I learned about!

Knowledge Garden: Child Development Center (www.myknowledgegarden.com) Aims to provide a safe nurturing environment where infants and toddlers from the month through four year receive a firm foundation for learning and growth. Great programming to help further develop kids as well as allow parents to partner with the school.

Children’s Bureau (www.childrens-bureau.com) Children Bureau improves quality of life for children and families through valid and proven programs that enhance and strengthen mental health and wellness. Their programming and services include counseling, family preservation, crisis intervention, infant mental health, community education, mental health consultation to childcare center and Project LAST, which help to meet needs of children and families impacted by grief.

Crescent City Lights Youth Theater (www.crescentcitylights.org) Provides educational and performance programs to the families of the Greater New Orleans area that change young people’s lives by fostering performing arts and life skills in a nurturing multi-cultural environment through instruction by professional in the theater arts.

Gulfsouth Youth Biodiesel Project (www.operationreach.org) Involves youth in community development and social entrepreneurship through Green Collar Job Training in which youth learn the ins and outs of how to turn raw organic material into eco-friendly alternative fuel.

New Orleans Outreach (www.nooutreach.org) Improve the quality of public education at our partner schools by linking volunteers and community resources through high quality in-school and afterschool programs that respond to the needs of each school.

Photo Credit: http://www.operationreach.org/about-us/

West Side Story is here!!!!

2011-03-16T11:19:00.000-05:00

Last night was the premier of the fantastic Broadway musical, West Side Story, on its tour in New Orleans. The Mahlia Jackson Theater provided a friendly environment for the traveling show to perform and really made you feel like you were in 1960’s Brooklyn, with hit songs such as, “Tonight,” “America,” “Somewhere,” and “I Feel Pretty.”

The show featured great singing, outstanding choreography, and of course and unforgettable plot. A gang rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, and a romance between two people from different backgrounds, makes for thrilling storyline that really keeps people on their toes. The fight scenes between the Sharks and the Jets featured exciting and dramatic dancing.

The intense drama during the 2nd Act really brought the play to life. The actors and actresses put everything they had into this performance, and made it a truly enjoyable show for everyone.

Check out Good Nola story about event.

Schedule and Tickets:
The performance schedule is Tuesday through Friday at 8:00PM, Saturday at 2:00PM and 8:00PM and Sunday at 2:00PM and 7:30PM.

Tickets starting at $25. For more information on tickets, visit http:// www.mahaliajacksontheater.com. Tickets are also available at all Ticketmaster locations, www.ticketmaster.com or via phone at 800-982-2787 (ARTS). Group discounts for 20 or more are available by calling 504-287-0372.

*Photo Credit: http://www.westsideontour.com/

New Orleans Food Co-op reaches 1000 member-owners and announces April 11-17 as "Join Your Co-op Week

2011-03-16T11:03:00.000-05:00

The New Orleans Food Co-op is a cooperative business that is opening a full-service community-owned grocery store in the New Orleans Healing Center, located at the corner of St Claude and St Roch in the Marigny. The co-op is under construction, with refrigeration equipment scheduled for installation in early April.

The co-op is pleased to announce that 1,000 people have invested in the grocery store as member-owners. To open in May, the co-op seeks 400 additional member-owners to secure the equity to leverage local Credit Union financing. Over 25% of start-up financing will be raised via direct investment by local member-owners, combined with a contribution from the Healing Center for renovations and build-out. The co-op continues to work with Senator JP Morrell and other members of the Orleans legislative delegation to procure delayed State Capital Outlay funds for additional equipment. The co-op will apply for further funding as needed through the City's upcoming Fresh Food Retail Incentive program.

Without 1400 community members invested, the co-op will not secure financing to open in May. Therefore, the co-op is pleased to announce Monday, April 11 through Sunday, April 17 as "Join Your Co-op Week", a final campaign to reach the goal of 1400 member-owners. The co-op requests all interested community members to join as owners and encourage their friends and family to do the same. The week will be capped off with free food, music and fun at the Healing Center Community BBQ, Sunday, April 17, 2011. Interested parties may become member-owners online at www.nolafoodcoop.org/join or join at the BBQ.

-----------EVENT 1-----------
WHAT: "Chocolate & Cheese Reception and Tour"
WHEN: Wednesday March 23, 5pm
WHERE: New Orleans Healing Center at 2372 St Claude Ave

-----------EVENT 2-----------
WHAT: New Orleans Food Co-op "Join Your Co-op Week"
New Orleans Healing Center Community BBQ
FREE FOOD MUSIC & FUN
WHEN: Sunday, April 17, 2-6pm
WHERE: New Orleans Healing Center at 2372 St Claude Avenue (corner of St Roch)

Fight The Blight Volunteer Day

2011-03-16T09:29:00.001-05:00

The next Fight the Blight Volunteer Day is Saturday, March 19, 2011 from 10:00am-1:00pm. Fight The Blight project is a great partnership between the city, neighborhood organizations, non-profits and volunteers from throughout the community. Help out this weekend! The project will be targeting a five block radius of open schools, playgrounds, and high traffic commercial corridors.

The five locations for the 2nd “Fight the Blight” Volunteer Day will be:

Harrell Stadium, 2400 Leonidas St. (District A)
Taylor Park, 3101 Washington Ave. (District B)
Cut Off Center, 6600 Belgrade St. (District C)
St. Bernard Center, 2500 Filmore Avenue (District D)
Sampson Playground, 3101 Louisa St. (District E)

Activities will include litter abatement, strategic demolitions, grass-cutting, neighborhood beautification, code citing, and painting. Volunteers are encouraged to bring gloves.

Please join the efforts. To volunteer for this Saturday’s effort, sign up online Click Here.

*Photo Credit: http://globalgreen.org/blogs/holycross/life-in-the-nine/fight-the-blight-day-in-holy-cross/*

Arts Council of New Orleans Announces Arts Grant Funding

2011-03-15T19:27:00.000-05:00

The Arts Council of New Orleans is pleased to announce a new grant cycle to support FY 2012 arts activities in Orleans, Jefferson and Plaquemines Parishes. The required online application deadline is April 27, 2011 with a required hard copy submission by April 28, 2011. Grant guidelines, application forms, and the schedule of grant workshops are posted on the Arts Council website - www.artscouncilofneworleans.org - under Grants/Available Grants.

Operating Support, Project Assistance, and Technical Assistance grants are being offered in the April 2011 deadline through two grant programs the Arts Council administers. Operating Support funds the general expenses of arts organizations with two-year grants. Project Assistance provides funding to an array of groups or individuals with arts activities that benefit or involve others in the community. Technical Assistance provides funds to organizations and agencies involved in arts programming for access to professional expertise or training opportunities relating to arts programming or management.

Arts Council staff will conduct grant workshops in March 2011 which will cover the grants offered, program priorities, eligibility requirements, application process, and tips on how to submit a competitive application. Workshop attendance is strongly recommended for all grant-seekers as there are some changes in application submission requirements this year. The workshops are free-of-charge and open to the public; registration is not required. Two workshops will be held inOrleans Parish (March 21 and March 30); one workshop will be held in Plaquemines Parish (March 22) and one will be held in Jefferson Parish (March 23). The schedule and locations of workshops is posted on the Arts Council’s web site. Full information on the line-up of workshops is listed below.

Arts Council Grants staff will be available to help applicants develop proposals and to review application drafts. Applicants may call a member of the grants staff to discuss a proposal or to request a consultation appointment. Consultations will be scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Printed copies of guidelines will be available at the grant workshops or at the Arts Council of New Orleans office, 818 Howard Avenue, Suite 300, between 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. For further information on the grants program, visit the Arts Council of New Orleans’ web site –(www.artscouncilofneworleans.org) or call Karen Kern (504-595-8461) or Joycelyn Reynolds (504-595-8471) of the Grants staff.

Arts Council 2011 Grant Workshop Schedule
Orleans Parish Monday, March 21, 5:30 p.m.	Lower 9^th Ward Village 1001 Charbonnet Street, New Orleans, LA 70117 (504) 304-7868
Plaquemines Parish Tuesday, March 22, 5:00 p.m.	Plaquemines Parish Library 8442 Highway 23, Belle Chasse, LA 70037 (504) 398-7302
Jefferson Parish Wednesday, March 23, 4:00 p.m.	East Bank Regional Library 4747 W. Napoleon Avenue, Metairie, LA 70001 (504) 838-1100
Orleans Parish Wednesday, March 30, 5:30 p.m.	Ashé Cultural Arts Center 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70113 (504) 569-9070

About the funding sources: The Louisiana Decentralized Arts Funding Program, a statewide program funded through the Louisiana Division of the Arts with state legislative appropriations, supports arts activities that will take place in Orleans, Jefferson and Plaquemines Parishes October 1, 2011 – September 30, 2012. The Community Arts Grants Program, funded by the City of New Orleans, supports arts activities in Orleans Parish that will take place January - December of 2012.

About the Arts Council of New Orleans:
The Arts Council of New Orleans is a private, non-profit organization designated by the City of New Orleans as its official arts agency. Now in its 36th year, the Arts Council works in partnership with the City of New Orleans, community groups, local, state, and national governmental agencies, and other nonprofit arts organizations to meet the arts and cultural needs of the New Orleans community through a diversity of initiatives and services. The Arts Council serves as one of ten regional distributing agencies for Louisiana Division of the Arts funds and administers the Community Arts Grants and the Percent For Art program for the City of New Orleans. http://www.artscouncilofneworleans.org/

Shop Local: Soul - to - Sole

2011-03-15T11:29:00.001-05:00

After living in Atlanta for the past 20 years, the one thing that stands out is
shoes to date were never lacking.

There's Christian Lou and Jimmy Choo.

Another Christian, last name Dior and Michael Kors.

Giuseppe Zanotti was an Italian hottie.

Badgley Mischka which rhymes with…with…what?

He was still cute, though.

While scouting for the next shoe to date in New Orleans, I ran across
Angelique Shoe.

Hello lover…and lover girls…

Angelique Shoe carries high and low lines from a variety of designers…a
perfect mixture for women working with different budgets. Along with some
of the names above, you can find selections from L.A.M.B., Charles David
and Cynthia Vincent. I thought I had died and my ~~soul~~ sole went to shoe
heaven when visiting.

If the Angelique Shoe name is ringing a bell, you might be aware of
Angelique Boutique and Angelique Baby who share a similar name because
they are owned by the same woman, Angelique Short. So if shoes are not
your mood, then you have other shopportunities to explore.

But check them out…cause everyone knows shoes are really a girl's best
friend.

Angelique Shoe
5421 Magazine St.
Like their Facebook Page

LE MERITAGE RESTAURANT CELEBRATES FIFTH ANNUAL FRENCH QUARTER WINE FESTIVAL

2011-03-14T15:53:00.000-05:00

Festival Will Feature 14 Wineries and Gourmet Dishes By Chef Michael Farrell

Famed New Orleans restaurant, Le Meritage, Executive Chef Michael Farrell and Area Managing Director/Maison Dupuy Hotel, Morty Valldejuli are pleased to announce the return of French Quarter Wine Festival. The Festival, now in its fifth year, will showcase 14 celebrated wineries from California, Oregon, Washington State, Italy, France and Argentina. The Festival will kick off on March 18 and will feature live entertainment from Rebirth Brass Band and Los Po-Boy-Citos starting at7:00PM. In the event of rain, the French Quarter Wine Festival Block Party will be tented so the party will go on rain or shine!

Started after Hurricane Katrina and modeled after the prestigious Boston Wine Festival, French Quarter Wine Festival brings some of the world’s best winemakers to the Maison Dupuy Hotel, located in the heart of New Orleans. The Festival will feature an opening and closing reception and 14 dinners and receptions hosted by the winemakers and proprietors. Chef Michael Farrell, Executive Chef of Maison Dupuy’s BISTREAUX and Le Meritage Restaurants, will create delectable dinners to accompany each tasting.

French Quarter Wine Festival events are listed below:

March 18: Grand Opening Reception ($75)
March 22: Opus One Winery Reception and Dinner ($145)
March 23: Cakebread Cellars Reception and Dinner ($105)
March 29: Diamond Creek Vineyards Reception and Dinner ($135)
March 30: Luigi Bosca Winery Reception and Dinner ($95)
April 5: Silver Oak Cellars Reception and Dinner ($135)
April 6: WillaKenzie Estate Winery Reception and Dinner ($95)
April 12: DeLille Cellars Reception and Dinner ($95)
April 13: B. R. Cohn Winery Reception and Dinner ($95)
April 19: Hess Collection Reception and Dinner ($95)
April 20: Ehlers Estate Reception and Dinner ($95)
April 26: Poggio al Tesoro and San Polo Wineries Reception and Dinner ($105)
April 27: Château Palmer Reception and Dinner ($145)
May 3: Duckhorn Wine Company Reception and Dinner ($115)
May 4: Martinelli Winery Reception and Dinner ($95)
May 13: Closing Reception ($65)

Le Meritage Restaurant offers diners a new wine-inspired culinary experience. Executive Chef Michael Farrell, developed a menu of eclectic dishes inspired by fresh Louisiana ingredients and designed to be a perfect compliment to the restaurant’s extensive wine menu. For more information on Le Meritage, please visit www.lemeritage.com.

Executive Chef Michael Farrell has received national acclaim for his distinctive “Southern Coastal Cuisine” styles. Chef Farrell serves as Executive Chef of both BISTREAUX and Le Meritage restaurants and formerly served as the owner and Executive Chef of Nantucket’s renowned Summer House Restaurant.

For more information of French Quarter Wine Festival or to make reservations, please visit www.frenchquarterwinefestival.com or call 504-648-6113.

*Press Release*

Teen Tech Day Coming to New Orleans in April!

2011-03-14T13:00:00.000-05:00

A organization I truly love and work with is NewOrleansTech.net. NewOrleans Tech.Net is a hyperlocal news media organization that was founded to highlight the tech movement that is going on in the city. Our purpose is to highlight groups, meet ups, events, and provide information that make our readers think about technology in different ways. We want people to know that there is a vibrant tech community here in New Orleans with programmers, developers, and tech entrepreneurs. It’s our culture that makes us unique and different from everyone else in the world.We have three initiatives that come out of our organization which are the website, our tech podcast, and our community outreach projects.

A project I have worked on that is truly dear to my heart is called Teen Tech Day! Teen Tech Day will be a one day event tailored toward youth in New Orleans, exposing them to technologies such as web design, programming, photography, podcasting, videography, and game development. Our goal is to take twenty-five teenagers between the ages of 14 – 17 and get them excited about technology as a hobby, passion, or even a career.

We are doing this because we love technology and we want to pass this on to the next generation. Many of our youth are only exposed to technology through computers and social media websites, but they can learn so much more. Technology also has areas of math, science, and engineering that can spawn jobs and careers for young people. Tech Teen Day will encompass interactive workshops and talks from various technologist in and around the New Orleans community.

When Will It Happen

April 9th, 2011 from 9AM to 3PM
Continental Break, Lunch, & Snacks will be provided

Where Will It Be?

3400 Tulane Avenue, Suite 1000
New Orleans, LA 70119

How Can I Get Involved?

Parents & Guardians

As stated above, we will only accept a handful of youth for Teen Tech Day. Our hope is that we can grow the number of attendees every year so that no one gets turned down. Parents or guardians can fill out our Tech Teen Day application orprint it out and mail it to us before 5:00 PM on March 25th, 2011. Team members from New Orleans Tech will review each application based on the willingness to attend the conference.

Volunteer

If you wish to volunteer to help us with the event, please contact us and let us know.

Donate!

Help us by contributing just $5 to help NewOrleansTech make Teen Tech Day a success! Your donation will go towards: The conference location, Food for youth and speakers, Educational gift bags for students, Equipment, Liability Insurance, Misc. Items (Nametags, pens, signs). Donate Here

FIFTH ANNUAL FRENCH QUARTER WINE FESTIVAL KICKS OFF MARCH 18

2011-03-14T10:30:00.001-05:00

Wine lovers rejoice! The city of 1,000 festivals will once again invite winos from across NOLA to celebrate some of the world’s best wines. Started after Hurricane Katrina and modeled after the prestigious Boston Wine Festival, French Quarter Wine Festival brings some of the world’s best winemakers to the Maison Dupuy Hotel, located in the heart of New Orleans. The Festival will feature an opening and closing reception and 14 dinners and receptions hosted by the winemakers and proprietors. Chef Michael Farrell, Executive Chef of Maison Dupuy’s BISTREAUX and Le Meritage Restaurants, will create delectable dinners to accompany each tasting.

The celebration kicks off with a block party on March 18 featuring 150 labels and performances by Rebirth Brass Band and Los Po-Boy-Citos starting at 7:00PM. A silent auction will be held during the event for the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Greater New Orleans.

French Quarter Wine Festival events are listed below:

March 18: Grand Opening Reception ($75)
March 22: Opus One Winery Reception and Dinner ($145)
March 23: Cakebread Cellars Reception and Dinner ($105)
March 29: Diamond Creek Vineyards Reception and Dinner ($135)
March 30: Luigi Bosca Winery Reception and Dinner ($95)
April 5: Silver Oak Cellars Reception and Dinner ($135)
April 6: WillaKenzie Estate Winery Reception and Dinner ($95)
April 12: DeLille Cellars Reception and Dinner ($95)
April 13: B. R. Cohn Winery Reception and Dinner ($95)
April 19: Hess Collection Reception and Dinner ($95)
April 20: Ehlers Estate Reception and Dinner ($95)
April 26: Poggio al Tesoro and San Polo Wineries Reception and Dinner ($105)
April 27: Château Palmer Reception and Dinner ($145)
May 3: Duckhorn Wine Company Reception and Dinner ($115)
May 4: Martinelli Winery Reception and Dinner ($95)
May 13: Closing Reception ($65)

For more information on French Quarter Wine Festival or to make reservations, please visit www.frenchquarterwinefestival.com or call 504-648-6113.

West Side Story Comes to New Orleans

2011-03-11T23:12:00.001-06:00

That’s right! One of the world’s greatest love stories will be showing in New Orleans from March 15th through the 20th, West Side Story. West Side Story is a musical based on William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. It’s an energetic musical based around gang warfare between the Jets and the Sharks in New York City in the 1950s.

Hitting Broadway over fifty years ago on September 26, 1957 at Winter Garden Theatre, this unforgettable musical left New York speechless, and now has a chance to bring that fun and excitement to New Orleans at the Mahalia Jackson Theater. Get prepared to see unbelievable singing and dancing bringing to life the story of love and ethnic/social relations.

The main characters bringing West Side Story alive in New Orleans are Kyle Harris as Tony and Ali Ewoldt as Maria. A few additions will be made to this performance from past shows, such as the use of Spanish dialogue and terminology, giving the story an interesting touch. Director, Arthur Laurentz says the show is coming back as a revival, making it more universal and timeless.

New Orleans own, Joey McKneely will be reproducing the choreography for the performance, making the musical a little more special for New Orleans. Joey McKneely’s work can be seen on Broadway productions such as Smokey Joe’s Café, The Life, Twelfth Night, The Wild Party, The Boy from Oz, and many others.

If you’re in New Orleans around the 15th you must stop by the Mahalia Jackson Theater and see West Side Story. With nothing but great reviews this love story revival will leave you wanting more!

Schedule and Tickets:
The performance schedule is Tuesday through Friday at 8:00PM, Saturday at 2:00PM and 8:00PM and Sunday at 2:00PM and 7:30PM.

Tickets go on sale Friday, January 14 starting at $25. For more information on tickets, visit http:// www.mahaliajacksontheater.com. Tickets are also available at all Ticketmaster locations, www.ticketmaster.com or via phone at 800-982-2787 (ARTS). Group discounts for 20 or more are available by calling 504-287-0372.

*Photo Credit: http://www.westsideontour.com/

New Orleans Entrepreneur Week

2011-03-11T10:37:00.000-06:00

New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, the hallmark third annual festival of entrepreneurship in New Orleans, is kicking off in 8 days! There are over 45 FREE educational and social events available to you – but hurry, slots are filling up fast!!

We would like to invite you to register for some of the free education sessions and social events that have been developed just for entrepreneurs and those interested in entrepreneurship. We have highlighted sessions we think will be of particular interest below. Events are filling up quickly so please sign up soon. Registration closes on Monday, March 14th, 2011. For a full listing of events and to register, go to http://noew.org/schedule/register/

MONDAY, MARCH 21^st:

Water Challenge Keynote Discussion
Celebrating leadership and innovation in the water industry, David Waggonner of Waggonner & Ball Architects will give a keynote speech.

A panel discussion on entrepreneurship and opportunities in Integrated Water Management, featuring the Water Challenge Advisory Committee, will follow. The committee includes:

· Marco F. Cocito-Monoc- Director of Regional Initiatives, The Greater New Orleans Foundation

· Beth Galante -Director of New Orleans Resource Center and Office, Global Green USA

· Robin Barnes-Executive Vice President, Greater New Orleans Inc.

· Douglas Meffert-Director Tulane RiverSphere

· Steve Picou-Sustainable Housing Agent, LSU AgCenter, moderator

Water Challenge Lunch and LearnJoin us for lunch: For just $9.00 you can enjoy a delicious lunch as water expert Bob Perciasepe, Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, discusses adaptation, resilience and innovation with water.

Water Challenge Pitch
The Water Challenge culminates with three finalists pitching their innovative water solutions to the audience and a panel of industry experts. While the judges deliberate, John Gordon, Director IBM Smarter Cities, will give a keynote speech, which will be followed by the awards ceremony. The winner will receive $50,000 of seed funding, eight weeks of business development support, including $5,000 worth of legal services from Jones Walker, and a technology package from HP. The “audience favorite” will also receive an HP technology prize.

Raising Capital
Early Stage Financings - Issues and Process: Discussion of the process and players, diligence, valuation, funding and related financial disclosure, deal structures, counsel and documents

TUESDAY, MARCH 22^ND:

Google 101
Google will be offering opportunities for entrepreneurs who would like to participate in large group sessions that will provide an overview of Google Products relevant to small businesses. This session will last for approximately 90 minutes. Recommended Audience: For profit entrepreneurs who have little to no experience with Google’s products and tools for small businesses.

Online Marketing Strategy & TacticsUniquely positioned as an online marketing consultancy, FSC Interactive will teach New Orleans entrepreneurs how to effectively integrate your total marketing strategies with online tactics.

Traditional Advertising & PR Strategies
Laila Morcos of Peter A. Mayer will show you how startups can get media attention on a budget – by presenting the how to’s of traditional advertising and public relations.

Place Based Economic Development in Downtown New OrleansCreating a fertile environment for entrepreneurship begins with creating a place that is not only attractive economically, but also culturally and intellectually. After Hurricane Katrina, the Downtown Development District of New Orleans (DDD) focused its mission on attracting and retaining Industries of the Mind—specifically bioscience, digital media and arts-based businesses—in belief that the growth of these creative industries would be essential to the city’s economic recovery. As a result, Downtown New Orleans is now emerging as one of the nation’s new hubs for artists, filmmakers, engineers, entrepreneurs and visionaries of any kind, and it is like nowhere else to live and pursue a dream. Find out how we did it. Topics to include State & Federal incentives, creative financing tools, the role of placemaking in site selection.

The 7 Secrets To Owning a Business That Makes Money
During this session, run by Venture Walk Business Partners, new and experienced entrepreneurs alike will get a no-holds barred understanding of how to grow a business from idea to reality.

Attendees will discover:

· the difference between an entrepreneur and a business owner and how understanding this difference can be your key to thriving versus simply surviving

· the 3 stages of entrepreneurship and how to use the stage you’re in to take your idea to the next level

· the best time to ask for help and funding and how to do it

· what the D.I.P. is and how it can cause you to waste time, energy and money in starting or growing your business

· the ideal entrepreneur personality type that almost always becomes successful

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23^RD:

Franchising 101: Be the next Burger King or Maaco
Join leading franchise consultants Marc Kiekenapp and Lane Fisher to learn all the in’s and out’s of franchising your business. From trademarking to financing and operations/logistics, “Franchising 101” will show you how your business can take part in this global billion dollar opportunity.

Pitch Perfect Presentations 101You have the next big idea. Now you’ve got to pitch it.

During this 90 minute session, the presentation experts from ProPoint Graphics will show you how to maximize your chances of success with a pitch perfect presentation. Learn how to engage your listeners, keep them focused, and use impactful visuals to convey your message and illustrate your key points.

Business Banking 101: How to access the financing your business needs to grow
Part of the Capital Landscape series, the Business Banking 101 will highlight the different types of financing that banks have to offer businesses at the seed stage and as they mature. Participating banks include Regions, Gulf Coast Bank and Whitney National Bank.

THURSDAY, MARCH 24^TH:

Internationalization 10196% of the world’s customers live outside of the United States. While many entrepreneurs and small businesses would like to reach this global audience, there are a number of reasons that keep them from pursuing international business, from complexity to trust or just a concentrated focus on the local market.

In this innovative seminar, Jesse M Lapierre, a diplomat with vast international trade experience, and Knud Berthelsen, a Social Media Entrepreneur who moved to New Orleans from Norway, will equip participants with the tools and knowledge to increase their international web presence, social media presence and new ways in which to put the global economy within reach.

FRIDAY, MARCH 25^TH:

Baker Donelson Emerging Business BootcampThe Baker Donelson Emerging Company Boot Camp is a half-day event bringing together representatives from the legal, finance and accounting industries for the benefit of start-up and emerging companies. The Boot Camp will cover topics including choosing an entity and corporate formation; tax; intellectual property (patent, copyright and trademark); labor and employment; financing and securities laws; contracting and licensing; confidentiality agreements; employee benefits and health care; accounting and payroll; and venture capital. This program is strategically designed to provide information about issues that companies should consider as they grow in the marketplace. It’s a don’t-miss opportunity for entrepreneurs, small business owners and emerging companies!

Spotlight Nola: Lauren Widener, NOLAbet Prints

2011-03-09T10:30:00.001-06:00

All About Lauren Widener
My name is Lauren Widener and I grew up in Metairie and Kenner. I am now firmly planted in Old Metairie with my phenomenal husband and three amazing daughters, ages 5, 3, and 18mos. Besides photography, I love cooking, gardening, music, and playing with my family. My faith in God is very important to me and I love serving in my local church and in my community. This opportunity I have to give back to NOLA really excites me!

NOLAbet Prints
NOLAbet prints was the brainchild of my aunt, who when seeing a print I made for my mom as a Christmas present declared, "Dawlin, you got something here!" She ordered two prints and the rest is history! As I walked the streets of NOLA scouting for more letters to photograph, I realized that this was more than just a business opportunity. It became clear to me that the architecture, wrought iron, and icons that survived Hurricane Katrina symbolized the families in all of their strength, resilience, faith, and beauty, that also survived and resettled here! When I look at my "Widener" print hanging in my kitchen I think, "God put the Widener's here and here the Widener's will stay!" It is a reminder of my commitment to NOLA and her people! Somewhere along the way the phrase was coined that we are "Preserving NOLA one family at a time."

NOLAbet is short for New Orleans Louisiana Alphabet. My New Orleans Alphabet catalog includes several options for each letter of the alphabet and it continues to expand as I discover more and more architectural elements to photograph! NOLAbet offers a variety of ways to spell names and phrases using my photos of architecture, wrought iron, and icons from around the city that resemble letters of the alphabet. Customers can choose to have a surname or phrase (such as NOLA, FAMILY, HOME) spelled out and framed (the matting, framing, and shipping are included in our cost!) , or have it printed on stationary. I always design 2-3 proofs for customers and will work with them to get it exactly the way they like it. Since this is a custom product, I ask that customers allow at least 3-4wks from start to finish.

There is also a selection of pre-designed items including note-cards that say "NOLA," "MERCI," and "THANKS." The newest product we have is our "NOLA-nitials" pendants. Customers can choose their initial from the selection on the website and we will design a pendant for them! They are beautiful and unique! Folks can purchase directly from the website or they can email me for orders. lauren@nolabetprints.com Besides our website www.nolabetprints.com, you can purchase NOLAbet at Agora Galleries on Magazine and Judy at the Rink on Prytania.

NOLAbet helps Preservation Resource Center
I chose to help support the Preservation Resource Center because it the best way I can return my appreciation for the subject that I shoot! The PRC works tirelessly to restore, rebuild, and preserve this city and I am proud to be able to give what I can to help those efforts. I also
give to Lakeview Christian Center, my local church, who serves the Lakeview Community and surrounding areas in spiritual and practical means.

Most of our business comes from the friends and families of our customers. They see a print in their friends home, receive a note-card or a NOLAbet gift and then they want more! This is great but we would like to see our business grow so we can give more back to the community! At the shows I do, I often hear the regretful phrase...why didn't I know you existed!!

My favorite item by far is the N'awlins Name Print. I love designing a family's name with NOLA's architecture and then having their anniversary date in calligraphy underneath...what a statement! Newlyweds who get NOLAbet as a gift tell us it is the best gift they have received! Of course, I love the stationary and the pendants too..its very hard to choose. My favorite project has been designing prints for local area Whitney Bank branches. Certainly an honor!

What's Next
I am currently creating a Children's Alphabet that includes photos from area kids attractions and the like. My fans have requested this and the developing Children’s Catalog shows great promise! The names using the Children's Alphabet will be printed in a poster format so it can be easily framed to match the changing decor of a kids room and lifestyle. If I had my name spelled out with letter-pics from the zoo, story land, etc. it would be a nostalgic reminder of the fun I had growing up in this awesome city! I hope it will be for the future NOLAbet kids too! I hope to launch the Children's Alphabet by the end of Spring 2011. I am also working on numbers...think "504"!

NOLA Love
I come from a large family of NOLA lovers. I was taught at an early age of NOLA's history and learned to cherish Her uniqueness. I gleaned insight from the artists and historians in my family. My 2nd cousin is George Schmidt, a renowned local artist, musician, and historian and my aunt owns the Elder Hostel and People Program of New Orleans. Taking our city for granted was not an option! As a child, tagging along on tours of the city with my aunt and uncle, I can remember being smitten with NOLA's architecture and wrought iron. To this day, walking the streets of my city taking in the landscape is where I feel most at home. Who knew I would one day get the opportunity to help preserve it! So if you see a chic with kids in a stroller taking pictures of your house on St. Charles...don't be alarmed! I'm just doing my thing.

The Best of New Orleans' Po'Boys - Wall Street Journal Reports

2011-03-07T14:21:00.000-06:00

In search of the best New Orleans po'boy? Wall Street Journal writer Steve Garbarino does the research for you! He spent 72 hours testing many variations of our famous sandwich!!!!

In this week’s Off Duty section, he shares his reviews of 10 versions at restaurants and bars noted for their po’boys, both the iconic and “new.” The result: none were bad, most were sloppy-delicious, and more than a few—good news—rose to greatness.

Mahony's Po-boy Shop, 3454 Magazine St., mahonyspoboys.com

Global Green Upcoming Events

2011-03-07T14:13:00.000-06:00

Saturday, March 26th: Green-It-Yourself Workshop

Global Green USA ’s Build It Back Green Program is proud to present a series of monthly educational workshops that teach residents the whys and hows of green building and energy efficiency.

Green-It-Yourself Workshop: Landscaping for the Rainy Season

Did you know that New Orleans is the third rainiest city in the US, averaging 64" of rain per year, more than Seattle? Stop worrying aboutSpring street flooding and soggy spots in your yard, and come learn how to live with our rain. Demetria Christo of EcoUrban LLC will be on hand to talk about managing water in your yard through easy measures like rain barrels, rain gardens, and permeable landscaping.The workshop will include a tour of Global Green’s LEED Platinum Holy Cross Project, where you can see these techniques in action.

Green-It-Yourself Workshop

Saturday, March 26th

11:00am to 1:00pm

Holy Cross Project

409 Andry Street

New Orleans, LA 70117

Global Green events are FREE and open to the public.

For more information on this and all GBRC events, please contact Heidi Jensen at our Green Building Resource Center:hjensen@globalgreen.org

____________________________________________________________________

Monday, March 28th and Tuesday, March 29th: Hands-On Green Rebuilding & Weatherization Training

Global Green USA is proud to present a Hands-On Green Rebuilding & Weatherization Workshop as an opportunity to receive both aclassroom and field training over the course of two days in the city of New Orleans.

Global Green Technical Coordinators Andrew Spaulding and Nathan Barthels will be joined by nationally renowned weatherization expert and LSU Ag Center consultant Bill Robinson to present a two-day classroom/field component course on energy efficiency andbuilding science, focusing specifically on the southern Louisiana climate and the New Orleans home.

This training is recommended for anyone who works on renovations, retrofits and upgrades to residential buildings. Whether you are a handyman or an HVAC contractor this course will have something to offer you and it makes a great refresher course for anyone who hasn’t seen the recent advances in building science.

Hands-On Weatherization Training

Monday and Tuesday, March 28th & 29th

9:00 AM to 6:00 PM

Green Building Resource Center

841 Carondelet Street

New Orleans, LA 70130

The workshop is being offered free to non-profits, and available to contractors for a discounted fee of $150. For contractors, this will be an opportunity to receive up to 4 Continuing Education Units. Training will cover Building Science, House as a System (including HVAC), Weatherization Methods, Work Safe Practices, Indoor Air Quality & Occupant Health.

Refreshments will be served. For more information on this and all events, please contact Heidi Jensen at our Green Building Resource Center:hjensen@globalgreen.org

Frenchmen Street: Finding the real New Orleans

2011-03-04T12:14:00.000-06:00

To say I was looking for the real New Orleans is perhaps an unfair statement, considering that Bourbon Street, despite all of its annoyances, is just as real as anything else in the Crescent City. But for music and culture, it just wasn't the New Orleans I was looking for.

Nevertheless, I soon found myself wandering under wrought-iron balconies holding something that consisted of one part rum to 60 parts sugar. You might call it a Hurricane, but that would be offensive to the original Hurricane, which is more like one part rum to only 20 parts sugar. Either way, they're awful. Which, of course, is why I had four.

Maybe five. Six at most.

FULL STORY

Young Leadership Council Launches New Project, Le Vert Tour

2011-03-04T10:04:00.002-06:00

Project Kicks Off with “Green” Home Tours

Young Leadership Council (YLC), a non-profit civic organization that develops leadership skills through community projects, is pleased to announce the launch of its newest project, Le Vert Tour, a home tour focused on educating the public about economically effective ways to reduce their carbon footprint. The project will kick off its first ever home tour on March 26 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Created by YLC members Chappell Williams, Erin O’Connell, Erika Coleman, Serina Phoenix and Sarah Tanno, the Le Vert Tour will be an annual tour of homes that have incorporated “green” aspects such as sustainable designs and environmentally friendly, innovative techniques. The self-guided driving tour will take participants through 11 homes in Mid-City, the Lower Garden District, Uptown and Central City giving them a first-hand look at the advantages and ease of implementing these eco-friendly aspects into their own homes. Williams is currently spearheading the project with YLC members Daniel Simpson and Sonia Gasparini.

In addition to having direct access to the home owners, participants will also have the opportunity to meet with various organizations at each house, such as the American Institute of Architects, the Preservation Resource Center and the US Green Building Council. Representatives will be on hand to help answer questions about environmentally friendly techniques, materials and resources available.

According to Amy Boyle Collins, executive director of YLC, “We are so excited to launch our latest project, Le Vert Tour. Developing an environmentally friendly lifestyle is critical to create a sustainable future for our community. We are thrilled to help educate the public and learn from local leaders who are already living a greener lifestyle.”

Participants must have a passport to enter the houses on the tour. Passports are available on March 26 at the Young Leadership Council’s office located at 1840 Euterpe Street.

People interested in showing their eco-friendly homes can fill out an application by clicking this link and submitting it toleverttour@youngleadershipcouncil.org. For more information on the YLC and to view a list of the homes and organizations participating in the 2011 Le Vert Tour, please visit www.youngleadershipcouncil.org.

The Young Leadership Council is a non-profit, non-partisan civic organization created to develop leadership through community projects. Through volunteer-created community projects, the YLC recruits and retains young professionals to New Orleans, creating a positive impact on the quality of life in the region. The oldest, independent YPO (young professionals' organization) in the country, the YLC has raised more than $25 million to support community projects in and around the New Orleans area since 1986.

*press release*

Grow Dat Youth Farm will reap City Park land bounty

2011-03-04T01:51:00.000-06:00

The Grow Dat Youth Farm, a program of the Tulane City Center, has been launched on three-and-a-half acres of City Park, with labor provided by 13 students from New Orleans Math and Science Charter High School.
One acre should be in production by January, and the farm's goal is to produce 10,000 pounds of food in a year, said Johanna Gilligan, the farm's director.

FULL STORY

Middle Eastern on Maple Street

2011-03-03T11:31:00.003-06:00

In the midst of Mardi Gras and mania, try to grab a quick bite if you’re down on Maple Street. Babylon Café on 7724 Maple Street, close to St. Charles and Carrollton, is a hidden jewel.

Inexpensive with great portions, this little café serves the most authentic Middle Eastern cuisine I've had in New Orleans. For appetizers, my friend and I shared grape leaves, falafel and safeiheh. The grapes leaves were stuffed with rice, ground lamb, vegetables and spices, served five to a plate in a pool of delicious olive oil. The falafel is some of the best I've ever had, six to a plate, perfectly fried with onion, garlic, parsley and spices, served with tzatziki sauce. The safeiheh is a mini-pizza of ground lamb and beef with tomatoes and spices baked on pita bread. This was my second favorite appetizer, and we were almost too full for the entrée.

Our gyro plate came with homemade bread, which we requested instead of the pita bread. So fresh, hot and chewy, the bread was perfect with the crisp gyro meat, side of Greek salad and hummus. The main thing this place gets right is the rich olive oil and fresh ingredients. Everyone is extremely friendly and efficient as well, and it never seems to get too crowded. I personally love the ambiance of a place that’s more casual, with butcher paper on the tabletops and colorful murals on the walls.

I’ve ended up going to this place twice in the last week; it’s my new addiction. It’s good for a snack, lunch or dinner, especially if you want a little peace and quiet.

*Photo Credit: http://www.neworleansonline.com

What to do at the cenTENNial

2011-03-03T10:00:00.001-06:00

The events at the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival are in too great a number to be considered for one lowly article. GoodNola is intent on thoroughly combing through the special events and plucking out the ones to which our readers should be made privy.

Wednesday, March 23, the festival kicks off with a world premiere of three of Williams’s one-act plays (The Pretty Trap: A Comedy in One Act, The Magic Tower, and Every Twenty Minutes). Festival-goers will have to dig deep into their pockets to foot the $100 ticket price for this limited seating event, held at the Southern Repertory Theatre in the 300-block of Canal Street. The show starts at 7:00 pm.

Those who are on a more restrictive budget should consider Cocktails and Cinema. The Clock Bar at the historic Chateau Bourbon Hotel has invited celebrity mixologists to judge a Tennessee Williams-inspired cocktail competition (which is open to the public). Once the creative juices are sufficiently flowing, guests will be escorted to the rooftop courtyard for a screening of the 1956 adaptation of Williams’s Baby Doll, a dark comedy that has been called “the dirtiest, American-made motion picture that has ever been legally exhibited” by Time Magazine. But after a few well-constructed drinks, who will care? The cocktails begin at 7:00 pm; the movie at 8:30. Tickets are $5.

The following night, Thursday, March 24, Literary Late Night will be brought to One Eyed Jacks where the National Comedy Company hits the stage for a completely improvised, audience-interactive, musical skit that’s being billed as “the most ridiculous show Tennessee Williams never wrote.” Following will be the main event: a poetry slam (hosted by local poet Chuck Perkins) where the prize for best word artist comes in the form of $100 cash money. Think your words pull the best punches? Sign up for the slam from 7:00-7:30 pm the evening of the event. The show starts at 8:00. Tickets are $15.

Outdoor Nola: Algiers Point

2011-03-02T11:11:00.002-06:00

I am one of the least outdoorsy people I know. I don’t camp, don’t fish, don’t hike (you get the picture!), but living in New Orleans I have found that there are many fabulous things to do outside at all times of the year. Soaking up the sun, drinking a cold Abita and listening to live local music is a magical combination, and I’m a huge fan of being anywhere you can create this experience. There are the obvious outdoor pastimes such as Jazz Fest and Mardi Gras, but I am going to uncover the lesser-known, but equally awesome, outdoor activities available in New Orleans and bring them to you. Welcome to Outdoor Nola!

It’s Picnic Season again! I, for one, could not be more thrilled. New Orleanians will use any excuse to spend time outside at this time of year. The weather is perfect -- balmy, windy, not sweltering hot yet -- absolutely perfect picnic weather! There are great picnic locations throughout the city, including Audubon Park, City Park, and anywhere along a bayou. One of these wonderful, but lesser known, picnic destinations is the levee at Algiers Point. I’ve been there several times, once for a music festival, once to meet a friend for lunch, and recently for an awesome picnic!

Algiers Point is one of New Orleans’ oldest neighborhoods. It has a wonderful far-away small-town feeling, considering its proximity to the French Quarter. Walking around in its quiet neighborhoods can be an afternoon activity in itself; the town is full of interesting architecture, small parks, and quirky restaurants and cafes. The levee in Algiers Point is less well known, and therefore quieter, than most of our east-bank picnic spots, providing a pleasant escape from the activity of the French Quarter. It is nice to be able to listen to the quiet breeze while looking back across the river, knowing the hustle and bustle is still there, and that you can go back to it any time. All in all, Algiers Point makes for a very peaceful and intimate spot to share some wine, cheese, and great conversation with a few friends.

The fact that you can get to Algiers Point by taking a free ferry ride across the Mississippi is just icing on the cake! The ferry leaves every few minutes from the Riverwalk area, right next to the Audubon Aquarium. You can even take your car with you for the affordable price of $1. Riding the ferry over to Algiers contributes to the feeling of getting away from the city, despite the fact that it is only a five minute ride. You can’t beat the feel of wind in your face and the scent of the mighty Mississippi. Next time you find yourself wanting to spend all day outside in our perfect New Orleans weather, consider taking the ferry across the river to historic old Algiers for a picnic on the levee, a walk around the town, and an exploration of a place you might not have considered visiting.

*Photo Credit: http://www.algierspoint.org/

Creating an urban oasis: An editorial

2011-03-01T13:40:00.001-06:00

New Orleans was pockmarked by empty, overgrown lots before Katrina, but the streetscape is even more snaggletoothed now.

One of those empty lots could be a model for the city and residents who are fighting blight. A grove of trees and flowers is planned for what is now an empty lot in Central City.

Full Story

This year's Mardi Gras is expected to be one of the biggest ever

2011-02-28T15:40:00.000-06:00

It’s sometimes called the Greatest Free Show on Earth, but Mardi Gras is poised to translate into big profits for New Orleans-area hotels this year.

Largely because the season starts so late, Carnival is shaping up to be the biggest in years for the tourism industry, hotel operators say. “This is the best I’ve seen,” said Fred Sawyers, general manager of the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel, who has been with the hotel for seven years.

Full Story