Gambit: June 22, 2021

June 22-28 2021 Volume 42 Number 25

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CONTENTS

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > J u n e 2 2 - 2 8 > 2 02 1

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Sassyfras style

P H OTO P R OV I D E D B Y VA L E R I E S A S S Y F R A S

THIS COUNTRY, FOLK AND AMERICANA bill features fellow Deslondes members Riley Downing and Sam Doores. They’re joined by Athens, Georgia, country outfit The Pink Stones at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 24, at the Broadside. Find tickets at broadsidenola.com.

BY JAKE CLAPP IT’S NOT UNUSUAL FOR VALERIE SASSYFRAS to have some kind of

show around her birthday, the undefinable New Orleans performer says.

But after a year of lockdowns, this year needed to be something else. It needed to have Sassyfras style.

Enter Sass Fest, a cheeky birthday bash being held at Broadside Friday, June 25. Sassyfras, a one-woman band with keyboard beat machine, accordion, mandolin and signature high kicks, will perform accompanied by her new Sasshay Dancers.

New Orleans band The Quickening will open the outdoor show, which will also feature performances by Ava the Fire Eater and Hugo the Magician. Art vendors will be set up at the mini-fair, and carnival foods, pickles in a bag and drinks will be for sale.

The Sasshay Dancers also will teach attendees Sassyfras’ sultry moves to “Girls Night Out,” the song that caught Sassyfras national attention on Ellen DeGeneres’ show and “America’s Got Talent.” Get the moves right and you could end up on stage with Sassyfras.

As a bonus, Sassyfras will screen the second episode of her internet talk show “Val Talks.” The first episode premiered on Facebook last summer with musical guest Mario Palmisano, on-the-street-interviews, and infomercials. This time around, painter Alex Harvie will be the featured “Val Talks” guest.

“I’m hoping this will be the first Sass Fest for many years to come,” she says. “This is the first time I’m doing such a big show.”

Like other musicians, the pandemic sidelined Valerie Sassyfras for most of 2020. She streamed a few gigs from home and developed “Val Talks” in June. Gigs have started to return: Sassyfras has returned to occasional street performances around the city; she played the Contemporary Arts Center’s Mid-Century Jazz Fest Soiree in May, debuting the Sasshay Dancers; and she’s scheduled to play the Blue Moon in Lafayette in July.

“It’s starting to fill up again, thank the Lord,” she says.

But amid the pandemic rollercoaster, 2020 still held a unique experience — a documentary about Sassyfras’ life screened at the New Orleans Film Festival, winning the festival’s

Riley Downing, Sam Doores and The Pink Stones

Desert Nudes DESERT NUDES PLAY A MIX of rock, country and cowboy songs. The band is a collaboration between keyboardist Andre Bohren, guitarist John Paul Carmody and vocalist David Pomerleau. This free show is from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, June 24, in Legacy Park at 730 Baronne St. Find information at downtownnola.com.

Jen Kober LAKE CHARLES NATIVE JEN KOBER’S recent TV work has included appearances on RuPaul’s Netflix show and Showtime’s “Black Monday.” She performs stand-up at Dragon’s Den at 8:30 p.m. Friday, June 25.

Tickets are $15 from itsgoodcomedy.com.

award for best cinematography.

Created by Ella Hatamian and Stiven Luka, “Nobody May Come” gives an intimate portrait of a musician always going her own way.

“The real test was watching it with a bunch of other people,” Sassyfras says. “And I was laughing my head off just like everybody else. I couldn’t believe how funny I came off in the movie. It’s a completely different reaction when you’re watching it with a bunch of people than when you watch it by yourself. By yourself, you’re more critical.”

A few years ago, Luka caught Sassyfras performing at Siberia Lounge on St. Claude Avenue. That night, Sassyfras says, the independent filmmaker remarked he was going to make a documentary about the performer. “And I said, yeah right,” Sassyfras says.

Fast forward a couple of years, Luka’s associate Hatamian reached out on Facebook and got the process rolling. Starting in late 2017, the two would fly into New Orleans to spend time with Sassyfras and kept the cameras rolling through Mardi Gras, stage shows, personal tensions and “America’s Got Talent.”

At first it was strange having the camera always there, “but I got used to it. And then when they weren’t here, I was looking for the cameras,” Sassyfras says with a laugh. “You

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know, once you’re an entertainer, you can’t help it. You want the attention.

It was actually pretty great.”

Past Sass Fest and a return to in-person gigs, Sassyfras says she’s working on new music and a book, a collection of short stories. And for those not able to see it at Sass Fest, the new episode of “Val Talks” will also stream on Sassyfras’ Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

Born and raised in New Orleans, Sassyfras began performing in the 1980s with her husband of 30 years, Johnny Donald. She always credits him for giving her the confidence and the push to get on stage. Donald passed in June 2013, and Sassyfras soon after decided to keep going as the one-woman DIY act.

“He’s still pushing me,” Sassyfras says. “He’s still watching over me.”

HOUSING INSECURITY HAS BEEN a longstanding issue in the transgender and gender-nonconforming community.

Last summer, a group of transgender and gender-nonconforming New Orleanians formed House of Tulip to address longstanding issues relating to housing insecurity for members of the TGNC community.

The group marks its first year on Saturday, June 26, with the HOT Summer Celebration, featuring free food and non-alcoholic drinks, raffles, cash bar, special guests and performances by bounce artist Katey Red, soul musician Tonya Boyd-Cannon, pop artist Yves and singer-songwriter Neverending Nina. The event runs 11 a.m. to 5 p.m at Broadside. Tickets are $35 at houseoftulip.org/celebrate.

‘A Grand Night for Singing’ THIS MUSICAL SHOW FEATURES Rodgers and Hammerstein’s hits from Broadway and movies including “South Pacific,” “The King and I,” “Oklahoma,” and “The Sound of Music” as well as many tunes from their less well-known productions.

Summer Lyric Theatre at Tulane presents the show at Dixon Hall at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 24, through Saturday, June 26, and 2 p.m. Sunday, June 27. Visit liberalarts.tulane.edu/summer-lyric-theatre for tickets and information.

PAGE 41

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Sharon Lavigne, retired

teacher and founder of RISE St. James, was the North American recipient of the 2021 Goldman Environmental Prize for her activism against chemical plants polluting St. James Parish and predominantly Black communities in the surrounding River Parishes. The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prestigious award given to grassroots organizers focused on environmental justice. Only six people receive the award each year, one on each inhabited continent.

The total number of inches of precipitation recorded in New Orleans between March and May, according to the National Weather Service.

F I L E P H OTO

From ancient grudge break to new mutiny

‘Corrupt, no-talent liars and fools:’ 83-year-old woman calls out S&WB on Elder Abuse Awareness Day Gov. John Bel Edwards last

week signed into law a bill decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of cannabis. The reform makes possession of up to a halfounce of weed a misdemeanor with no possible jail time. Instead, those caught holding could be issued a fine of up to $100. While decriminalization is a step in the right direction, it falls far short of legalization, which advocates were hoping to see this year.

Gov. John Bel Edwards

also signed legislation effectively ending the federal $300-a-week enhanced unemployment benefits

by July 31. The bill permanently increases the state’s unemployment benefits by $28 a week — starting in 2022, which Edwards, a Democrat, described as a “tradeoff” with GOP legislators.

The $300-a-week boost helped thousands of unemployed Louisianans make ends meet during the pandemic, and it spared them from having to accept jobs paying less than a livable wage.

On March 23 alone, the city was showered with 5.54 inches of rain, and by the end of the month the numbers totaled 9.78 total inches. April showers, which totaled 12.85 inches of rain brought … well, May showers totaling 12.8 inches. Forecasters recorded more precipitation this spring than any other in the last 10 years, and the Cantrell administration noted it was the fifth wettest spring since 1871.

THE 83-YEAR-OLD CO-FOUNDER OF THE FAULKNER SOCIETY sounded

off furiously last week against the Sewerage and Water Board, slamming the city’s bumbling band of bureaucrats as nothing more than a gang of “corrupt, no-talent liars and fools.”

Rosemary James unleashed the literary tongue lashing in a June 15 letter to S&WB’s Bill Adjustment Section in which she disputed how much the agency was charging her. “Everyone in town knows that S&WB is corrupt and managed by a bunch of no-talent liars and fools who try to make up for stealing and stupidity which outrageous, unfair, unverified billings,” James wrote in what will doubtlessly become a classic of the genre.

The day she penned her letter — June 15 — happened to be Elder Abuse Awareness Day. “There is no way in hell that one 83-year-old woman living alone generated the kind of water and sewage uses you allege in your absurd billing, and no way in hell that this bill for this address should be more than 100% for the time in question,” James wrote, adding that S&WB must “believe that since I am old, I am also stupid. No representative of S&WB has visited this property for any reason at any time on any day since my complaint was filed. Your personnel just made this up in an attempt to steal money from me.”

S&WB is known for never quite being able to keep its story straight about what’s happening with the city’s flood water pumps, and the board has long dabbled in sending residents bills demanding inexplicably large sums of money for its drinking water services.

James, the former owner of Faulkner House Books in Pirates Alley who launched the literary society with her late husband, wrote the letter in response to an “astronomical” bill she received recently. She also contested it and claims it is “absolutely falsified.”

The Times-Picayune reported June earlier this month that the agency will be reinstituting shutoffs for customers who are behind on billing, in a reversal of a moratorium put in place at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last spring, which helped people facing financial hardship from losing service. An estimated 25,500 customers are behind on their bills, owing the agency a collective $53.8 million.

PAGE 10

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PAGE 8

James stated in her letter she plans on paying the “ridiculous” bill with its “pitiful” adjustment after she contested it — but only so her water is not turned off in the middle of the current heat wave. The elderly population is particularly vulnerable to health problems attributed to rising temperatures during the summer months.

S&WB did not immediately return a request for comment.

James concluded that she will be filing a more formal complaint of fraud “in the next few days.”

— SARAH RAVITS

Amid oil and gas buildout, Louisiana industry pushes for less oversight When a natural gas pipeline fire in Paradis killed one worker and burned three others in 2017, the Louisiana State Police ordered Phillips 66 to pay a $22,000 fine for failing to immediately report the incident. The fire burned for four days before first responders could put it out.

But the company ultimately didn’t pay any police fine, ending up with just a warning.

That story is common, according to public records reviewed by the Louisiana Illuminator and Floodlight with The Guardian. The Louisiana State Police – which oversees pipeline safety – issued 34 fines and five warning letters in the past five years. A quarter of those penalties were reduced: three were lowered, five were replaced with warning letters, and two were dismissed.

The fines that did stick were low, between $2,250 to $8,000.

Aside from the obvious potential harms to workers, gas leaks pose fire risks and can cause respiratory problems for people in nearby communities.

Phillips 66 declined to comment for this story. The company was separately fined $20,000 over the incident by the Department of Natural Resources.

Despite the record of lax enforcement by the State Police, gas companies in the state say they are being treated unfairly and have lobbied for legislation to loosen requirements around reporting pipeline leaks. Louisiana has more gas pipelines than any other state except Texas, and more gas pipeline projects are planned in the state to support the growing demand for US natural gas exports.

The proposal, House Bill 549 from state Rep. Danny McCormick (R-Oil City), was approved by the Legislature and has been sent to Gov. John Bel Edwards’ desk. It is one of many efforts by the influential oil and gas industry to avoid

regulation and keep its tax rates low in the state. If signed into law, it would absolve companies from reporting natural gas leaks of less than 1,000 pounds, unless they cause hospitalization or death.

Gene Dunegan, the program manager for Louisiana State Police’s Emergency Services Unit, defended the department’s record on fines, saying it has reduced them when pipeline companies present reasonable explanations for failing to report them within an hour. While Louisiana law requires pipeline companies to “immediately” report leaks, it does not define a deadline for doing so. The State Police ask companies to report incidents within an hour.

“Our goal is not to collect monies, but to keep the violation from recurring,” Dunegan said. “Most (companies) are proactive and implement needed changes and training prior to hearing from us, others not so much.”

The State Police issued few tickets over the past five years – fewer than 10 per year on average. One pipeline company’s name appears on the list more than any other: Centerpoint Energy. The company was ticketed seven times over the past three years, totaling $38,750.

Trey Hill, a lobbyist representing Centerpoint, helped push McCormick’s bill through the Louisiana Legislature. Centerpoint contested a ticket for failing to notify State Police of one natural gas release, but State Police dismissed the fine before a judge could decide on the case, Hill said in a legislative meeting in April.

Atmos Energy, which was fined by Louisiana State Police twice in 2020, also supported McCormick’s bill.

Pipeline incidents are already underreported, said Anne Rolfes, the director of Louisiana Bucket Brigade, an environmental organization that opposed the Bayou Bridge Pipeline. “These accidents are overlooked, business as usual,” she said.

John Porter, the commander of the Emergency Services Unit of the Louisiana State Police, warned lawmakers that looser reporting thresholds could trigger public health concerns when smaller leaks happen in populated areas.

“If we have a gas leak at a major intersection, a thousand pounds would be an extreme amount with vehicles traveling by, with pedestrians traveling by,” he said. “And all we’re asking is for notification for us so we can get the proper emergency services people out there to protect the public.” — SARA SNEATH / THE LOUISIANA ILLUMINATOR | FLOODLIGHT

COMMENTARY

No City Hall in Treme

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MAYOR LATOYA CANTRELL THIS WEEK ramped up an aggressive

social media campaign to counter the growing opposition to her plan to move City Hall to Municipal Auditorium in Louis Armstrong Park. As with her failed push to gut the library system’s funding last year, Cantrell’s message is as simple as it is disingenuous: Trust me, or else.

We are not convinced. In fact, it’s a terrible idea that needs to be scrapped.

We understand the desire to move City Hall; the present building is in shambles. City employees and citizens all deserve better. In as much as government buildings are symbols, City Hall is surely a bad one. Either a top-to-bottom renovation of the existing site or a brand-new City Hall elsewhere in the city is the answer — just not in Armstrong Park.

The very idea of moving City Hall into Louis Armstrong Park, where it would share space (at best) with Congo Square, is fundamentally wrong. In a city whose government helped actively enforce slavery, Congo Square was the one place where African slaves and formerly enslaved people could freely practice and celebrate their cultural traditions. After reconstruction, successive mayors and city councils crafted Jim Crow laws designed to discriminate and oppress Black New Orleanians, and systemic racism at all levels of government remains a chronic problem.

The Treme neighborhood, which has birthed so much of our city’s culture, has endured enough already.

Municipal Auditorium itself was part of a controversial 1920s redevelopment plan that displaced many Treme residents. Decades later, the neighborhood once again saw unwanted disruption when the I-10 overpass literally sliced through the heart of Treme, destroying a vibrant Black business district along North Claiborne Avenue and displacing

P H OTO B Y C H R I S G R A N G E R / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY UNE

Please.

more residents. More recently, in the years following Hurricane Katrina, Treme became an epicenter of gentrification and Black economic displacement.

If Treme residents had clamored to have City Hall on their collective doorstep, or if Cantrell could somehow convince them it’s a good idea, more folks might countenance the proposed relocation. You’d be hard pressed, however, to find anyone in Treme or elsewhere in New Orleans who supports the concept.

Besides, there are any number of viable alternatives.

For instance, some have suggested moving City Hall to the sprawling but abandoned Port of Embarkation facility in Bywater. Making City Hall the centerpiece of a broader plan to clean up and revitalize the massive property could draw significant investment in that historic neighborhood — and give future mayors and councils a very nice view. Another alternative: move City Hall to the East, as Kermit Ruffins and others have suggested. Huge sections of the 9th Ward remain abandoned after Katrina; finding a suitable location there won’t be difficult. Yet another possibility: Find space near the present City Hall site, near the old Charity Hospital, VA Hospital and now-demolished State Office Building.

Any of those alternatives would create significant job opportunities during construction and many longterm jobs after completion at restaurants, shops and other commercial developments. Best of all, finding a more appropriate location would make the new City Hall a powerful symbol of New Orleans’ commitment to a bright, prosperous future for all its neighborhoods.

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Entergy-S&WB power pact is a good deal, but it ain’t done yet THE RECENT ANNOUNCEMENT THAT ENTERGY NEW ORLEANS

(ENO) and the Sewerage & Water Board have finally agreed on a financing plan to furnish S&WB with reliable power for its century-old pumps was both welcome and long overdue.

It’s also far from a done deal.

In a nutshell, ENO has agreed to build a $34 million transmission substation to power S&WB’s main plant, and S&WB has agreed to acquire and operate several “frequency changers” that allow its antiquated pumps to use modern electrical power. The city and state will share the S&WB’s costs — about $40 million total.

The S&WB already uses ENO for its newer pumps, but the older pumps rely on S&WB turbines that seem to break down when they are needed most.

If the plan comes to fruition, it will be a big win for pretty much everyone. The S&WB will get significantly more — and more reliable — power to operate its pumps; ENO will get a new, large customer in the S&WB; and New Orleanians will hopefully see better drainage and fewer boil water advisories attributable to power interruptions.

As an added bonus, citizens should not see a rate hike from either entity. In fact, the deal is expected to save S&WB money on its fuel costs — at least $5 million a year, according to Executive Director Ghassan Korban.

The council committees that oversee ENO and the S&WB will meet jointly on Tuesday, June 22, to begin hashing out details of the deal — and addressing citizens’ questions about it.

Many folks don’t trust ENO to provide reliable power in the wake of its astroturfing scandal and years of power outages on fair weather days. The council in recent years fined ENO for not investing sufficiently in its distribution system, and the utility has made some improvements since

F I L E P H OTO

It would be nice to have reliable drinking water.

then. In this case, the high-voltage substation will deliver 134 megawatts to S&WB, substantially more power than homeowners and businesses typically receive.

For their part, S&WB officials will have to explain how they plan to spend the $5 million to $6 million a year in savings the agency is expected to reap from the deal.

There’s no shortage of things that need fixing at S&WB. Council members will put these and other questions to ENO and S&WB officials throughout the summer in anticipation of a final deal before Labor Day — and completion of the new substation in time for the 2023 hurricane season.

The idea of S&WB converting to modern power from ENO is not new. It gained traction after the 2017 flood and ENO’s astroturfing scandal. The council’s $5 million fine for the astroturfing debacle included a commitment by ENO to help solve the S&WB’s power issues.

It took several years for ENO and S&WB to reach a deal, and it happened only after Public Works Committee Chair Joe Giarrusso and Utilities Committee Chair Helena Moreno quietly prodded them to get moving on it. Look for them both to play a more public role now that a tentative deal is on the table.

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How did it come about?

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Odd Fellows Rest cemetery gets its name from a secret fraternal organization known as the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The benevolent society, which has roots in England, was founded in Baltimore in 1819. Notable members included Presidents Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford Hayes, Warren Harding, William McKinley and Franklin D. Roosevelt, as well as Charles Lindbergh, Charlie Chaplin and Wyatt Earp.

The group’s local organization was founded in 1831. In 1847, it paid $700 for land at Canal Street and City Park Avenue to establish a cemetery for its members and their families.

According to Peter B. Dedek’s book, “The Cemeteries of New Orleans: A Cultural History,” the group dedicated the cemetery in 1849 with a ceremony carrying the remains of 16 deceased Odd Fellows from other cemeteries. As the Daily Picayune described: “The procession with its bands of music, the showy regalia of the members and the splendid funeral car, drawn by six white horses…formed a scene picturesque and beautiful in the extreme.”

T I M E S - P I C AY U N E A R C H I V E P H OTO B Y L . S . D E L A U N E

Odd Fellows Rest in the 1960s

Many victims of Yellow Fever (including many who were not members of the fraternal group) are buried there.

In the 1960s, the city attempted to ease nearby traffic congestion by buying the cemetery and relocating its remains, but negotiations fell through. The cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Over the years, as the fraternal organization’s ranks dwindled, the cemetery fell into disrepair and was closed to the public.

In recent years, with the help of Save Our Cemeteries, work has been done to improve the conditions of some of the historic tombs.

BLAKEVIEW THIS WEEK WE WISH A HAPPY 80TH BIRTHDAY to a beloved musician, singer and bandleader – “Deacon John” Moore.

Born June 23, 1941 in New Orleans, Moore was one of 13 children, with his parents and many of his siblings also displaying musical talent. As a teenager, he played in the house band of the legendary Dew Drop Inn. He picked up his nickname while performing with his band, the Ivories, in the 1950s.

Borrowing from the Roy Brown tune “Good Rocking At Midnight,” which mentions a “Deacon John,” the guys in the band gave Moore the nickname because of his conservative dress and demeanor.

Moore later worked as a session musician at Cosimo Matassa’s recording studio performing guitar on many seminal rhythm and blues hits. That includes songs by Ernie K-Doe (“Mother-in-Law”), Irma Thomas (“Ruler of My Heart”), Aaron Neville (“Tell It Like It Is”), Lee Dorsey (“Working in the Coal Mine”), Benny Spellman (“Fortune Teller”) and many others.

For nearly 65 years, Deacon John and the Ivories have performed at countless social events, from high school proms and weddings to debutante parties and Carnival balls. Many of his band members went on to great careers of their own, including drummer Zigaboo Modeliste, keyboardist James Booker and saxophonist James Rivers.

Moore has performed at every New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival since 1972. In 2017, he won Gambit’s Big Easy Award for lifetime achievement in music. He was also inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame.

In addition to being an active performer and bandleader, Deacon John is also an advocate for musicians. In 2006, he was elected the first Black president of the local chapter of the American Federation of Musicians, a position he still holds.

The multicultural hustle for herd immunity in New Orleans

BY KAYLEE POCHE AND SARAH RAVITS

AROUND 100 PEOPLE GATHERED OUTSIDE CAFÉ DU MONDE IN CITY PARK ON MAY 29,

P H OTO B Y S A R A H R AV I T S

Signage directing New Orleanians to a vaccination site

P H OTO B Y S A R A H R AV I T S

Kings of Brass band perform at City Park. Health officials have worked with culture bearers and local artists and to make vaccination events scenes of celebration.

swaying to music by Kings of Brass, spilling powdered sugar from beignets on their clothes and sipping iced coffee. It was a scene that looked overwhelmingly normal for New Orleans after more than a year of COVID-19 turning the city upside down.

And it was largely normal. Except, that is, for the handful of medical professionals and volunteers manning a medical tent. Set up by community health nonprofit CrescentCare, the group included a Spanish-speaking outreach coordinator from United Healthcare, nurses and doctors, all ready to vaccinate whoever needed it and direct the newly vaccinated toward the free beignets and coffee.

“This is a scene of celebration,” said infectious disease specialist Dr. Jason Halperin with a smile as he watched the crowd and loaded another syringe. By the end of the afternoon, roughly 40 more New Orleanians were on their way to immunization.

The event was just one more part of a broader effort to push the city over the line into herd immunity by targeting smaller populations. Nearly half of all Orleans Parish residents had gotten at least one shot as of press time, but demand has dwindled in recent weeks, as it has across the country.

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As demand has plateaued, city and health officials have shifted the focus away from mass vaccination sites and events to smaller, hyper-local pop-up style events, targeting populations and going into neighborhoods with lower vaccination rates. Those populations include young people, communities of color and lower income New Orleanians.

On June 17, the state also announced a lottery as an incentive to get people vaccinated.

“What most resonates with people about [these events] is the whole concept of getting back to doing what you love to do this time of year: going to parties, festivals, events, listening to live music,” says Kim Hood, assistant secretary of public health for the Louisiana Department of Health. “This vaccine is the road back to doing those things again.”

While health officials outside of Orleans Parish are dealing with the spread of misinformation and some elected officials who have downplayed the virus to their constituents, New Orleans officials say local challenges to getting people vaccinated are more about accessibility and education. Science has proven the safety and reliability of being vaccinated, but people still have questions — the vaccine is brand-new and shots can be accompanied by uncomfortable side effects that come about when the immune system is kicking into gear.

“What we’re finding is that it’s not that people don’t want it. But you have to bring it to them, and they’ll get it,” says Katie Conner, vaccine manager for CrescentCare.

Still in his Regional Transit Authority uniform, Sean George stopped by the City Park event after work that afternoon. He hadn’t prioritized getting the vaccine as an otherwise healthy 35-year-old, though he was never really against getting it. About to head to Florida on vacation, he said he was getting the shot for “the betterment of public health” and said his coworkers had also been getting it, which encouraged him.

Married couple Katelyn and Amanda LeBlanc, both 32, opted to wait a few months after the vaccine was first rolled out before making a decision to get the shots. They drove to the park from Houma and said they appreciated the event was held on a Saturday — and

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17

Like its neighboring Southern states, Louisiana has high rates of poverty combined with plentiful rural areas where people lack easy access to health care. The virus and the vaccines — which were greenlit under the Trump administration — also have been highly politicized. This created extra obstacles for health experts and scientists trying to spread accurate information.

Many state Republicans questioned if Covid was a real threat and the importance of the vaccine — or chose to stand by while their colleagues ginned up mistrust. This led to life-saving public health restrictions imposed by Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards being opposed as an “attack” on individual freedoms.

New Orleans status as an early international hotspot for outbreaks, however, rendered many residents more willing to follow the mitigation measures and get vaccinated.

“Certainly, the hesitancy that you’re seeing around the state, a lot of it is the sort of white, Republican, ‘I don’t believe in Covid; I don’t believe in the vaccine,’ ” Avegno says. “New Orleans is as blue as it gets … we don’t have to deal with that kind of hesitance. The hesitancy generally we have to deal with is a little easier to overcome because it’s really more about education and information.”

Conner of CrescentCare also notes some of the rural communities in the state weren’t hit as hard.

“Not everyone knows someone who passed away [from Covid] and went through that,” she says. “We [in New Orleans] were really impacted, and people had a more personal connection and a visceral reaction.”

In places like Lake Charles, vaccination rates are significantly lower because people are still rebuilding from the slew of hurricanes and floods that devastated the area in the past year.

“In speaking with other regional medical directors, somebody put it to me this way: They still don’t have lights,” Avegno says. “When you’re just trying to think about, ‘How am I going to get my house rebuilt?’ Covid vaccinations are the last thing on your mind ... So that adds to the problem for a lot of those regions that are still really hurting.”

Meanwhile, new, more contagious strains of the virus in recent months have been detected across Louisiana, and the ongoing push to get shots into arms is what Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration calls “a race against the new variants” — and offi-

P H OTO B Y S A R A H R AV I T S

Dr. Jason Halperin of the nonprofit community health clinic CrescentCare prepares a vaccine May 29.

cials are especially concerned, given New Orleans’ status as a tourist destination.

“It worries me, because it’s not like the rest of Louisiana doesn’t come to New Orleans,” Avegno says. “As the rest of the world is very slow to get vaccinated, [the virus] is going to make its way wherever it can find a way, and that’s going to be in the big pockets of unvaccinated people in the rest of the state.”

In a city where the economy relies heavily on tourism, hospitality workers are especially vulnerable as people travel to New Orleans not only from within the state but nationally and internationally. Arsene DeLay, who works at the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic and is a musician, says a lack of paid time off work and a lack of transportation is making it hard for some of the city’s hospitality workers to get vaccinated.

“There’s hotels, even in the French Quarter, where the entire staff would like to get vaccinated, but they don’t have the ability to take an entire day off of work to make that,” she says.

Young people, between the ages of 18 and 39, have been another difficult group to reach. In New Orleans, 48.8% of them have received at least one dose, as compared to 60.6% of people between 40 and 59, and 70.7% of those 60 and older.

Health officials say this isn’t because young people are opposed to getting the vaccine, but rather they haven’t made it a priority, can’t afford to take time off work, or want more information.

“To be fair, they’re doing their risk assessment,” Avegno says. “[They’re saying] ‘I didn’t get sick. I didn’t know anybody who was really sick; I’m probably not going to get sick. Why is this a priority? I got my life to live. I’ve got things to do.’ ” Others, Avegno says, have questions about both immediate side effects and long-term effects. One debunked rumor that has made some young people hesitant to take the vaccine is false claims that it will affect a person’s fertility.

Avegno called the claim an “insidious rumor … If you want to freak out decades of a population, this is, of course, the perfect thing to tell them.”

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during a three-day weekend — so they could have time to recover in case they experienced side effects.

The event was also an example of how the city and health officials have been creative in vaccination outreach, often rewarding newly vaccinated people with distinctly New Orleans lagniappe in the form of boiled crawfish, beignets, free booze or snowballs, often to the soundtrack of local musicians eager to perform after a year without gigs.

“New Orleans has swagger, and we’re not afraid to use it,” says Dr. Jennifer Avegno, director of the New Orleans Health Department.

“We’re not afraid to appeal to it, and we have really, instantly identifiable community touchpoints that get everybody [on board].”

As of press time, 49.2% of all New Orleanians had at least one shot. That number jumps to 62.4% for adults 18 and over. The city has some of the highest vaccination rates in the state, with percentages nearly mirroring the national average.

Outside the city is a different story, however. Only 36.4% of residents statewide have received at least one shot, and Louisiana has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country, along with Alabama and Mississippi.

Herd immunity is an elusive goal, and it varies by disease. Generally it’s reached when roughly 70 to 75% of a total population is immune to a virus, due to either vaccination or having antibodies to prevent new infection.

With COVID-19, it’s difficult to gauge exactly at what point the spread of the disease will be unlikely. The Biden administration’s lofty goal is to get 70% of adults across the U.S. vaccinated by July 4, but Louisiana is nowhere close.

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The pandemic further exposed pre-existing racial dispar-

ities. The virus hit New Orleans’ Black residents particularly hard, and they’re still starkly underrepresented in the city’s vaccination numbers. Only 35.1% of all Black residents have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine compared to 63.9% of their white counterparts, according to a presentation by Avegno on June 8.

Avegno says medical mistrust in the Black community stemming from a long history of mistreatment is only part of the reason for that racial gap. Because of systemic racism, Black people in the city are also more likely to live below the poverty line and therefore may not be able to easily access transportation or may work jobs outside of traditional working hours.

That’s why the city has worked with various community groups to host vaccination events outside of traditional health care settings and at different times of the day. Church parking lots, food banks and even bars and grocery stores have all served as distri-

P H OTO B Y SOPHIA GERMER / THE TIMESP I C AY U N E

Mannie Fresh received his vaccine outside the Dragon’s Den during the shot for shot event April 9.

bution sites. Even Zulu — the predominantly Black social aid and pleasure club that lost at least 17 members to Covid — hosted a successful vaccination event at its headquarters in March, where 200 members received shots.

In the scramble to get vaccines distributed, officials are heavily leaning on person-to-person communication. They’ve realized that Louisianans want to hear about the vaccine’s safety and efficacy from their own physicians, family members, friends and relatable community leaders — not from their press conferences or news outlets.

The city’s “Sleeves Up, NOLA” campaign featured footage of the Baby Dolls, Mardi Gras Indians and second liners and drew national attention.

“That was early-on communications advice that came from these communities of leverage,” says Laura Mellem, public engagement manager for NOLA Ready, the city’s office of emergency preparedness and response. “It’s a way to get people excited. It’s a way to be super local and to talk about all the things that we missed that we can’t do during the pandemic.”

“If your pastor is saying this is OK, then you’re probably more likely to do it,” Avegno says. “It’s really cultural humility and knowing we’re not maybe the right messengers for a lot of times, but we can help support those who are.”

Similarly, the city’s team of nearly 4,000 volunteers and community partners has been trying to vaccinate other communities of color outside the health care system.

Rachel Taber, who is bilingual and fluent in Spanish, works for United Healthcare. She primarily reaches out to Spanish speakers, and many of her efforts are specifically targeted at day laborers and undocumented immigrants. She partners with CrescentCare to bring vaccines to this community at places where they congregate, including near parking lots of hardware stores. There she answers questions, works as an interpreter, and shares pamphlets about health care access in general, so they can also share with their families and neighbors.

“We need to keep [vaccination] low-barrier,” Taber says.

“What’s been our experience is that people are willing to get vaccinated if you come to them, if you speak their language — and if you don’t make them prove their residency. This whole process must be accessible to the undocumented.”

Keeping it low-barrier, of course, doesn’t just apply to immigrant communities, she notes. “There’s a massive sector of our population who struggle to get a Louisiana ID.” Councilmember Cyndi Nguyen, whose district includes much of New Orleans East, says vaccination rates in areas where many of New Orleans’ Vietnamese communities live are increasing but not as significantly as officials would like. Many in the community don’t have access to internet or text messages, and that plus the language barrier makes them harder to reach.

The city has been working with community group VIET (Vietnamese in Economic Training) and Mary Queen of Vietnam Church to try to get more people vaccinated. “It’s a close-knit community,” Nguyen says. “The church is the anchor.”

Nguyen says she’s not having her annual community snowball fest on July 4 this year but may plan a vaccine event around snowballs instead.

On March 4, the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic put on one of the earliest vaccination events in the city aimed at culture

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To combat this piece of misinformation, Avegno says she brings an OB-GYN with her to vaccination events. They tell people that thousands of women have gotten pregnant after receiving the vaccine, and that there’s evidence that vaccinated women can pass immunity onto their babies. On the other hand, pregnant people are more likely to develop serious outcomes from Covid.

“I think it’s really helpful for folks to hear stories of women who are pregnant, or nursing or whatever who have gotten [the vaccine],” she says. “I’m a science person, you give me the facts, and I’m going to believe the facts. But that’s not enough for a lot of people. They really want that sort of personal story of ‘Why I chose as a young pregnant woman to do it.’ ” For this age group, because they’re less likely to see a doctor regularly, going out in the community and answering questions they may have is usually effective, officials say. And providing people with multiple convenient opportunities to receive a shot is crucial.

The city’s private universities — Tulane, Xavier and Dillard — are adding the Covid vaccine to the list of required vaccinations, which should boost the city’s vaccination rates. Those universities have said, however, that people can opt out for certain “medical, religious and personal reasons.”

“I don’t think people realize that’s not just going to protect the university,” Avegno says. “That’s going to protect the city because college students are some of biggest spreaders of this virus.”

“The health of the city depends on young, healthy people getting vaccinated,” Halperin told Gambit in May. “I think we should really be framing [it] these next two months that the younger generation, especially 12 and up, can completely save the city and bring Mardi Gras back and bring Jazz Fest back.”

P H OTO B Y S A R A H R AV I T S

RTA supervisor Sean George, who got vaccinated on May 29 at City Park

/ T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E | T H E N E W O R L E A N S A D VO C AT E

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20 Lakeview, New Orleans

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bearers at the Ashe Cultural Arts Center. Back then, the state was only allowing older age groups to be vaccinated. Organizers at the clinic compiled a list of 750 elder culture bearers based on NOMC patient records, Ashe members and contacts from the Music and Culture Coalition of New Orleans, the Musicians’ Union, Ubuntu Village and other community partners.

Their team called the numbers on the list, scheduled appointments, and ended up vaccinating 238 people. The personal approach of their method — members of the community reaching out to people individually — helped quell concerns some had about getting the vaccine, says Arsene DeLay, who helped organize the event.

“It was also really beautiful to see the communal aspect of it because I am also of this community as a musician and a culture bearer,” DeLay says. “People coming in who could have had any kind of reason to be nervous … to come in and to see familiar faces and someone call them by their name before putting their ID out really makes a difference — especially after a long period of time where we were not able to see each other.”

Now, at this stage in the pandemic, community events look a lot smaller, and every new vaccination counts as the city pushes toward herd immunity slowly but surely.

In recent weeks, CrescentCare partnered with Culture Aid NOLA, a nonprofit distributing free groceries to people during the pandemic with no questions asked, to offer vaccinations to people waiting in line.

Culture Aid executive director Erica Chomsky-Adelson says it was a way to reach out to the 3,000 residents they give food to on a weekly basis, and that the event ended up being “wildly successful” with vaccination numbers exceeding their expectations. In fact, she says she hopes to have vaccines at more food distribution in the future. “[CrescentCare] told us that they would have called five shots a huge win, and we got 30,” Chomsky-Adelson says. “Our team and CresentCare were both definitely smiling behind their masks.”

“It was surprisingly emotional,” she adds. “It was a feeling of being overwhelmed with hope … we cried a little.”

Avegno says as general overall demand for the vaccine lulls, officials have had to shift gears and adjust expectations.

“We figured out two months ago that the future was these small events and that we had to reset our expectations,” Avegno says.

“Yeah, we were hoping for 1,000 a day, but if we get 50, that’s fantastic … But 10 more gets us closer. There’s a ripple effect that I don’t think we’re good at tracking. That of those 10, if they tell one person who decides to get it, then that’s 10 more next week.”

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P R OM OT I ON A L C ON T E N T PHOTO PROVIDED BY NEW ORLEANS PHARMACY MUSEUM

MUSEUM PREVIEW

2021

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PHOTO PROVIDED BY MUSEUM OF THE SOUTHERN JEWISH HISTORY

Welcome back arts, entertainment, and culture – my, how we’ve have missed you! This summer, some of the best places to beat the heat and re-engage with the world include the top-notch museums in the greater New Orleans area—and there are many classic and new exhibits to see. At The Sazerac House, you can taste and see the history of the cocktail (for free).

The New Orleans Pharmacy Museum offers a dose of mystery concoctions and lessons on the history of pharmaceutical medicine. “Shalom and make yourself at home” at the much-anticipated Museum of Southern Jewish History, which opened its doors in May. And local art is always on view at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Currently, the Ogden is showing Outside In, Improvisations of Space, a solo exhibition featuring the ceramic work of New Orleans artist, MaPó Kinnord.

PHOTO BY OGDEN MUSEUM OF SOUTHERN ART

There are many, many more exhibits and collections to check out. Start your adventure with this special promotional section that highlights the fine institutions that we can’t wait to see!

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TUES-SAT 9:30AM–4:30PM | SUN 10:30AM–4:30PM

520 & 533 Royal St. 410 Chartres St. New Orleans, LA 70130

504-523-4662

Admission is free.

Follow @visit_thnoc on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube Details on current exhibitions and upcoming events are available at hnoc.org or by calling 504-523-4662.

As the area’s premier museum dedicated to local history, The Historic New Orleans Collection (THNOC) explores the city’s storied past at the heart of where the city’s story began. Within the walls of its meticulously maintained French Quarter properties, visitors can immerse themselves in more than three centuries of our history— and there’s no charge for admission.

The dedicated staff, carefully curated exhibitions, self-guided informational courtyard tours, and interactive digital displays untangle the complex legacies of vibrant, multicultural communities past and present for museum visitors. Through its acclaimed catalog of original books, THNOC has exposed the violent clashes that brought changes to politics and equality, the mystique of cultural phenomena like second line parades, and revived stories of protest and progress lost to time. THNOC’s lively public programs allow participants of all ages to gather—both in person and virtually—to learn with and from each other.

For more than 50 years, THNOC has championed the French Quarter as the city’s cultural epicenter. Many of its buildings are real-life artifacts, dating to the 18th or 19th century. Its 2019 expansion at 520

Royal Street resulted in a beautiful blending of old and new. Together, the historic restoration of the Seignouret-Brulatour building and the contemporary Tricentennial Wing offer 36,000 additional square feet of exhibition space.

This summer, visitors can choose from a variety of experiences, from a thematic exploration of the French Quarter to a survey of regional decorative arts. In July, THNOC will present a fond remembrance of acclaimed New Orleans artist and educator John Clemmer, whose legacy remains vibrant 100 years after his birth. In the coming months, exhibitions will address topics such as maps of the Gulf Coast, the pageantry of Carnival celebrations, and the 75th anniversary of the iconic play A Streetcar Named Desire.

Museum-goers can take can take a break to enjoy historically inspired fare at Café Cour and visit The Shop at the Collection, which carries items based on museum objects as well as merchandise from dozens of local artists. Those looking to embark on their own journeys of discovery are encouraged to explore THNOC’s “History from Home” online portal, with access to articles, oral histories, research tools, and more.

hnoc.org

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The Historic New Orleans Collection (THNOC)

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The Sazerac House TUES-SUN 11AM–6PM

The Sazerac House, a spirited experience that explores the history of New Orleans through its cocktails, is located at the intersection of Canal and Magazine Street, just a few hundred yards from the original 1850 Sazerac Coffee House—the site where the Sazerac Cocktail was first introduced and the company was born. Cuttingedge, immersive exhibit technology throughout the experience allows guests to take self guided tours as they dive into the French Quarter in the 1800s, take a seat at a simulation of the original Sazerac House café tables, chat with virtual New Orleans bartenders about their signature drink recipes based on their favorite flavor profiles and learn how to build drinks from the famous Mr. Boston guide.

Highlights of the Sazerac House are its three story tall bottle wall featuring signature Sazerac brand spirits and the distillery exhibit, complete with a 500 gallon capacity custom built still. The still produces about a barrel of Sazerac Rye Whiskey a day and its beautiful gleaming copper column is viewable from two stories through a glass front facing Canal Street, making it a prime attraction in downtown New Orleans.

Visitors can also learn about and view production and bottling of the famous

Peychaud’s Bitters, one of the key ingredients of the Sazerac Cocktail, the official cocktail of New Orleans.

In addition to exhibit space, the Sazerac House provides state of the art meeting and event space, with a capacity of up to 400 guests. Private events can include tastes of the spirits portfolios of the Sazerac Company with cocktail experts. Additional events, including Drink and Learns, food pairings and a variety of other topics are also held periodically.

Tickets to these events can be purchased for a nominal fee.

And for those that want to take a memento of their experience back with them, the Sazerac House offers a retail shop with apparel, bar tools, exclusive gifts and even some of the spirits shown in the displays.

Admission to the Sazerac House is complimentary, and guests who are age 21 years or older can enjoy sampling stations with a variety of Sazerac products or cocktails, varying by day of the week and the season.

Although tours are self guided, reservations should be made in advance at www. sazerachouse.com. Tickets to the private events can also be purchased online.

www.sazerachouse.com

101 Magazine St. New Orleans, LA 70130

504-910-0100

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TUES-SUN 10AM–5PM The New Orleans Museum of Art is committed to uniting, inspiring, and engaging diverse communities and cultures through the arts.

World-class exhibitions, a renowned permanent collection and sculpture garden, and yearround programming allow NOMA to fulfill or mission of creating community. Visit noma.org to view our calendar of innovation exhibitions, programs and events, including seasonal cultural and family festivals, concerts, and virtual tours.

comprehensive museum exhibition for the pioneering multimedia artist Dawn DeDeaux.

Since the 1970s, DeDeaux’s practice has spanned video, performance, photography, and installation to create art that exists at the edge of the Anthropocene.

Anticipating a future imperiled by the runaway population growth, breakneck industrial development, and the looming threat of climate change, DeDeaux has long worked between worlds of the present and the future.

Here’s some of what you can look forward to in 2021 and 2022:

Queen Nefertari’s Egypt March 18–July 17, 2022

NEW at NOMA: Recent Acquisitions in Contemporary Art On view now–June 26, 2022 NEW at NOMA spotlights contemporary art recently purchased or gifted to the museum and focuses on works

by BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and female-identifying artists. The second in a series of exhibitions that began in 2017, NEW at NOMA reflects the museum’s ongoing commitment to diversify the permanent collection and exhibit work that is reflective of the community that it serves.

The installation features work by local, national, and international artists, and champions the work of emerging and underrepresented voices, including those within New Orleans.

Queen Nefertari’s Egypt unlocks the secrets of the famous, yet mysterious Queen Nefertari (1279-1212 BCE), the Great Royal Wife of King Ramesses II. Organized by the Museo Egizio in Turin, Italy, the extraordinary exhibition features approximately 230 objects from the excavations carried out in the Valley of the Queens by the noted Egyptologist and former director of the Museo Egizio, Ernesto Schiaparelli.

Members make so much possible at NOMA. Starting at the Friends & Family level, members enjoy reciprocal membership benefits at more than a thousand museums throughout North America.

Other benefits include a discount in the NOMA Shop, exclusive member-first digital content, and member discounts on program registration and event tickets.

For more information about NOMA membership, visit noma. org/join, call (504) 658-4130, or email membership@noma. org. Celebrate your love of art by joining NOMA today.

Dawn DeDeaux: The Space Between Worlds On view October 1, 2021–January 23, 2022 Dawn DeDeaux: The Space Between Worlds is the first

www.noma.org

New Orleans, LA 70124

504-658.4100

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New Orleans Museum of Art

1 Collins C. Diboll Circle, City Park

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Louisiana State Museums

701 Chartres St, New Orleans, LA 70116

TUES–SUN 9AM–4PM

Each of the Louisiana State Museum’s nine locations highlights a different aspect of the state’s rich history. While some of these remarkable museums are woven into the fabric of the French Quarter, one is nestled on the banks of scenic Bayou Lafourche in rural Cajun country, while another stands proud beside our state capitol in Baton Rouge. Still another is an award-winning architectural masterpiece in northwest Louisiana. They’re part of a system of historic landmarks showcasing Louisiana’s history and culture, which are unlike any other in the state.

Your visit to New Orleans’ historic French Quarter would not be complete without a stop at Jackson Square, where you will find the Cabildo and Presbytère. These elegant Spanish colonial buildings flanking St. Louis Cathedral house rare artifacts of America’s history.

At the Cabildo, visitors can learn about the Battle of New Orleans, view more than fifty original works by world-renowned Louisiana artist Clementine Hunter, and behold Napoleon’s death mask.

The Presbytère’s first floor showcases a powerful exhibition Living with Hurricanes: Katrina & Beyond, which documents the event, the aftermath, and southeast Louisiana’s ongoing recovery. On the second

floor, discover Louisiana’s passion for celebration through a permanent Mardi Gras exhibition and a new changing exhibition exploring Black masking traditions. Mystery in Motion celebrates how Black masking Indians, skeleton gangs, Baby Dolls, and the traditional parade krewes Oshun and Nefertiti incorporate spiritual themes from a variety of sources to create profound Mardi Gras masks, suits, costumes and rituals grounded in shared experience.

Also at Jackson Square, the 1850 House in the ornate Lower Pontalba offers a rare glimpse of upper-middle-class life in antebellum New Orleans, the most prosperous period in the city’s history. Then walk downriver, past the French Market, towards the foot of Frenchmen Street. There you will find the New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old U.S. Mint on Esplanade Avenue, highlighting aspects of the city’s music history through dynamic exhibits and daily musical performances.

Visit these museums to see how Louisianians have lived and continue to live, contributing to America’s identity, soul and energy. The French Quarter locations are open Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For tickets or to learn more about educational programming, please visit their website at LouisianaStateMuseum.org.

LouisianaStateMuseum.org

519 Huey P. Long Ave. Gretna, Louisiana

504-363-4202

WED–SAT 10AM–3PM In 1836, German immigrants founded the West Bank town of Mechanikham that would become Gretna. Honoring those founders is the mission of the GermanAmerican Cultural Center and Museum at 519 Huey P. Long Avenue in Gretna.

The free museum, established 21 years ago by citizens, governmental leaders and the National Park Service, is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday.

flooding Gretna. From a 1920s fire parade, to old corner stores, to ferries that carried trains across the river before there were bridges, the images tell stories about early life on the West Bank.

Join us on October 9 for our Oktoberfest Beer Garden! For more information, call 504-363-4202, or visit www.gacc-nola.com.

A special exhibit of historic photographs is now on view, “From Mechanikham to Gretna: German Families, Events and Landmarks.” Photographs document the Great Crevasse of 1891, when the Mississippi River broke a Marrero levee,

www.gacc-nola.com

The Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience OPEN 6 DAYS A WEEK | CLOSED TUES NOW OPEN -The Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience explores the many ways that Jews in the American South influenced and were influenced by the distinct cultural heritage of their new homes. Through exhibits, collections and programs focused on the unique and remarkable history of Southern Jews, the Museum encourages new understanding and appreciation for identity, diversity, and acceptance.

Exhibits topics include Colonial Jewry, Jewish immigration waves, Jewish businesses, Jews and the Civil War, Jews and the Civil Rights Movement, famous Southern Jews, and unique Southern Jewish folk and food-ways, among others.

The Museum has more than 4,000 artifacts in its collection, including Judaica, household items, business records, photographs, letters, and other ephemera.

The Museum is located in the heart of New Orleans’s Arts District, and within blocks of the National WWII Museum, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, and the Contemporary Arts Center.

Sholom. Make yourself at home.

msje.org

818 Howard Ave. New Orleans, Louisiana

504-384-2480

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German-American Cultural Center and Museum

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Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum

133 Mabel Dr. Madisonville, Louisiana

985-845-9200

TUES-FRI 1PM–4PM | SAT 10AM–4PM “Bringing Louisiana’s Maritime History to Life” is

culturally and historically.

the driving mission of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin

Join us for the 31st Annual Wooden Boat Festival

Maritime Museum and Research Center. Located on

September 25 & 26, 2021. Enjoy beautiful wooden

the Tchefuncte River in Madisonville, embark on a

boats, arts and crafts, Louisiana food, local music,

historic journey of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin, the

cardboard boat regatta, the popular Quick N’ Dirty

lower Mississippi River Valley and the Gulf Coast of

Boat building contest and our Children’s Village. Great

Louisiana. History and culture come to life through

fun for all ages! Proceeds support the exhibits and

hands-on exhibits and programs available to the

educational programs at the museum.

general public, school field trips, and private group tours.

From August 28th-October 9th, 2021, the museum will host the Smithsonian Institute’s Water/Ways exhibit. It explores the meaning of water - an essential component of life on our planet, environmentally,

www.lpbmm.org Bayou Country Children’s Museum

Ogden Museum of Southern Art

211 Rue Betancourt

925 Camp Street

Thibodaux, LA 70301

985-446-2200

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At the Bayou Country Children’s Museum, children will learn as they play on a full-size sugarcane harvester, spot waterfowl from a duck blind, toss beads from a Mardi Gras float, climb aboard a shrimp boat and a 2-story oil platform, and even experience a severe weather simulation and fire simulation in Safety-ville and so much more! bayoucountrychildrensmuseum.org

Come see the art of the American South at Ogden Museum of Southern Art! Located in the Warehouse Arts District of Downtown New Orleans, Ogden Museum holds an impressive collection of over 4,000 works of art. Currently on view are several exhibitions, including Outside In, Improvisations of Space, a solo exhibition featuring the ceramic work of New Orleans artist and Xavier University of Louisiana professor, MaPó Kinnord. www.ogdenmuseum.org

IT’S FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY!

1010 Conti St. • 504-218-4872 www.themardigrasmuseum.com

New Orleans Public Radio • wwno.org

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1504 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.

New Orleans, LA 70113

504-569-0405

THURS-SUN 11AM–5PM It’s an exciting time at the Southern Food & Beverage Museum! Our staff is fully vaccinated and feeling safe, and we have big plans for summer 2021 and beyond. We’ve relaunched our Saturday demonstrations taught by your favorite culinary characters. Followed by a guided tour, our demonstrations are our favorite way to share the fabulous food and delightful drinks of New Orleans with our visitors. Our Brunswick bar, the second oldest bar in New Orleans, is open for business! You can explore our Southern State exhibits, la Galerie de l’Absinthe, the Museum of the American Cocktail, and our temporary exhibits with an ice cold beer, a wonderful wine, or classic cocktail in tow. Our

hands-on Cajun and Creole classes are back! Chef Dee Lavigne is offering a hands-on experience where you create mouthwatering, traditional dishes that can be found nowhere else in the world.

We are so excited to welcome you back!

The Museum is open from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Thursday through Monday.

For more information, visit www.southernfood.org.

www.southernfood.org

New Canal Lighthouse Museum TUES–SAT 10AM–4PM SUN 10AM–2PM

8001 Lakeshore Dr. New Orleans, LA 70124

504-836-2215

PHOTO COURTESY NEW CANAL LIGHTHOUSE MUSEUM

Beat the heat with Art & A/C presented by The Helis Foundation! As an extension of The Helis Foundation’s “Art for All” program, every Sunday in July, Louisiana residents can stay cool and enjoy FREE admission to Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans Museum of Art, and Contemporary Arts Center.

Learn more about Art for All and Art & A/C at www.TheHelisFoundation.org.

In addition to telling its own unique story, the New Canal Lighthouse Museum is also a scientific and environmental education center! The lighthouse

is home to exhibits, a hands-on laboratory for kids and adults, and events ranging from intimate talks to massive volunteer litter pick-ups.

Available for event rentals!

www.neworleans.com/listing/new-canal-lighthouse/13532/

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Southern Food & Beverage Museum

New Orleans, LA

504-565-8027

PHOTO COURTESY SHARON PYE

The New Orleans Pharmacy Museum is housed in the 1823 apothecary of America’s first licensed pharmacist (1816).

Step back in time and learn about 19th century pharmacy, medicine and healthcare.

www.pharmacymuseum.org

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PRO M OT IO N A L FE AT U R E

MAKE THE CITY YOU LOVE

THE DESTINATION

BY AMANDA MCELFRESH

W

ith many restaurants now offering dine-in and most attractions now open, there’s no better time to take advantage of all the city has to offer. After a year of being cooped up, it’s time to let loose, and there’s no better way to enjoy the summer than by being a tourist in your own town.

Here are a few ways to make the most of your summer.

PHOTO PROVIDED

BY ACE HOTEL

For the girls weekend: STAY: ACE HOTEL

There’s always something fun happening at the ACE! The rooftop pool is the perfect relaxation spot to enjoy craft cocktails from Alto, the adjacent bar. When it’s time to eat, Seaworthy is known for its fresh oysters and other seafood, while Josephine Estelle serves upscale modern Italian by James Beard Award-nominated chefs. Learn more at www. acehotel.com/neworleans/.

EAT: ANTOINE’S RESTAURANT It’s been a while since you’ve gotten together with the girls, so splurge on a dinner of indulgence filled with French-Creole dishes like Oysters Rockefeller, Pompano Pontchartrain and Jubilee Cheesecake. Antoine’s is groupfriendly, with private dining areas available for 14 to 300. Learn more at www.antoines. com.

For the Couples Getaway: STAY: ROYAL SONESTA

Nothing says New Orleans luxury like this AAA Four Diamond-rated hotel in the heart of the French Quarter. The traditional gabled windows, rich décor, wrought-iron balconies and lush courtyard create a romantic atmosphere. For dinner, dive into reinterpretations of classic Cajun and Creole dishes at Restaurant R’evolution or classic New Orleans favorites at Desire Oyster Bar. If you’re more in the mood for cocktails and casual eats, The Jazz Playhouse and Le Booze have just what you are looking for. Learn more at www.sonesta.com/us/louisiana/new-orleans/ royal-sonesta-new-orleans.

DO: FRENCH MARKET Set aside several hours to peruse and purchase some of the hundreds of locally-made products in this shopping district a few blocks from the French Quarter. You’ll find one of the broadest selections of items in the city, including artwork, hand-crafted soaps and candles, home décor, shoes, clothing, books, candy, and much more. Learn more at www.frenchmarket.org.

STAFF PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER

STAFF PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER

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A Sultry Cocktail Bar serving small bites and divine craft cocktails

Neighborhood Café with a full range of boozy or not boozy coffee, teas, espresso, creative frozen adult beverages and delicious eat-on-the-go options.

Not just a Hotel - more like an experience of the senses.

50 1 Tchoup itoulas St re et , N ew O rleans + 50 4 . 57 1 .1 8 1 8 + hotel fontenot.com + p eacock roomnola .com + Let’s get so cial !

HELICOPTER TOURS • CHAR TERS • ENGAGEMENTS

YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE!

www.heli-co.com

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NOW OPEN!

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PRO M OT IO N A L FE AT U R E

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EAT: LILETTE Marking its 20th anniversary this year, Lilette has become a go-to destination for both new couples and those who have been together a while. The intimate and romantic atmosphere has been known to spark a few smooches in between courses of the French and Italianinspired cuisine. Learn more at www.liletterestaurant.com.

DO: HELI CO. HELICOPTER TOUR Enjoy a bird’s eye view of the Crescent City and the surrounding area with a 15, 30 or 60 mile tour that is guaranteed to be fun and memorable. Go for the romance package add-on for chocolates and champagne on your flight. If you’re ready to take the next step, propose with the engagement package, complete with a 30-mile sunset tour and a reception on the ground. Custom wedding flights are also available. Learn more at www. heli-co.com.

adults, there’s plenty to choose from, including daily specials, po-boys and all the classics.

End the meal with a dessert that everyone can enjoy, including bread pudding, pie, cookies and brownies. Learn more at www. mothersrestaurant.net.

DO: AUDUBON AQUARIUM OF THE AMERICAS It’s no mystery why the Aquarium has been a family favorite for more than 30 years. Kids and adults alike can never seem to get enough of the thousands of animals that live here, including penguins, sea otters, seahorses, exotic birds and of course, the fish. Special exhibits focus on the Amazon rainforest and a submerged reef. Learn more at https://audubonnatureinstitute.org/aquarium.

EAT: SOBOU Created by the Commander’s Family of Restaurants, the SoBou website describes the cuisine as “Louisiana Street Food Inspired Small Plates.” Satisfy your taste buds with a bit of everything, including shrimp and tasso corn dogs, duck and sweet potato beignets, roasted acorn squash, steak or salad, just to name a few. Make it a meal to remember with a glass (or two) from SoBou’s extensive wine list. Learn more at www.sobounola.com.

DO: JAMNOLA More than 20 inspired artists created this immersive art experience in Marigny last year, and its popularity is only growing. The name stands for Joy, Art & Music – New Orleans.

It includes 12 exhibits that celebrate the art, music, food and theatrics of New Orleans.

Be prepared to not just view the art, but to become a part of it as well. Learn more at www.jamnola.com.

For Family Fun:

STAY: LOEWS NEW ORLEANS HOTEL

Kids under 18 stay free in the spacious rooms at Loews, which come with complimentary cribs and baby bath amenity kits. Plenty of kid-friendly amenities are available any time of the day or night, including baby baths, children’s game tablets, coloring books and crayons. Learn more at www.loewshotels. com/new-orleans.

EAT: MOTHER’S RESTAURANT Since 1938, Mother’s has been known for its comfortable atmosphere and meals made with love. The menu includes children’s plates featuring chicken bites, shrimp, catfish, debris biscuit and grilled cheese sandwich. For the

STAFF PHOTO BY MAX BECHERER

For the Funky: STAY: HOTEL FONTENOT

STAFF PHOTO BY DAVID GRUNFELD

The vibe here is a mixture of contemporary with an homage to the New Orleans over-thetop spirit, with amenities like the Peacock Room, a gathering spot filled with prints and patterns. At Gospel Coffee and Boozy Treats, there’s the option to enjoy everything in its traditional form or add booze to anything on the menu. Work it off in the 24-hour fitness center that includes Peloton bikes or during a long practice on an in-room yoga mat. The hotel also provides seasonal book recommendations in partnership with Literary Hub, custom playlists and curated guides for running, restaurants and bars. Learn more at www. hotelfontenot.com.

STAFF PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER

Rediscover The Classics STAY: HOTEL MONTELEONE This French Quarter staple is a New Orleans landmark for a reason. The literary suites were named after famous authors who were inspired by the hotel itself, while the Carousel Bar is known as the birthplace of the Vieux Carre cocktail. Relax in the rooftop pool or Spa Aria and refuel with a meal at the refined Southern restaurant Criollo. Learn more at www.hotelmonteleone.com.

Since 1941, Dooky Chase’s has been a nationally-recognized hub for both cuisine and New Orleans culture, entertainment and civil rights. Still proudly run by the Chase family, the restaurant has a popular lunch menu with classic favorites like gumbo, poboys, chicken or shrimp creole and much more. The dinner menu adds on dishes like barbecue shrimp, Dooky’s Toast, braised duck, Southern fried chicken and others. Learn more at www. dookychaserestaurants.com.

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NEW AND NOTABLE THINGS TO CHECK OFF

YOUR SUMMER BUCKET LIST. STAFF PHOTOS BY IAN MCNULTY

STAFF PHOTO BY MAX BECHERER

DO: MUSEUM AT THE OLD URSULINE CONVENT Take a self-guided tour or arrange for a group tour in this building that was completed in the early 1700s. Through the years, it has served as a convent, a school, a residence, an office and a meeting place for the Louisiana Legislature.

Today, it joins with St. Louis Cathedral and St. Mary’s Church to form the Catholic Cultural Heritage Center of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. A new exhibit looks at 300 years of Catholicism in New Orleans. Learn more at www.stlouiscathedral.org/convent-museum.

Start your day with beignets at the new Morning Call in Mid-City Visit the new Southern Museum of Jewish History (msje.org), the newest addition to the museum district Support live music on Frenchmen Street. Visit the courtyard at the Royal Frenchmen Hotel (royalfrenchmenhotel.com) or the new outdoor venue Palace Market (palacemarketnola.com) Save the date for Satchmo Fest (satchmosummerfest.org), taking place at the Old U.S. Mint at the foot of Esplanade Avenue on July 31-Aug. 1 Visit Kingfish Cider (kingfishcider. com), a new taproom in Old Jefferson Rediscover Preservation Hall (preservationhall.com)and say Happy 60th to this New Orleans gem.

A/C and art— walkabout one of the many art gallery corridors from St. Claude to Julia to Magazine to Royal and find a piece that inspires you.

STAFF PHOTO BY SHAWN FINK

Go on a sno-ball crawl— how many can you try? From classics like Hansen’s (snobliz.square.site/ ) and Plum Street to the new boozy options at Nola Sips SnoBar and Bistro (instagram.com/sweetthangsnola/) indulge in this seasonal sweet treat.

Take advantage of free museum admission days for Louisiana residents supported by The Helis Foundation (thehelisfoundation. org)—The New Orleans Museum of Art and The New Orleans Botanical Gardens (Wednesday); The Ogden Museum of Southern Art (Thursday), The Contemporary Arts Center (Sunday).

Wishing this summer had a World Cup? Enjoy this summer sport locally, by catching one of the last two New Orleans Jesters (nolajesters.com) games of the season.

Continue to keep up with the latest events taking place this summer by visiting calendar.gambitweekly.com

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EAT: DOOKY CHASE’S RESTAURANT

PRO M OT IO N A L FE AT U R E

EATDRINK

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Southern experiences Del Sur opens at Selina Catahoula

BY B E T H D ’A D D O N O SOUTHERN SOUL COMES IN MANY FLAVORS for Byron Bradley and

David Hargrove, the chefs and business partners better known as 2Brothers1Love. The co-chefs have been working together on a variety of projects since they met four years ago. With the opening of Del Sur, their new restaurant in the Selina Catahoula hotel in the Central Business District, their particular take on Afro-Latin cuisine has a beautiful new outlet.

The restaurant concept is a good fit for the hotel, purchased a year ago by the Selina hotel company based in Panama. Most of the company’s properties are in South and Central America, from Costa Rica to Columbia and Peru. Its foray into the United States is more recent, with New Orleans the fifth acquisition after properties in New York and Miami.

Bradley and Hargrove were about to enter a busy wedding season with their catering company when the pandemic wiped that slate clean.

“We had to redesign the business,” Hargrove says. The duo turned to family meal prep and delivery, as well as working with Chefs Brigade New Orleans for the city’s emergency meal program and feeding kids five days a week at city learning hubs that were being operated at libraries and rec centers. They did some film crew catering once that business started trickling back into town.

But what they really wanted to do was open their own restaurant.

Although their leased space at Del Sur doesn’t quite live up to that hope, they do have free rein to mine cultural and culinary geography in the form of creative dishes from around South America and the American South.

Their menu is influenced by their combined backgrounds, from their Louisiana roots — Bradley is from Monroe, Hargrove from Tallulah – to

their travels in Mexico and South America and connections to friends from Cuba.

Now open for dinner Wednesday through Sunday, 4 p.m. to 11 p.m., Del Sur lives in a warm, plant- and art-filled space, accented with leather banquettes, exposed brick walks and the graphic pop of a black and white checkerboard floor. The outside brick courtyard is dominated by a carved three-story Vargas-esque chanteuse. The dining room is flanked by a stylish pisco-centric bar.

“Our idea was to take traditional Latin dishes and give them our own Afro-Caribbean flair,” says Bradley, whose background includes earning a full scholarship to the International Culinary Center in New York from what is now the MINO Foundation. “We make our ceviche Peruvian-style with corn and potatoes, but we add coconut milk and habanero,” he explains. Patatas bravas, the crispy fried fingerlings popular as tapas in Spain, are treated with salsa Criolla and paprika aioli for dipping.

Because the chefs put a premium on healthful and fresh ingredients, vegetarians and vegans have plenty of options, including the ensalada de quinoa with sweet potatoes and a pimientos rellenos, a stuffed charred poblano pepper served on a bed of Romesco sauce topped with a pepper jack cheese crema.

Charcuterie boards are termed sweet or savory. “When I traveled through Europe I learned a lot of different styles and cultures of food,” says Hargrove, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. “The idea of eating cheese with jams and bread was new to me. So, we offer that as well as salamis and cheeses with more savory garnishes like pickled vegetables. A lot of customers come from all over the world. We want to be an inclusive as possible in our approach.

We don’t box ourselves in and we don’t put limits on our food either.”

Where Selina Catahoula, 914 Union St.; catahoulahotel.com

When 4-11 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday

How Dine-in

Email dining@gambitweekly.com

Sazerac Celebration

P H OTO B Y C H E R Y L G E R B E R

Chef David Hargrove with a stuffed pepper dish at Del Sur in the Selina Catahoula hotel.

The two chefs share a military background and cooperate seamlessly, allowing for the pursuit of independent projects like the month Hargrove is about to spend cooking for guests at Chulitna Lodge Wilderness Retreat in Lake Clark, Alaska. Bradley has been flying regularly to Jamaica for a joint endeavor called Homegrown Distribution, a partnership with a colleague’s family farm to grow and distribute ginger and coffee, all part of an overarching plan to support sustainable agriculture and make healthy foods more accessible here in New Orleans.

“David and I are complete opposites, but we learn from each other all the time,” Bradley says. “He’s teaching me to be more detailed and I’m teaching him to calm down. When we met four years ago we discussed everything we’re doing now in our first conversation. That’s how we both know we’re on the right track.”

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What Del Sur

FORK CENTER

Check it out Creative dishes from South America and the American South

THE SAZERAC IS MORE than just a classic cocktail.

It’s the palate-opener before a great Creole meal, the standing order at countless New Orleans restaurants. Its deep scarlet color in a glass fogged with chill can signal relief at the end of a hot day, and it can equally serve as an aromatic winter warmer when the city’s epic humidity turns cold.

It’s also emblematic of the way New Orleans helped guide cocktail culture from its earliest days. In this spirit, the company behind its key ingredients is making the Sazerac the toast of the town this week.

The Sazerac House (101 Magazine St., 504-910-0100; sazerachouse. com) is hosting Sazerac Cocktail Week, June 21-27, with tours, educational events and cocktail tastings.

Organizers hope it will be a growing annual event, and the timing coincides with the week in 2008 when the state legislature made the Sazerac the official cocktail of New Orleans.

“It’s a way to educate everyone on the importance of the Sazerac and the rich, rich history of the cocktail,” says Rhiannon Enlil, experience team leader at Sazerac House. “Each of the ingredients is telling part of the history of New Orleans.”

P H OTO B Y C H R I S G R A N G E R / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY UNE

Historic pieces on display at The Sazerac House

Sazerac Cocktail Week also doubles as a chance to reintroduce the Sazerac House itself, a downtown attraction that was just hitting its stride when the pandemic forced a temporarily shutdown.

The Sazerac House is the brand embassy for a liquor industry giant with roots entwined with that drink — the Sazerac Co. Developed in a historic building at the corner of Canal and Magazine streets, it is an interactive museum, an event space and a small-scale production facility for whiskey and bitters.

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Exhibits and features tell the story of the cocktail and its connections to New Orleans.

During Sazerac Cocktail Week, visitors will find new and enhanced exhibits with separate features on the five ingredients that combine for the classic recipe: sugar, Peychaud’s Bitters, Herbsaint, Sazerac Rye Whiskey and lemon. The tours include a taste of the cocktail for the ultimate in interactive learning.

It is also hosting a virtual tasting with step-by-step instructions on June 23.

To Enlil, a longtime New Orleans bartender, the Sazerac is the perfect example of what makes the cocktail craft so compelling.

“The history is one of the reasons I’m in love with it, but it’s the elegance of having five simple ingredients, and knowing if you pull any of those too much in one direction, you lose that elegance,” Enlil says.

The Sazerac name itself goes back to France and a family of the same name that started a winery in about 1600. By 1796, the cognac produced here, Sazerac de Forge & Fils, was being exported to New Orleans.

The Sazerac Coffee House in the French Quarter took its own name from the popular cocktail originally made with the cognac (later replaced with rye). This bar grew into a liquor company, acquiring other brands, including Peychaud’s.

It became a wholesale grocery company to survive Prohibition, and got back to the booze business after Prohibition was repealed, marketing its Sazerac cocktail.

In 1948, the Goldring family of New Orleans acquired the company.

In the past few decades, its growth began to snowball, paralleling the dramatic growth of the bourbon business. It became the country’s largest spirits producer and one of the largest such companies in the world. Local businessman Bill Goldring directs the company from New Orleans.

The Sazerac House tells its stories in many ways and works details of its devotion all across the property.

On the ground floor, it operates its own microdistillery for Sazerac Rye whiskey, replicating the process at the company’s main Kentucky distillery. Upstairs, an exhibit on bitters doubles as a boutique production shop for Peychaud’s Bitters.

The Sazerac name is also affiliated with the Sazerac Bar at the Roosevelt Hotel which uses the name under a licensing agreement with the Sazerac Co. A similar arrangement is in place for the new Peychaud’s Bar, which opened this spring in the Hotel at the Maison DeVille, in a space that was once Antoine Peychaud’s home.

For more information, visit sazeraccocktailweek.com. — IAN McNULTY/THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

New Northshore Tavern

THE GREYHOUND (701 E. Boston St.,

Covington, 985-400-5828) opened June 17 in downtown Covington, taking a different approach to the idea of a family-friendly tavern.

It’s the latest from chefs Torre and David Solazzo, the couple behind the nearby Del Porto Ristorante. They’ve cast the Greyhound as a casual gastropub — a notch more sophisticated, and a tad more quirky, than the standard bar and grill.

Instead of typical comfort food, the Greyhound takes its cues from different European traditions.

“We always want to do something different from everyone else,” Torre Solazzo says. “It’s all the things we love to eat.”

Walk in and you see the wood-fired pizza oven lined with subway tile and fronting a dining counter. Next to that, there’s a bar split into two small sections, creating a number of corners and nooks to hang out. The main dining room has marble-topped cafe tables in a space line with mirrors and Art Deco paintings.

The menu runs from roasted littleneck clams to fried turkey wings to bacalao (salted cod fritters), from doner kebab with house-made gyro to fish and chips to pork schnitzel with mustard sauce. Pizza with ground lamb and feta or harissa-roasted shrimp and zucchini join more familiar varieties. There’s a kids menu, while the dessert list has an “adult float,” made with caramel ice cream and Guinness stout.

The Greyhound also serves a matzo ball soup and a Reuben sandwich with house-made pastrami, a nod to Torre Solazzo’s Jewish roots.

Beer is another way the Greyhound stands out. While profusions of draft choices and local brews are the trends, the Greyhound has just three beers on tap, all Belgian right now, and then a case full of imported European beers in cans and bottles.

As downtown Covington has seen more development, the chefs saw a niche for a new spot where people can come for full meals, for a snack and session on the laptop or just for drinks.

The new restaurant’s building was once a Greyhound bus station, hence the name. Now a pair of canine statues flank the bar entrance, and the greyhound cocktail stands tall on the menu.

The Greyhound’s initial hours will be Wed.-Sat., 5 p.m.-‘til, with plans to expand to lunch and additional days of service later this summer. — IAN McNULTY/THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

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3-COURSE INTERVIEW

SEAFOOD & BARBECUE We’d like to thank our BBQ team Hog Dat Nation & Hogs for the Cause for helping us take home a Grand Champion Hogs for the Cause trophy!!!

Chef IN 2014, NADIA OGBOR MOVED TO NEW ORLEANS from New York City,

where she grew up inspired by the city’s international cuisines, including her mother’s own Nigerian cooking. Ogbor worked in New Orleans restaurants before launching her own taco pop-up, Little Kitchen.

Ogbor is not constrained by tacos.

She also recently prepared a fivecourse Nigerian feast for an African Jazz Supper Club event and offers catering for special events. She can often be found these days in Bywater bars and markets and at breweries and other communal pop-up spaces all over the city.

Stop by NOLA Crawfish King Seafood & Barbecue for some awardwinning BBQ!!!

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How did the pop-up start, and how has it evolved?

NADIA OGBOR: At its core, it’s a taco pop-up with fun little extra sides and things like that. And sometimes I do Nigerian cooking and dinner parties and catering.

I really wanted to cook in the city, but got burned out from working in kitchens. Pal’s was my neighborhood bar, so they asked if I could do a pop-up. I started around 2016, but it was always on and off, because I usually go work in Alaska for the summer. Now, I pop up often at Trap Kitchen in Bywater, every other Wednesday.

I’m also at Okay Bar pretty often, and at Parleaux Beer Lab. It’s really just wherever they ask me ... I’ve been doing it more regularly since mid-pandemic. I started [cooking] more often at the end of the strict, homebound quarantine.

I definitely have my staples, my tacos that I do all the time, but I’m always trying to bring new flavors in. When I go to Mexico, I always try to bring back new flavors with me.

I’m also expanding into different kinds of salsa and fermented things — but I’m trying to keep my menus a little smaller and more concise and focus on the flavors that I’m doing at that moment — a smaller menu, done with intention.

I like doing the pop-ups. I don’t have restaurant aspirations in the near future. But I am interested in doing more private parties and catering and cooking for groups of people and specific events, like weddings.

P H OTO B Y C A M I L L E L EN A I N / P R OV I D E D B Y N A D I A O G B O R

Where did you learn how to cook?

O: I grew up in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, eating all kinds of different stuff and I feel like having access to so many different cuisines made me interested in cooking. There’s so much food in New York, and my mother loved to cook, and she was always cooking at home ... I’m self-taught, so mostly from watching people.

When I moved to New Orleans [in 2014] I was working in restaurants.

With the Nigerian food, it’s from watching my family and working at Lagos [at the St. Roch Market].

With the tacos, it’s just from eating and watching and paying attention to flavors ...My food is very colorful.

I have a lot of fresh, bright colors.

It’s not heavy dishes. It’s all stewed proteins and meats offset with vegetables — there’s always fresh vegetables like cabbage, cilantro, homemade salsa and a pickle.

What do you like best about doing pop-ups?

O: I love designing my own schedule and being able to have the say-so in where I go and what I do and what I cook. It’s nice to have control over my work in that way.

I also love moving around the city and going into different neighborhoods. There are different vibes all over, so I don’t get burnt out, and I get to meet all kinds of people.

— SARAH RAVITS Keep up with Little Kitchen on Instagram: @littlekitchennola

TO

Contact Will Coviello wcoviello@gambitweekly.com 504-483-3106 | FAX: 504-483-3159 C O M P L E T E L I S T I N G S AT W W W. B E S T O F N E W O R L E A N S . C O M Out 2 Eat is an index of Gambit contract advertisers.

Unless noted, addresses are in New Orleans and all accept credit cards. Updates: email willc@gambitweekly.com or call (504) 483-3106.

$ — average dinner entrée under $10 $$ — $11 to $20 $$$ — $21 or more

Notice: Due to COVID-19, dining at restaurants is impacted. Information is subject to change. Contact the restaurant to confirm service options.

CARROLLTON Mid City Pizza — 6307 S. Miro St., (504) 509-6224; midcitypizza.com — See MidCity section for restaurant description.

Takeout and delivery available. Lunch Thu.-Sun., dinner Thu.-Mon. $$ Mikimoto — 3301 S. Carrollton Ave., (504) 488-1881; mikimotosushi.com — The South Carrollton roll includes tuna tataki, avocado and snow crab. Takeout and delivery available. Lunch Sun.-Fri., dinner daily. $$ Pyramids Cafe — 3151 Calhoun St., (504) 861-9602 — Diners will find Mediterranean cuisine featuring such favorites as shawarma prepared on a rotisserie.

Takeout and delivery available. Lunch and dinner daily. $$

CITYWIDE Breaux Mart — Citywide; breauxmart.com — The deli counter’s changing specials include dishes such as baked catfish and red beans and rice. Lunch and dinner daily. $

FAUBOURG MARIGNY Kebab — 2315 St. Claude Ave., (504) 3834328; kebabnola.com — The sandwich shop offers doner kebabs and Belgian fries. A falafel sandwich comes with pickled cucumbers, arugula, spinach, red onions, beets, hummus and Spanish garlic sauce. No reservations. Takeout and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Wed.-Mon. $

FRENCH QUARTER Desire Oyster Bar — Royal Sonesta New Orleans, 300 Bourbon St., (504) 5860300; sonesta.com/desireoysterbar — The menu features Gulf seafood in traditional and contemporary Creole dishes, poboys and more. Char-grilled oysters are topped with Parmesan, herbs and butter.

Reservations recommended. Takeout available. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$

HARAHAN/JEFFERSON/ RIVER RIDGE The Rivershack Tavern — 3449 River Road, (504) 834-4938; therivershacktavern.com — This bar and music spot offers a menu of burgers, sandwiches and changing lunch specials. Curbside pickup and delivery available. Lunch and dinner daily. $ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 1212 S. Clearview Parkway, Elmwood, (504) 7333803; theospizza.com — There is a wide

variety of specialty pies and toppings to build your own pizza. The menu also includes salads and sandwiches. Curbside pickup and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sat. $

LAKEVIEW The Blue Crab Restaurant and Oyster Bar — 7900 Lakeshore Drive, (504) 2842898; thebluecrabnola.com — The menu includes sandwiches, fried seafood platters, boiled seafood and more. The Blue Crab platter has fried shrimp, oysters, catfish and crab claws and either fried stuffed crab or soft-shell crab. Outdoor seating available. Lunch and dinner Tue.Sun. $$ Lakeview Brew Coffee Cafe — 5606 Canal Blvd., (504) 483-7001; lakeviewbrew. com — This casual cafe offers coffee, pastries, desserts, sandwiches and salads. Tuna salad or chicken salad avocado melts are topped with Monterey Jack and Parmesan. Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery are available. Breakfast and lunch daily. $

METAIRIE Andrea’s Restaurant — 3100 N. 19th St., Metairie, (504) 834-8583; andreasrestaurant.com — Chef Andrea Apuzzo’s speckled trout royale is topped with crabmeat and lemon-cream sauce.

Capelli D’Andrea combines house-made angel hair pasta and smoked salmon in cream sauce. Curbside pickup and delivery available. Lunch and dinner daily, brunch Sun. $$$ Chef Ron’s Gumbo Stop — 2309 N. Causeway Blvd., Metairie, (504) 835-2022; gumbostop.com — The Seafood Platter comes with fried catfish, shrimp, oysters and crab balls and is accompanied by fries and choice of side. Delivery available. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sat. $$ Kosher Cajun New York Deli & Grocery — 3519 Severn Ave., Metairie, (504) 888-2010; koshercajun.com — This New York-style deli specializes in sandwiches, including corned beef and pastrami that come from the Bronx. Takeout available.

Lunch Sun.-Thu., dinner Mon.-Thu. $ Mark Twain’s Pizza Landing — 2035 Metairie Road, Metairie, (504) 832-8032; marktwainpizza.com — Mark Twain’s serves salads, po-boys and pies like the Italian pizza with salami, tomato, artichoke, sausage and basil. Takeout and curbside pickup are available. Lunch Tue.-Sat., dinner Tue.-Sun. $ Nephew’s Ristorante — 4445 W. Metairie Ave., Metairie, (504) 533-9998; nephewsristorante.com — Chef Frank Catalanotto is the namesake “nephew” who ran the kitchen at his late uncle Tony Angello’s restaurant. The Creole-Italian menu fea-

MID-CITY/TREME Angelo Brocato’s — 214 N. Carrollton Ave., (504) 486-1465; angelobrocatoicecream.com — This sweet shop serves its own gelato, spumoni, Italian ice, cannolis, fig cookies and other treats. Window and curbside pickup. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. $ Brown Butter Southern Kitchen & Bar — 231 N. Carrollton Ave., Suite C, (504) 609-3871; brownbutterrestaurant.com — Sample items include smoked brisket served with smoked apple barbecue sauce, smoked heirloom beans and vinegar slaw. A Brunch burger features a brisket and short rib patty topped with bacon, brie, a fried egg, onion jam and arugula on a brioche bun. Dine-in, takeout, curbside pickup and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Wed.-Sat., brunch Sat.-Sun. $$ Katie’s Restaurant — 3701 Iberville St., (504) 488-6582; katiesinmidcity.com — Favorites include the Cajun Cuban with roasted pork, grilled ham, cheese and pickles pressed on buttered bread. The Boudreaux pizza is topped with cochon de lait, spinach, red onions, roasted garlic and scallions. Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. $$ Mid City Pizza — 4400 Banks St., (504) 483-8609; midcitypizza.com — The neighborhood pizza joint serves New York-style pies, plus calzones, sandwiches and salads. Signature shrimp remoulade pizza includes spinach, red onion, garlic, basil and green onion on an garlic-olive oil brushed curst. Dine-in, takeout and delivery available. Lunch Thu.-Sun., dinner Thu.-Mon. $$ Neyow’s Creole Cafe — 3332 Bienville St., (504) 827-5474; neyows.com — The menu includes New Orleans favorites such as red beans with fried chicken or pork chops, as well as grilled or fried seafood plates, po-boys, raw or char-grilled oysters, pasta, salads and more. Dine-in and takeout available. Lunch daily, dinner Mon.-Sat., brunch Sun. $$ Nonna Mia — 3125 Esplanade Ave., (504) 948-1717; nonnamianola.com — A Divine Portobello appetizer features chicken breast, spinach in red pepper sauce and crostini. The menu includes salads, sandwiches, pasta, pizza and more. Curbside pickup and delivery are available. Dinner Tue.-Sun. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 4024 Canal St., (504) 302-1133; theospizza. com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $

NORTHSHORE Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 70488 Highway 21, Covington, (985) 234-9420; theospizza.com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $

UPTOWN CR Coffee Shop — 3618 Magazine St., (504) 354-9422; crcoffeenola.com — The

selection includes Coast Roast coffees made with beans roasted in antique roasters, and the sweet vanilla cream cold brew is a signature item. There also are pastries and snacks. Indoor and outdoor seating, online ordering and delivery available. Open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. $ Joey K’s — 3001 Magazine St., (504) 8910997; joeyksrestaurant.com — ­ The menu includes fried seafood platters, salads, sandwiches and red beans and rice.

Sauteed trout Tchoupitoulas is topped with shrimp and crabmeat and served with vegetables and potatoes. Takeout and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat., brunch Sun. $$ Red Gravy — 4206 Magazine St., (504) 561-8844; redgravycafe.com — Thin cannoli pancakes are filled with cannoli cream and topped with chocolate. The menu includes brunch items, pasta dishes, sandwiches, baked goods and more.

Takeout available. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 4218 Magazine St., (504) 894-8554; theospizza. com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $ Tito’s Ceviche & Pisco — 5015 Magazine St., (504) 267-7612; titoscevichepisco.com — The Peruvian menu includes a version of the traditional dish lomo saltado, featuring beef tenderloin tips sauteed with onions, tomatoes, cilantro, soy sauce and pisco, and served with fried potatoes and rice. Dine-in, outdoor seating and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat., brunch Sun. $$$

WAREHOUSE DISTRICT Annunciation — 1016 Annunciation St., (504) 568-0245; annunciationrestaurant. com — The menu highlights Gulf seafood in Creole, Cajun and Southern dishes.

Fried oysters and skewered bacon are served with meuniere sauce and toasted French bread. Reservations required.

Dinner Thu.-Sun. $$$ NOLA Caye — 898 Baronne St., (504) 302-1302; nolacaye.com — The menu features Caribbean-inspired dishes and Gulf seafood. Seared ahi tuna is served with mango, avocado, mixed greens, citrus vinaigrette and sesame seeds. Takeout, delivery and outdoor seating available. D daily, brunch Sat.-Sun. $$$

WEST BANK Asia — Boomtown Casino & Hotel, 4132 Peters Road, Harvey, (504) 364- 8812; boomtownneworleans.com — Restaurateur Tri La’s menu serves Chinese and Vietnamese dishes. The Lau Hot Pot for two comes with choice of scallops, snow crab or shrimp. Reservations accepted.

Dinner Fri.-Sun. $$ Mosca’s — 4137 Highway 90 West, Westwego, (504) 436-8950; moscasrestaurant. com — This family-style eatery serves shrimp Mosca, chicken a la grande and baked oysters Mosca, made with breadcrumbs and Italian seasonings. Curbside pickup available. Dinner Wed.-Sat. Cash only. $$$ Specialty Italian Bistro — 2330 Belle Chasse Hwy., Gretna, (504) 391-1090; specialtyitalianbistro.com — The menu combines Old World Italian favorites and pizza. Paneed chicken piccata is topped with lemon-caper piccata sauce served with angel hair pasta, salad and garlic cheese bread. Takeout and delivery available. Lunch and dinner daily. $$

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tures dishes like veal, eggplant or chicken parmigiana, and Mama’s Eggplant with red gravy and Romano cheese. Reservations required. Dinner Tue.-Sat. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 2125 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, (504) 510-4282; theospizza.com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $ Short Stop Po-Boys — 119 Transcontinental Drive, Metairie, (504) 885-4572; shortstoppoboysno.com — The menu includes more than 30 po-boys along with other Louisiana staples. Fried Louisiana oysters and Gulf shrimp are served on a Leidenheimer loaf with lettuce, tomato, onions and pickles. No reservations. Breakfast, lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat. $

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THIS IS

FREE Making it is not.

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MUSIC

Virtual home

BY JAKE CLAPP THE ESSENCE FESTIVAL OF CULTURE may again

be virtual this year, but with looser restrictions and more time, ESSENCE wanted to find ways to incorporate its festival home of New Orleans when the online event launches this weekend.

“We’re still very much in a pandemic, so we can’t have the audience we normally have, and that’s for any major festival right now,” says ESSENCE Deputy Editor Cori Murray.

“But we did want to come and capture some of the things in the spirit of New Orleans because we’ve missed being down there.”

In recent weeks, ESSENCE has been in the city to film performances and interview segments around New Orleans, like a conversation with D-Nice — the DJ whose Club Quarantine events blew up last year — filmed at St. Augustine High School and a 30-minute set recorded at Howlin’ Wolf. Murray moderated a conversation between House of Tulip Executive Director and trans rights activist Mariah Moore and “Star” actor Miss Lawrence. And several New Orleanians, including Big Freedia and entrepreneur Supa Cent, will be featured in interactive online events.

Those segments can be seen as part of the two-weekend virtual ESSENCE Festival of Culture: “Live Out Loud,” which runs Friday, June 25, through Sunday, June 27, and July 2 through July 4.

Evening concerts will take place 6-10 p.m. CT Saturdays, June 26 and July 3, and will feature headlining performances by Jazmine Sullivan and DJ Khaled & friends. Ne-Yo, Tank, Michelle Williams, Kirk Franklin, Davido and D-Nice also perform.

Performances were pre-recorded in locations around the country, like Sullivan’s set in Philadelphia.

Conversations and interactive sessions will feature Mary J. Blige, Angela Yee, Tiana Major9, Adrienne Bailon and more.

Presentations focused on beauty, hair and skin care will take place 5-9 p.m. Fridays, and ESSENCE After Dark sets are scheduled for 8-9 p.m. that night.

Discussions around business and entrepreneurship are scheduled for 12-4 p.m. Saturdays and will be followed by Q&As with actors and entertainers at 4-6 p.m. before the concert segments.

Sundays will feature “Wellness House,” highlighting physical and

P H OTO B Y B R E T T D U K E / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY UNE

Mary J. Blige performs during the 2018 ESSENCE Festival at the MercedesBenz Superdome. The performer will take part in an interactive session during this year’s virtual ESSENCE Fest.

emotional self-care resources, at 9 a.m. to noon, and a gospel celebration follows until 2 p.m. to help with the spiritual rejuvenation.

Everything streams online at essencestudios.com and essence.com.

And a virtual marketplace of Blackowned businesses will be constantly running from June 25 to July 4.

“Another big part of the festival is the people,” Murray says. “We really wanted to encourage the community a bit more. We invited essential workers to come see some of the live tapings while we were [in New Orleans]. And we want people to have watch parties safely. We didn’t really get to do that part last year.”

With a focus on Black women and the Black community, ESSENCE Communications has published its monthly magazine since 1970 and operates essence.com. The organization, which is based in New York, launched ESSENCE Festival of Culture in 1995 and the annual event has become an important part of New Orleans’ summer. The festival is set to return to the city in 2022.

New Orleans is a key aspect of the culture of ESSENCE Festival, Murray says.

“One of the big reasons why we wanted to film in New Orleans, we really wanted to be back on the ground to capture the vibe,” Murray says. “You can’t do ESSENCE Festival recording it all from New York.

New Orleans is as big a part as the artists.”

41

PAGE 4

Little Freddie King THE DAPER DON OF THE BLUES, the Gut Bucket King himself makes his triumphant return to BJ’s for his first public show at his longtime hangout since the beginning of the pandemic.

It’ll be a show you won’t want to miss.

At BJ’s Lounge in the Bywater, 4301 Burgundy, on Friday, June 25. Show starts at 7 p.m. Get tickets at the door for $10.

Bywater Bazaar

P H OTO B Y M AT T H E W H I N TO N / T H E N E W O R L E A N S A DVO C AT E

Children play on a gator inflatable at the Jean Lafitte Seafood Festival.

THE FESTIVAL FEATURES LIVE MUSIC, amusement rides, an art market, local seafood, access to the boardwalk through Wetland Trace and more. Friday, June 25, through Sunday, June 27, at Jean Lafitte Auditorium and Grounds, 4953 City Park St., Jean Lafitte. townofjeanlafitte.com.

New Orleans

HOME + STYLE + DESIGN

IT’S GETTING HOT OUT THERE, and a lot of the DIY markets and bazaars are shutting down till Spring. Be sure to head on over to BJ’s Sunday afternoon for the last Bywater Bazaar of the season, featuring a photo booth

by Josh Vine, delicious Hawaiian food from Aloha Nola, boozy snoballs from The Snowball Lady and a variety of vendors selling jewelry, original art, vintage gear and more! Sunday, June 27, noon to 5 p.m.. BJ’s Lounge, 4301 Burgundy. Free.

New Orleans

HOME + STYLE + DESI JUNE 202 GN 1

Oddities and Curiosities Expo

Dagnasterpus LOCALS MAY BE FAMILIAR WITH the sounds of Tree Adams, who created music for “NCIS: New Orleans.” He’s also worked on the shows “Californication,” “Lethal Weapon,” “In Plain Sight” and others, as well as leading the band The Hatters. His current project is Dagnasterpus, a grooving blues and funk band with a horn section. The group releases a self-titled album this week, and performs at 8 p.m. Wednesday, June 23, at Rock n Bowl. Find tickets at rocknbowl.com.

I Wayne REGGAE ICON I WAYNE brings his classic roots reggae style to New Orleans this Friday. For more than two decades the Portmore, Jamaica-born artist has been at the forefront of the resurgence of the roots movement.

I Wayne performs at local reggae joint Vybes Nation, Friday, June 25, doors at 7 p.m., show starts at 9 p.m.

1681 Religious St. Tickets are $25 from eventbrite.com.

Crescent City Reggae Sunsplash THE CRESCENT CITY REGGAE SUNSPLASH IS HERE to get you in the groove. Big Chief Monk Boudreaux is headlining the afternoon festival, which will also feature performances by local reggae/funk bands Claude Bryant and the Allstars, Ambush and Firebrain. Festivities kickoff at noon Sunday, June 27, at the Faubourg Brewery, 3501 Jourdan Road. Free.

Find information at facebook.com/ FaubourgBeer.

inside

P H OTO B Y S C OT T T H R E L K E L D / T H E N E W O R L E A N S A DVO C AT E

Curious creations run the norm at the Oddities and Curiosities Expo.

BU ZZ Y BE ES P. 4 // PIC NIC PL AN S P. 8 // SH OP VIN TAG E

P. 10 // AM ER ICA

NA P. 12 // SU MM ER

FAB RIC P. 14

ss i m t ’ Donan issue!

THE ODDITIES AND CURIOSITIES EXPO is a traveling merch convention for collectors of offbeat art, taxidermy, skulls, bones, macabre collectibles, clothing, antiques, handmade crafts, arcane medical paraphernalia, memorabilia and any sort of creepy thing.

The expo is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Saturday, June 26, at the Alario Center in Westwego. Find information at odditiesandcuriosities.com.

COMING NEXT ISSUE:

MAKE UP: Improv + Drag

DECORATING BOOK CASES

MAKE UP, THE NEW ORLEANS improv group made up of all drag performers, is digging into blockbuster comics for its in-person return to the AllWays Lounge on Friday, June 25. The troupe, which includes Tarah Cards, Laveau Contraire, Havana Goodtime and others, is pitting superheroes against supervillians for a night of improv comedy games and drag numbers. MAKE UP Returns: A Super Drag + Improv Show starts at 9 p.m. in The AllWays’ Twilight Room. Tickets are $15 at makeupimprovdrag.bpt.me.

NAUTICAL HOME ACCENTS

RESERVE SPACE

MIRRORS

JUNE 25

AND MORE!

ISSUE DATE

JULY 6

Ad Director Sandy Stein 504.483.3150 or sstein@gambitweekly.com

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Jean Lafitte Seafood Festival

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42

FESTIVAL NEWS

French Quarter Fest returns THE SAINTS’ FIRST WIN OF THE 2021 SEASON comes not against another

team, but a music festival.

The postponed 2021 French Quarter Festival has dropped Sunday from its schedule at the request of city officials, who were concerned about managing a Saints home game the same afternoon.

The Saints play the New York Giants in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome at noon on Sunday, Oct. 3. That was also slated to be the final day of the free French Quarter Festival, which was postponed from April to October because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The 2021 French Quarter Festival will now run Thursday, Sept. 30 through Saturday, Oct. 2.

“At the city’s request, FQFI organizers have consolidated festival activities into an action-packed three days in order to allow the city to focus its security and safety resources on the New Orleans Saints home game,” said a press release from the festival’s pro-

ducer, the non-profit French Quarter Festivals Inc. “FQFI has shifted programming in order to maximize the concentrated schedule and present timehonored festival traditions, stages, and performances.”

During a Tuesday press conference at City Hall, Beau Tidwell, communications director for Mayor LaToya Cantrell, confirmed that “the festival cannot persist on Sunday, Oct. 3 as planned because it presents a public safety risk for the city.”

Not enough police officers would be available to safely staff both the Saints game and the festival simultaneously, Tidwell said.

Normally, the French Quarter Festival, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and the BUKU Music + Art Project are staged in the spring, months before Saints season. All three festivals were canceled in 2020 because of COVID-19.

The 2021 editions were pushed back to the fall, also due to the pandemic.

The French Quarter Festival still plans to present 200 bands on 19 stages over three days from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. this fall. The lineup, which features many acts that were supposed to perform at the canceled 2020 festival, includes such prominent local names

as Irma Thomas, Deacon John, Tank and the Bangas, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Kermit Ruffins, the Soul Rebels, Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, Bonerama, Amanda Shaw, John Boutte, Little Freddie King, Sweet Crude, James Andrews, Flow Tribe and Water Seed.

Famed singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones, a New Orleans transplant who recently released her autobiography, is scheduled to make her French Quarter Festival debut this year.

The festival’s full music schedule will be released in August.

“Throughout the COVID crisis, we have strengthened our ability to remain flexible,” FQFI CEO Emily Madero said in a press release. “As one of the largest free music and food festivals in the United States, we always want to ensure our impact is in the best interest of the city and our French Quarter neighbors and businesses.

“For fans, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to enjoy both French Quarter Fest and a Saints game on the same weekend. We’re bringing together our favorite hometown festival and hometown team. We couldn’t script a

P H OTO B Y B R E T T D U K E N O L A . C O M | T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E

Irma Thomas performs during the annual French Quarter Festival in New Orleans on Friday, April 12, 2019.

better celebration to memorialize the resilience of NOLA and the return to normal life.”

Organizers plan to return the French Quarter Festival to its usual spring timeframe in 2022, specifically April 21-24, when it won’t compete with Saints games.

— KEITH SPERA AND JULIAN SORAPURU / TIMES-PICAYUNE

TAKEOUT and DELIVERY

Bride + G ROOM

AUGUST 24

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PREMIER CROSSWORD PUZZLE WORKING IN 2-D

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35 Actor Danson 36 Hwy. violation 37 Back in time 39 Western treaty gp.

42 Answer to “Are you?”

44 Driving coast to coast on icy roads?

52 — Purina (old pet food company) 53 Consumed 54 Negative point 55 Platform for speakers 57 Folkie Guthrie 58 “It makes sleeping comfortable,” e.g.?

63 “A Nightmare on Elm Street” director Craven 64 Like Dubliners

65 Inning third 66 Berate loudly 67 Holy images 68 Device like a TiVo, in brief 69 Jigsaw unit 71 Repeated 74 U.S. org. with operatives 75 One — (a handful) 76 Writing tablet 79 Nylon tights for people who are losing a lot of weight?

83 “— la Douce” 84 Hauling rig 85 Gut-punch reaction 86 Tree of Illinois 87 Alternative to grits

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89 Violins donated to people who’ve gone broke?

94 Prior to 95 Cool, 1940s-style 96 “See ya!”

97 With 115-Across, “Quit dreaming!”

98 Ovine whine 101 Water, to Yvette 103 K-12 gp.

105 Rebuke 110 Presently riding as a jockey?

114 Mix 115 See 97-Across 116 Growing older 117 Villain from a Virginia city?

120 Roofing tile 121 Writer Wiesel 122 Frightful giant 123 Sewing cases 124 Skin qualities 125 Split apart 126 Go beyond 127 Plains shelter DOWN 1 Is sulky 2 Take — (go somewhere) 3 Porcelain babies, maybe 4 “The Intern” actress 5 Tolkien menace 6 Entire 7 Informal German tavern 8 The Hawkeye State 9 High-tech “appt. book” 10 Gave birth to Tom, Dick or Harry?

11 “— Lang Syne” 12 Screened at a bar door 13 Twisted cotton thread 14 Archie’s pal, in comics 15 World capital on a fjord 16 Valentine’s Day symbol 17 Surgery aide 18 Quickness 24 Twisting fish 25 Print quality meas.

30 City in Oklahoma 32 Commercial suffix with Star or Sun 33 State-run game 38 Grind, as the teeth 40 Natty scarf 41 Hershey candy bar 43 Halfway point

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44 Bird’s gullet 45 Unusual 46 Become rusty, say 47 — a million 48 Maker of major repairs 49 Like musical works with five sharps 50 Hardware bit 51 Gershon of “Killer Joe” 56 USMC NCO 59 Sure-footed equine 60 Parka feature 61 Glasses and goggles 62 1920s-’30s art style 64 Frosted 67 Potassium — (table salt additive) 68 Major racket 69 Counterpart of 54-Across 70 “No problem” 71 Slalom curve 72 Dish designer 73 Half: Prefix 74 — latte (espresso) 75 “Someone to Watch Over Me” musical 76 Made attractive 77 “I’m —” (greeting in Apple ads) 78 “Cagney & Lacey”

ABR, CRS, GRI, SFR, SRS

actress Tyne 80 Sushi eggs 81 Ritzy 82 “— dabba doo!”

83 Obtain by entreaty 88 Pulls hard 90 Earth-scooping machines 91 Preside over 92 Sided against 93 Bee fluids 98 Be a braggart 99 — -Saxon 100 Thai or Iraqi 102 Gut problem 104 Old Pan Am competitor 106 Trail activities 107 Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You —” 108 Hawkins of “Li’l Abner” 109 Mom on “Family Ties” 111 Poker stake 112 “Wilde” actress Jennifer 113 No, in Bonn 114 Onetime Nintendo rival 118 Daddy 119 Poker stake

ANSWERS FOR LAST ISSUE’S PUZZLE: P 2

PUZZLES

ACROSS 1 PC program shortcut 6 Flog 10 Pelting precipitation 14 — Hopkins University 19 Alternative 20 Parka feature 21 Quattro or TT carmaker 22 Consume entirely 23 King penguin’s son?

26 Dazzling light 27 A, in Berlin 28 Italian island 29 Give a steed a spanking?

31 Handheld firework 33 Ad- — 34 Direction from Ariz. to Ky.

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