Upcoming Events in New Orleans Friday, Jan 30 2009

I was walking in this morning, cold, the sound of ice crunching as I walked. But, I was heartended by the fact that days are getting longer and…six weeks from today, exactly, we’ll be heading to New Orleans!

I checked the Times-Picayune online to see what’s going on in the Crescent City and found the schedule of events for the many festivals that will be going on when we are there. The biggest news: rumor has it that the Mardi Gras Indians will process on Sunday, March 15th, rather than a week later, as I had feared. Keep in mind, things with the Indians are always tentative and subject to their schedule, but this is a hopeful sign. Keep your fingers crossed!

There is a complete list of events, but highlights include: Saturday, March 14th, Italian-American St. Joseph’s Day parade, 6:00 p.m., French Quarter; Sunday, March 15, Mardi Gras Indian’s Super Sunday, around 1:00 p.m. (I’m still a little leary of this, though.); and the Tuesday, March 17th, the Downtown Irish Club Parade, 6:30 p.m., Bywater/French Quarter. This starts outside of the French Quarter and participants stop frequently for “refreshments,” so it takes a while for it to hit Bourbon Street. In addition, Thursday, March 19th is St. Joseph’s Day and there will be altars set up throughout the city. For the parade listing, see: http://blog.nola.com/festivals/2008/02/st_patricks_day_events_for_200.html

Finally, as the nation celebrates Abrahm Lincoln’s bicentennial (February 12th, to be exact), New Orleans is celebrating the centennial of the Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club. The Louisiana State Museum (housed in the Cabildo and Presbytere) has opened a year-long exhibit: “From Tramps to Kings: 100 Years of Zulu.” The $6.00 admission will get you into other exhibits, as well, including their permanent Carnival exhibit, “Mardi Gras in Louisiana.” For the website on the exhibit, see: http://lsm.crt.state.la.us/zulu/

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Upcoming Events Tuesday, Jan 27 2009

• There are a number of events on the UNH and local calendars that pertain directly or indirectly to New Orleans. On Thursday, January 27th, UC Berkeley Prof. and internationally known civil rights activist Angela Davis, will deliver the keynote address for this year’s Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration. She will speaking on the high rate of inarceration for African-American men in the United States. This is especially true in New Orleans and Louisiana, where the problem is compounded further by a brutal penal system. For more information on this events see: 2009 MLK Celebratory events.

• In February, one of my favorite New Orleans brass bands, the Hot 8 Brass Band, comes to New England. You can check them out on MySpace:  http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=57018925   . On February 11, 2009 they be performing at Keene State’s Redfern Arts Center at 7:30PM. And, on February 12, 2009, they’ll be performing at Rogers Center-Merrimack College. The show starts at 7:30PM. Merrimack is a little closer and a few dolllars cheaper. If you are interested in car-pooling down, let me know and we’ll see what we can arrange in advance. I tried to get them here at UNH during this tour, but was unable to secure the funding for a visit. Maybe next year.

• And finally, on April 13, 2009, UNH’s own Traditional Jazz Series will feature the traditional stylings of Bria and Jim’s Borderline Jazz Band. This all-star group includes Jim Fryer, Bria Skonberg, Jimmy Mazzy and John Clark. To get tickets for this toe-tapping concert, you may order tickets in advance by calling 603-862-2290, or you may visit the UNH Memorial Union Building Ticket Office (hours are Monday through Friday from 10AM. to 4:00 PM. 

If you happen upon other New Orleans-related events, please let em know and I”ll add them to the blog. Thanks in advance.

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Happy New Year! Wednesday, Jan 7 2009

A new year has begun. And while it snows and sleets here in New Hampshire, the Carnival season is underway in Louisiana. Yesterday was Epiphany, the feast that marks the visitation of the Magi. While to most this marks the end of the Christmas season, in New Orleans it is the beginning of Carnival; it will stretch from now until Mardi Gras, which this year falls on February 24th.  In these winter weeks before the solemn season of Lent, revelers will attend masked balls, king cake parties, and parades throughout southern Louisiana. While we focus on the days leading up to Mardi Gras itself, this marks an entire season of celebration.

Although masked balls and parades are scarce here in the Granite State, Basin Street Records, in collaboration with NOLA.com (Times-Picayune online) has created NOLA Radio online, which will feature music from Kermit Ruffins, Henry Butler, Dr. Michael White and others to help mark the season. You can access it from here.

So don’t despair; even though you might have to forgo the king cake and beads, you can savor the music.

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