Saint Patrick’s Day in New Orleans Sunday, Mar 18 2012

Crawfish for our last dinner in Slidell, March 2012

A constant of our spring breaks has been St. Patrick’s Day, which runs neck and neck with St. Joseph’s Day in New Orleans among the pantheon of “holy” days to rank behind Mardi Gras. It or some events related to it are always present. This year students traveled to Metairie for their big parade last Sunday. And a few of those in the City witnessed the Molly’s in the Market parade on Decatur, which is basically a moving block party. They enjoyed their last night in the Quarter, regardless, although the new 21+ regulations are making it harder for young people to go into clubs to listen to music. If they keep this up, it will be to the detriment of the music and its following and not to the sustenance of decency and decorum.

Courtyard concert, Historic New Orleans Collection, Royal Street, March 2012

I caught part of the Molly’s parade, but also had the chance to see Dr. Michael White and his quartet performing at eh Historic New Orleans Collection on Royal Street. The beautiful courtyard of this old mansion was filled with members and music lovers alike, and they did not disappoint. And the sound of tunes like “Just a Closer Walk with Thee,” with Gregg Stafford’s vocals reverberating off of the masonry walls, was fabulous.

Students learning about Mardi Gras Indian culture at the Backstreet Cultural Museum, March 2012

The late night in the City made for a slow departure from the Peace Mission Center this morning. And to some extent, I think it was a rebellion against leaving New Orleans more than chronic sleepiness. Bags seemed to roll slower. Packing decisions took longer. I found it easier to leave the process entirely and make my way into the City for our meeting at the Backstreet Cultural Museum in Treme, the source for the best information on Mardi Gras Indian and Second Line culture in New Orleans. Happily, all three groups fought through the New Orleans departure blues to hear museum founder Sylvester Francis

Sylvester Francis explaining the Second Line tradition, March 2012

expound on this unique culture. The Mardi Gras Indian costumes amazed and hopefully most came away with greater understanding of these New Orleans cultural artifacts.

Sadly, I had to part with students at 10 a.m. Most of them were heading across Rampart Street into the Quarter for what I feel is the finest New Orleans experience — the French Quarter on a weekend morning. There they would find a humming French Market, street performers, and New Orleans’ signature food fare; such will hopefully lessen the sting of a long journeyhome back to the second half of the semester.

Willie Mae's Scotch House, Treme, March 2012

I left the museum to head out to the airport to pick up my wife. And as frequently as I go to New Orleans, it was the first time we have been together in the City since 1993>And we had quite the New Orleans experience: fried chicken at Willie Mae’s Scotch House in Treme; part of the Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Day Parade; dinner with a smartass waitress; the Downtown St. Patrick’s Parade; music on Frenchmen; watching 100 year-old Lionel Ferbos perform with his band at the Palm Court; and walking through the Quarter on a warm Saturday night that happens to be March 17th. It makes me tired (and smile) just to think of it.

St. Patrick's Day, Jackson and St. Charles, March 2012

I am heading offline tomorrow and will not be adding to my blog for a week or more. I’m sure I’ll Have plenty of observations, commentary, and pictures when I get back and the events of the past week have sufficiently sunk in. At that time, I will also begin a new thread in which I invite students to contribute blog entries related to New Orleans, the trip, and to the class. So, stay tuned, there is good stuff yet to come.

St. Patrick's Fay, Frenchmen Street, March 2012

Pat on her feast day, Palm Court, March 2012

100 year-old trumpet player and bandleader, Lionel Ferbos, Palm Court, March 2012

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Things to Do in New Orleans — Part 1 Thursday, Mar 1 2012

We’re about a week away from heading down to New Orleans. In addition to working with Habitat for Humanity in St. Tammany Parish, we will be experiencing the history and culture of New Orleans. And in looking ahead, we will have plenty of opportunities to do just that.

Lower Ninth Ward, March 2010

You’ll be arriving in Slidell next Saturday. If you arrive early enough, we can go into the City. If it a little later, there is a fire pit where we are staying. We can can hang out. Rest after 30 hours on the road. And be well prepared for an action packed Sunday.

On Sunday morning we will head down to the Lower Ninth Ward, ground zero for flooding from the levee failures after Hurricane Katrina. We’ll head to the intersection of Tennessee and Galvez, once the center of a vibrant and close-knit community.  Much of it was washed away in August 2005 and of the all the neighborhoods hit by Katrina, it has been the slowest to be rebuilt.  Many of the houses near the levee are the product of Brad Pitt’s Make it Right initiative. The houses are innovative and sustainable. And other charities have built houses in the Lower Ninth.  Development has been slow, but it is being recognized as a model of sustainability.

Kendra and Ronald Lewis, House of Dance and Feathers, June 2011

After that, we’ll head over to 1217 Tupelo Street, also in the Lower Ninth. There we will visit one of the most personal museum collections anywhere. We are going to visit Ronald Lewis’ home grown museum, the House of Dance and Feathers. Long before Katrina, Lewis, who spent years repairing street car tracks, began collecting Mardi Gras Indian and Second Line memorabilia from the Lower Ninth of his birth. Remarkably, much of his collection survived the flood. And since, he has built a place for people to come and appreciate his handiwork and the work of others.

Afterwards, I’ll turn you loose. I suspect most of you will head over to Metairie for the St. Patrick’s Parade. There you find beads and catch cabbages. As fun as that sounds, I’ll likely be off chasing a Second Line parade (I plan to catch the Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Parade on March 17th). In the evening, we’ll meet with our friends from UNH Intervarsity for a concert  by New Orleans born singer, song writer, guitarist Paul Sanchez. I saw him for a brief set with John Boutte several years back, so I’m looking forward to hearing him again.

St. Patrick's Day Parade, March 2010

Uncharacteristically,  we have Monday off, so we will make full use of it. I’d like to hit the City early so we can visit some of the cemeteries. Afterwards, I’ll leave it up to groups. Whether you want to kick around the French Quarter, take the ferry to Algiers, or ride the streetcar uptown — it’s up to you. All I know, we have to back out in Slidell by 1:30pm for a swamp tour on the Pearl River watershed.  Hopefully, it will be warm and sunny so that we get bored seeing alligators and other reptiles.

Afterwards, I suspect we’ll head back to the Peace Mission Center, have dinner, gather around a fire, and call it a day. Stay tuned for Part 2. I’m still looking at what music is playing week after next.

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Leaving Ordinary Time Tuesday, Feb 21 2012

Today is Mardi Gras. The end of Carnival. The end of Ordinary Time. Ordinary Time?

The Roman Catholic Church recognizes two stretches of Ordinary Time during their liturgical calendar. The first runs from the end of the Christmas Season, Epiphany (January 6th) up to Ash Wednesday, the start of the Lenten Season. The second is longer and less eventful, running from the end of Pentecost (the end of Eastertide) up to the Saturday before the beginning of Advent, the four-week period leading up to Christmas and the beginning of the liturgical year. In the grand scheme of things, the first is definitely more interesting than the second.

The first span of Ordinary Time, especially in places that celebrate Carnival or Mardi Gras, is anything but Ordinary. The time is filled with masked balls, King Cake parties, and eventually the festivities, feasting and parades leading up to Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday/Shrove Tuesday/Pancake Day. Take your pick depending upon your local tradition.

In New Orleans, Ordinary Time ends exactly at midnight on Mardi Gras. It is so important that the police clear Bourbon Street, arresting those who persist in carrying their partying over into the early hours of Ash Wednesday. Nothing is left to chance or inebriated, self control. It. Is. Over.

Italian-American Marching Club Parade, Bourbon St., March 2007.

The curtain closes.  In a season which recognized Christ’s 40 days in the desert, those seeking the fasting, prayer and penance of the Lenten season go to church to receive Palm Sunday’s recycled palm fronds in the form of ashes. A new season. A new holy season has begun.

But there are loopholes. While in past centuries believers gave up meat, eggs and dairy, during Lent, today’s Catholics must only give up meat on the Fridays. But these restriction, too, may be waived if St. Patrick’s Day (March 17th), St. Joseph’s Day (March 19th), or the Annunciation (March 25th) chance to fall on a Friday. Then, dioceses may choose to wave the Fast. And that is important in New Orleans, where St. Patrick’s Day and St. Joseph’s Day are important for Irish and Italian/African-American residents, respectively. In a span of a few days, St. Patrick’s parades, St. Joseph’s parades and altars, and Mardi Gras Indian processions will come and come. And while the religious connections may be tenuous, they are extremely important in their respective communities.

Uptown Indian Parade, March 20, 2011.

So, while the NOPD might clear the Quarter at midnight following Mardi Gras, the parades, the parties, and the beads continue, albeit at a slower pace.

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St. Patrick’s Day in New Orleans Friday, Mar 18 2011

It hit me that this is my sixth St. Patrick’s Day in a row in New Orleans. I guess it’s getting to be a habit. Happily, blue tarps are no longer the color of choice. Green is back!

Hickory Street, March 2011.

I did figure out a neat trick the Mississippi River Bridge toll takers have. Three days in a row, I have had to give them a large in bill. On the Mass Pike, the toll taker making six figures might get mad. In New Orleans, they smile, say thank you, and then hand you 19 one dollar bills.

I knew it was going to be a good day when I got in the car and WWOZ was playing a lovely version of Hoagy Carmichael’s “New Orleans.” And then in honor of St. Joseph’s Day (March 19th), they moved to Mardi Gras Indian tunes. When I got to the work site I parked along the curb, rolled down the windows and cranked it up.

By the time I got to Hickory Street, both groups were fully engaged in house painting. As promised, Molly saved the detail work on the front porch for me. A win-win: the job I like best, close to the tunes. The morning flew by as the students were much more engaged than the day before. And that is when the “po-boy effect” kicked in.

Post lunch nap, March 2011.

Some of the students packed lunches, as did I. As much as I love them, a daily diet of po-boys is a bit too much. As it is, I’m thankful my doctor doesn’t read this blog (if you stumble upon it Dr. J, I sometimes make things up). But for many of the rest, it was predictable: lunch > po-boys > sandwich induced stupor.

In talking to the residents, I did learn some important information. On St. Joseph’s night, the Carrollton Hunters, one of the Uptown Mardi Gras Indian tribes, begin there evening right here on this end of Hickory Street. And the homeowners have welcomed me back to watch. Last year it was St. Bernard Avenue, but this year I’ll be Uptown for the spectacle.

We made it through the afternoon with most of the first coat done on both houses. We packed up the gear for Molly and Duncan and headed back to St. Raymond’s to wash brushes and eat out final dinner there. It was Volunteer Appreciate Night and Duncan opened the event with a beautiful statement on the importance and meaning of volunteerism. Who, knew? Under that tough, New Jersey exterior is an old softee. And then one of the homeowners who told her story about losing literally everything. It got a little preachy for some of the students, but it had a big impact nevertheless.

We filtered back to Madonna Manor to shower and get back into town the downtown St. Patrick’s Day parade. It’s smaller and more erratic than the ones over the weekend, but tries to close the gap with liquid refreshment consumption. And if appearances were any indication, the French Quarter crowd was in “high spirits.”

Chelsea and Kelley on the firetruck, St. Patrick's Day, March 2011.

The Zulus got stuck in traffic on Elysian Fields, where the police close the street to let the parade through on Royal Street. Everybody but Tom got out. Somehow some of the girls got talked onto a firetruck from Baton Rouge and spent much of the parade helping firemen throw beads to inebriated parade goers. Not one of those things that happens in the average town on the average day. The other groups enjoyed walking around or listening to music.

The silliness lingered long after the parade had passed, but the evening was beautiful. Most bars along Frenchmen Street were packed, but the best place was on the sidewalk, in the warm air, listening to the distinctive sounds coming from each doorway.

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Savoring New Orleans Monday, Mar 14 2011

For a bunch that drove between 26 and 30 hours to get here, the students showed a lot of resolve in getting up and out on a Sunday morning. One group was out before 9:00am, heading to the Quarter and French Market prior to tracking down the Metarie St. Patrick’s parade. I think the other three groups were heading into the City by 10:30am.

Make it Right 9 homes, Lower Ninth Ward, March 2011.

I went with two of the groups to the Lower Ninth Ward. We caravanned in, so Chelsea rode shotgun with me in case we had to connect to the two vans by phone. Chelsea was in the class last year, so we both were pleasantly surprised by the number of new houses we saw as we crossed the Industrial Canal. Nevertheless, once we parked near the intersection of Galvez and Tennessee, the progress is engulfed by the broad expanse that still exists. Students continue to be stunned by the magnitude of the loss and by how much more needs to be done. We walked the neighborhood in the quiet of a Sunday morning, uninterrupted save the occasional purr of a lawn mower or passing tour busses. The levee provided a place from which to view the new homes, with remaining houses, rebuilt or not, far in the background, away from the levee and the source of the deluge.

One group left to catch the parade, while those of us who had attended the Irish Channel parade were satisfied to sit this one out. One can use only so many green Mardi Gras beads. It reminds me of 2006, when I spent a week gutting homes in Chalmette; we found stores of beads in almost every home. In some cases, multiple trash bags full in storage sheds or collapsed attics. It was a sobering lesson in the uselessness of many of the things we tend to hold on to.

Sunday on Royal Street, March 2011.

We drove back across the canal and I showed them Musicians’ Village and the nearly completed Ellis Marsalis Music Center. We then headed down Elysian Fields to the Marigny neighborhood. It was a beautiful day to take in the more placid sights and sounds of the residential areas of it and the French Quarter bordering Esplanade Avenue. In the daylight the multicolored Creole cottages, ironwork, balcony planters, and shop windows of Royal Street stood out above crowded tourist venues and displays of public drunkenness. Once we passed the St. Louis Cathedral, we had to stop for various street performers. We did end up spending way too much time, waiting for sandwiches at Johnny’s Po-boys; but eating them on the levee with the calliope from the Natchez stern wheeler made up for trouble.

Po-boys on the Mississippi, March 2011.

Meanwhile, the other three groups mopped up at the parade. Beads, plastic flowers, and various vegetables rained down. The vegetables were given away to become dinner for locals. Although, in some sort of cosmic reparation, parishioners form a nearby Catholic Church adopted one of the groups, fed them lunch and steered parade booty their way.

In the evening, we gathered at the Praline Connection on Frenchmen Street for our annual class dinner. We literally took up half the restaurant, but the wait staff was both patient and helpful with students unfamiliar with Creole cuisine. Orders spanned the menu, from jambalaya to fried catfish and stuffed peppers.

Praline Connection, March 2011.

After dinner, the groups went their separate ways to explore the French Quarter during the waning hours of the weekend. After another evening exploring, they returned to Marrero; some wrote in their journals, others looked for the reported ghosts. All went to bed knowing that in a few hours they’d head back across the river to begin the work week.

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A Funeral, a Parade, and Beignets: We Have Landed in New Orleans Sunday, Mar 13 2011

Dr. John, St. Louis III Cemetery, March 2011.

Four Ford vans and an impeccably on time Southwest Airlines delivered us safely to New Orleans on Saturday. Other than waking up at 4:00am, my flight was painless. Rain, road construction, and wrong turns made the students’ trips a little more interesting.
I arrived at Louis Armstrong International Airport just before noon, right at the time Tom and Chelsea’s group was entering New Orleans. Because I still had to deal with baggage claim and car rental, I sent them to Marrero to meet with the Operation helping Hands volunteer coordinator about housing. Then we decided to meet for the Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Parade Uptown.

St. Louis #3 Cemetery, March 2011.

In between, I drove in to see if I could hook up with the jazz funeral for Herman Ernest, Dr. John’s long-time drummer. It had been advertised, but rather cryptically, and I was left to solve this cultural puzzle. I made it to St. Louis III, just as the funeral procession of hearse and limousines arrived. No horse-drawn coffin – another illusion gone. I know it happens, but not here. I followed the crowd to the interment – it was clear that if there was a jazz funeral, it would be later and not here. I did see Mr. Rebennack, i.e. Dr. John, paying his respects two days before being inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  The crowd drifted away and I headed up to St. Charles Avenue.

Irish Channel St. Patrick's Parade, March 2011.

The parade was fun, but since I have been several years running, most of the fun comes from watching the students’ response. First time around, no amount of beads it too much. Watching your first cabbage thrown from two stories – it is true! And we were all amazed the populace could show such enthusiasm just four days removed from the end of Mardi Gras. It is New Orleans after all.
We went to Madonna Manor where we met up with the other two groups from my class, claimed rooms and beds for the week, exchanged war stories, and took long-overdue showers. We sent housing information to the remaining group, which was still an hour or more away, and went into the City.

Spotted Cat Music Club, March 2011.

I intentionally let the groups move about on their own, so they could absorb New Orleans at their own pace in their own way, one beignet at a time.  I moved about gingerly, due to a recent Achilles tendon injury. I was a bit creaky, but everything worked with minimum pain. I took in my requisite five or six blacks of Bourbon Street, but like the students was happy to absorb the sights and sounds. I went to the Spotted Cat where Ben Schenk and his cohorts entertained me and dozens of unmet friends with their infectious blend of traditional jazz, Caribbean, and Klezmer.
But I was exhausted and all I had done was sit in an airplane. The rest of group filtered back and crashed, resting up for our first, full-day in New Orleans. And the only one prior to beginning work on Monday.

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Upcoming Fests and Parades Tuesday, Mar 8 2011

We’re a few hours from the dawning of Mardi Gras 2011 and there are signs of life after Mardi Gras. Once the police chase the last celebrants off of Bourbon Street, it is time to prepare for Ash Wednesday, the first day of the Lenten Season. But this year, Ash Wednesday is closely followed by St. Patrick’s and St. Joseph’s Day celebrations. And this year, we’re talking days, not weeks.

Irish Channel St. Patrick's Parade, March 2008.

And the events come fast and furious. On Saturday, March 12^th, the Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Parade winds its way through the Garden District. It features Mardi Gras-style floats and trucks. And in addition to beads and traditional throws, the crowd can catch cabbages, potatoes, onions, and carrots – yes, every vegetable you need for your St. Paddy’s meal. And the following day, on the other side of the 17^th Street Canal, Metairie hosts pretty much the same thing.

Later the following week, on St. Patrick’s Day, the Downtown St. Patrick’s Day winds through the Bywater and French Quarter. It is a more intimate parade, marked by pit stops at local watering holes. A great event for people watching and throws, but there’s not a cabbage to be found anywhere.

Italian-American Marching Club, March 2007.

Two days later, on March 19^th, is St. Joseph’s Day.  One hundred years ago, Italian immigrants turned the French Quarter into “Little Sicily” and St. Joseph was their patron. St. Joseph’s altars are set up throughout the city in churches, restaurants and bars. And that night, the Italian-American Parade hits the French Quarter. And of course, it is also the night that the Mardi Gras Indians process through the African-American neighborhoods of New Orleans.

"Super Sunday," March 2007

To close the week (hopefully) is “Super Sunday,” the day the Mardi Gras Indians process for the rest of us. Early indications are that it will take place on Sunday, March 20^th, but I am skeptical. Weather and other circumstances can lead to its postponement. And I never trust the date until the Mardi Gras Indian Council confirms it.

Nevertheless, I will be ready.

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Saturday Morning Sunday, Mar 14 2010

The groups were ready earlier than I expected. They followed me into the city, where we found places to park the oversized vans on the street near Faubourg Marigny and the Quarter. I walked them down Frenchmen Street to Deactur and then to Jackson Square. There, I gave them their orientation: where they were; where not go; what there is to see on a Saturday morning.

And it was a spectacular morning. The locals and tourists alike glad to see a nice spring day, although it is still a bit cool by New Orleans standards. As they explored the French Market, the street performance on Royal Street, etc. I grabbed lunch at Mena’s Palace. Hopelessly predictable: red beans and rice and fried chicken. I sat at the bar and was shocked when I did not get at least one “baby” from the waitress; then I realized she was from Ireland. Had a nice chat with my meal.

Mid afternoon, I met up with students at the intersection of Louisiana and St. Charles uptown for the Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Parade. Even though it is more family-oriented than many things in New Orleans, I don’t think the students were quite prepared for the moderated excess. There was one hapless breast flasher, hundreds or drunken Irishmen seeking kisses, and tons of beads, throws, cabbages – yes, cabbages. And about the time the parade was over, we learned that the last van had arrived safely in Marrero.

After some burgers, the newly-reunited class went into the City for Saturday night. As they explored the Quarter, I took in a couple of sets of clarinetist Ben Schenck and the Panorama Jazz Band at the Spotted Cat. A wonderful blend of klezmer, New Orleans jazz, and Caribbean rhythm. The place was backed, so I skipped out on the new incarnation of the New Orleans Jazz Vipers and took a walk around the Quarter. Lasted maybe two blocks on Bourbon Street and then returned to my car via Decatur. On the way, I ran into jazz pianist Steve Pistorious, who had just been at UNH with Michael White two weeks ago.  From the sound of it, they are very eager to return to New Hampshire.

I took advantage of the empty quarters in Marerro to shower, get settled into bed, and wait for the groups to return. And I waited, and waited…and waited. Happily, everyone got in safely and I able to close my other eye and get a few hours of sleep.

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The Fests of March Thursday, Feb 25 2010

Everybody knows about Mardi Gras in New Orleans: public drunkenness, baring breasts for beads, decorated coconuts, measuring success by the tons of trash left on the streets. Well, that is at least how the rest of the country sees it. The reality is much-more textured and family friendly, but most folks don’t see that.

However, I have discovered in the weeks after Mardi Gras (the observation of Lent notwithstanding), there are a wide ranging number of celebrations found in Southern Louisiana. Some, like St. Patrick’s Day, are ubiquitous celebrations; however, many are somewhat unique to the New Orleans metropolitan area.

And most of these take place in March and often when I find myself there. I’ve become accustomed to planning my week, not only around music, but the parades and events that commonly mark the time period.

The first major parade is the Italian American-St. Joseph’s Parade, which takes place on Saturday, March 6th. It acknowledges the immigrants to new Orleans from Sicily, where St. Joseph’s intercession saved the island from starvation; as a result, he is Sicily’s patron saint. A day later, St. Bernard Parish rolls St. Joseph’s and St. Patrick’s Days together, along with a celebration of Los Islenos culture, which references the Canary Islanders who settled in St. Bernard Parish in the 1770s.

And then comes St. Patrick’s Day or maybe week is more appropriate. There’s Jim Monaghan’s Annual Irish Parade in the French Quarter on the evening of Friday, March 12th, the Irish Channel St. Pat’s Parade on Saturday, March 13th, and the Parasol’s St. Patrick’s Day Block Party which winds through downtown on March 17th. And there are numerous other St. Patrick’s Day parades elsewhere in the region. All feature themed beads and throws and the Irish Channel Parade, like the Islenos Parade, features thrown cabbages and other vegetables.

Friday, March 19th, is St. Joseph’s Day. At Catholic churches, social clubs, and restaurants and bars throughout the region, the faithful set up St. Joseph’s Altars and dispense of baked goods, medals, and lucky fava beans. And that night, the Mardi Gras Indians process, uptown and down, challenging tribes in adjoining neighborhoods. And on a a Sunday near St. Joseph’s Day, the tribes process in daylight so that all may partake. Indications are that the uptown Indians will process on Sunday, March 14th and the downtown tribes on the 21st. However, these events are subject to changes in the weather and the independent spirit of the participants.

Times will tell how it all will shake down, but suffice it to say, there will be a surfeit of beads, feathers, and yes, cabbages.

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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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