Hooray for the Weekend with a Speakeasy, Seafood Cook-Off, White Linen, Satchmo Fest and a Rouses Block Party!

Hooray for Friday!!

Friday Fun!

FRIDAY NIGHTS AT NOMA: SPEAKEASY - Shhh... The New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) located at One Collins C. Diboll Circle in beautiful City Park is turning into a speakeasy for the night! Join the fun from 5 p.m. to midnight as NOMA celebrates the last Friday of the exhibition Inventing the Modern World: Decorative Arts at the World's Fairs, 1851-1939. Dress in your 1920's best and join us for the prohibition-era inspired programming for the whole family to enjoy!
Here's a sample of the events scheduled:

• 5-8 p.m.: Music by Jayna Morgan & the Sazerac Sunshine Jazz Band
• 5-11 p.m.: Art Activity
• 5:30 p.m.: Gallery Talk with Jason T. Busch, co-curator, Inventing the Modern World: Decorative Arts at World's Fairs, 1851-1939
• 6 p.m.: "Art You Can Eat" with Chef Haley Bittermann: "Southern Spin on English Pasties"
• 7 p.m.: Lecture with Don Vappie, "Over The Waves:The Influence of Latin Music on Early Jazz"
• 7:30 p.m.: Gallery Talk with Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs, Lisa Rotondo McCord, Inventing the Modern World: Decorative Arts of the World's Fairs, 1851-1939
• 8 p.m.: NOLA Fashion Council Announces "1920s Best Dressed" Winners
• 8-10 p.m.: Baker Maid will be serving samples of their goods
• 8:30-11:30 p.m.: Music by Gal Holiday & the Honky Tonk Revue
• 8:30 p.m.: Lecture with cocktail historian, Elizabeth Pearce: "History in a Glass: The Story of New Orleans in the Sazerac"
• 9 p.m.: Comedy Tour with The New Movement
• 9:30 p.m.: Film: CHICAGO
• 11 p.m.: Comedy Tour with The New Movement

Saturday Fun!

Looking for some air conditioned fun?  Then get yourself over to the New Orleans Convention Center in Hall J for the Great American Seafood Cook-Off!!  The cooking begins at 11:00 am and goes on all day and winners will be announced at 4:30 pm!  Guests of the cook-off will enjoy some seafood sampling, complimentary water, snacks from sponsors.  Tickets are only $5 in advance at Whole Food locations and $10 at the door - so come celebrate with some great seafood!  For more info click on the above link.

And of course Saturday night is the night for breaking out your fanciest white linen suit or dress for Whitney White Linen night.  Cruise up and down Julia Street from 6:00 to 9:00 pm...and there's an art viewing and after party at the CAC (900 Camp St.) from 6:00 to 11:00 pm admission is $10 and free for CAC members - DJ Matty will be spinning some funky records, and they'll be food available from Warehouse District favorites.  Click here for all the White Linen night fun and all the amazing art and music going on this evening.

Weekend Events!

Satchmo SummerFest is here! This weekend festival dedicated to the memory of Louis Armstrong presents an extensive roster of performances by contemporary New Orleans musicians from many genres, paying homage to the musical and cultural legend. Bands coming to play read like a who's who of traditional and contermporary jazz, brass bands and children's programming. They include Leroy Jones, Jeremy Davenport, Connie Jones' Crescent City Jazz Band, Yoshio Toyama and the Dixie Saints, The Palmetto Bug Stompers, Shamarr Allen, Rebirth Brass Band, Tim Laughlin, Soul Rebels, Treme Brass Band, Leah Chase, James Andrews, Lars Edegran's New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra, New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park programming for kids, and more.
Seminars and tasty food, too. The two main stages are located at the Old US Mint, 400 Esplanade Avenue.
**For all the weekend fun - click here - Satchmo!

It's a Block Party at Rouses on Carrollton - And get your Mango Freeze at Rouses Starting August 3rd! New Orleans’ local big-time grocery chain, Rouses, will be 'OZ-ifying three of their stores, starting with the Mid-City location at 400 N. Carrollton. The café area will be transformed with WWOZ banners and posters, and best of all, the real-deal authentic WWOZ Mango Freeze (like you get at Jazz Fest) will be served up daily.

And the music will be happening all weekend at Rouses!
*Friday - New Wave Brass Band from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
*Saturday - Red Wolf Brass Band from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and Treme Brass Band & Dancing Man 504 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
*Sunday - Topsy Chapman & Solid Harmony 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Alrighty, well that should keep you busy this weekend...If you're looking for more fun stuff to do...check out the WWOZ Livewire -  http://www.wwoz.org/new-orleans-community/music-calendar and tune in today (Friday!) from 11-2 pm for the Louisiana Music Party with my hubby Bill deTurk!!



www.gratisnola.com

TGIF - It's Carnival Time!!!

It's Carnival Time!!!

Startin' it off with the Krewe of Cork - The parade, accompanied by a 12-piece band, and begins around 2:00 p.m.....The Krewe begins on Royal Street between St. Peter Street and Toulouse Street, will follow Royal Street southwestward to Iberville Street, proceed northwest on Iberville for one block to turn northeast on Bourbon Street and proceed to St. Ann Street, where it will turn southeast. From St. Ann, the parade will turn southwest down Chartres Street. At St. Peter Street, the parade will turn northwest and proceed to Royal Street.  Once the parade has turned southwest down Royal Street, it will proceed to Conti Street.  The krewe will turn northwest and finish the parade on Conti between Royal Street and Bourbon Street. For more info  http://www.kreweofcork.com/!!

Tonight's Parades - Click on the Links for Parade Routes!!

Orleans

• Oshun - Uptown, 6 p.m.

Jefferson

• Excalibur - Metairie, 7 p.m.

• Atlas - Metairie, 7:30 p.m.

West Bank

• Cleopatra - West Bank, 6:30 p.m.

St. Tammany

• Eve - Mandeville, 7 p.m.

And if you're not feeling in that parade sort of mood yet...there's plenty of other good stuff going on around town.

Tonight is the big kick-off to Starlight Racing at the New Orleans Fairgrounds (1751 Gentilly Blvd.)! Tonight kick off Mardi Gras season with your best MG outfit (best one wins $100!!) and groove on down to the sounds of on with the The Top Cats and DJ Spin! Gates open at 4:00 pm and the first post is at 5 p.m. The live bands take to the Clubhouse stage at 7 p.m., while the DJs in the Miller Lite Beer Garden spin nonstop until after the last race, about 9 p.m.
Admission and Parking:
*General Admission to Fair Grounds for Starlight Racing is $5. Twin Spires Club VIPs receive free General Admission.
*Admission to the Clubhouse or the Miller Lite Beer Garden is an additional $5.
*General parking at Fair Grounds is free. Valet parking is available for $10 and VIP Valet with priority service is $20.


Check out Friday Night at NOMA with Artfully Aware tonight from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm!

• Music - The evening begins with a performance by Kat Walker.
• Opening exhibition: Folk Art from the Permanent Collection
• Art Activity - Artsy fun for the kids with help from Young Audiences
• Reading at 7:30 pm: New Orleans poet Andy Young, from her new book The People is Singular
• Film at 7:00 pm: MONGA: Presented by NOMA & the Taipei Economic & Cultural Office in Houston. The film is open to the public and included with regular admission to the Museum.

*The cost of this event is free with regular admissions. Prices range from: $10 for adults; $8 for seniors, students, and military members; and $6 for ages 7-17.

You still don't know what to do?

Head on over to Chickie Wah Wah on Canal for their happy hour and a triple header of music this evening.  Come on by 8:00 pm for Paul Sanchez, and top off the evening with The Tangle (Darcy Malone Boye & Chris Boye along with members of the Boondoogles!) at 10:00 pm!! There's a small cover for the shows - but you know it's worth the dinero!  Come hungry too - there's delicious pizza and other yummy items being served up!

Stop by the newly reopened Circle Bar (1032 St. Charles) for some good time music...it's Mike Hurtt and His Haunted Hearts at 10:00 pm (I think it's a $5 cover - but you don't want to miss it!)

Need more music??  Then go to Frenchmen Street!

You can get started early at the Spotted Cat (623 Frenchmen) with Brett Richardson at 4:00 pm, and the New Orleans Cottonmouth Kings at 10:00 pm.

d.b.a.'s (618 Frenchmen) got Tuba Skinny at 6:00 pm it's FREE, but don't forget to tip the band!! And stay on for Eric Lindell at 10:00 pm...there's a $10 cover, but you don't want to miss the show!!

For all your musical fun this evening  click on the WWOZ Livewire!   Throw me something Mister!!!

Opa!!!

It's time to start kicking off your long weekend...and there's lots of good stuff going on!!

Friday Events

If you're skipping out of work a little early today, head on down to the French Market (1008 N. Peters St) for the Brass Band Blowout from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. the Blowout features the Navy Band New Orleans Full Steam Brass Band, followed by Lagniappe Brass Band and The Original Deja Vu Brass Band, featuring Gerald French, Kid Chocolate and Kerry Lewis. Farmers and flea markets will be open.

Well, if it's Memorial Day weekend it can only mean one thing...Greek Fest (1200 Robert E. Lee Blvd.)!!....Come out and Experience Greece on the Bayou, the annual Hellenic party with a uniquely New Orleans flair!  Join the fun for delicious food, delightful drinks, and entertainment the entire family will enjoy.  (Entrance fee is only $5...and children under 12 get in FREE!) The fest runs all weekend, and tonight things get kickin' at 5:00 pm...Oh....and make sure you check out the ouzo daiquiri...it's a good one!

Where Y'Art? is happenin' over at the New Orleans Museum of Art starting up at 5:30 p.m. with a performancde by Dorian Rush and Harry Mayrone, and the museum will hold a special family art project too.  At 6 p.m., guests can attend a walk-through of the museum's latest exhibit "Madeleine Albright: Read My Pins" with NOMA curator Lisa Rotonda-McCord, and at 7:00 p.m. A Midsummer's Night Dream begins in the sculpture garden (if you were lucky enough to get tix), and the film "Pushing the Elephant."  The film is shown in conjunction with the museum's "Ancestors of Congo Square" exhibit and director Beth Davenport will be on hand to answer questions after the screening.

There's the usual excellent "free" wine tastings over at Cork & Bottle on Orleans and Jeff Davis...and the Swirl tastings over on Esplanade and Ponce de Leon. Be sure to pick up a bottle after you taste your favorite wines!

Special Music Tonight!

The Howlin' Wolf will put on a "SAVE PBS Concert: The Throwdown" tonight at 9:00 p.m.  The show will feature members of the Funky Meters with Station Moore, members of the Voices of Wetlands Allstars, Ivan Neville, Tony Hall, John Gros and more.  This show will benefit George Porter and his band who are going through some legal troubles with their old label...Go out and support!!!

For more good stuff go to the http://www.wwoz.org/ livewire...and tune in for Bill deTurk's Louisiana Music Party from 11 - 2:00 pm....Yea!!!