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CONTENTS

AUGUST 24 — 30, 2021 VOLUME 42 || NUMBER 34

NEWS

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COMMENTARY 8 CLANCY DUBOS

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Southern ‘Belle’ Marion Hill’s polyamorous love story debuts in New Orleans BY WILL COVIELLO WHEN NEW ORLEANS-BASED FILMMAKER Marion Hill started working on

her debut feature, she had no idea it would screen in this year’s Sundance Film Festival — or win an audience award. She was just trying to make an original drama with local actors in less than a month on location in southern France. “Ma Belle, My Beauty,” which explores how three people once connected by polyamorous releationships reconnect after time apart, was a film she hoped she could screen for local audiences. “Everything beyond Sundance has been a surprise and an experience,” Hill says. “Having to adjust to all these things that were instinctive experiments for me three years ago and are now on a poster in the general public? This is a huge dream as a filmmaker. I am still wrapping my head around it.” “Ma Belle, My Beauty” opened nationally last Friday and there are several screenings this week at The Broad Theater. Hill introduces the film at a 7 p.m. screening on Friday, Aug. 27, and she participates in Q&A sessions after shows at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28, and 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 29. The film opens at Zeitgeist Theatre & Lounge on Sept. 3. “Ma Belle, My Beauty” features two local actors making their debuts as leads in a feature film: actor and singer Idella Johnson as Bertie, and Hannah Pepper as Lane. Bertie and Fred (Lucien Guignard) are musicians who met and got married in New Orleans, but the film starts in southern France. They’re staying at his parents’ villa and preparing to go on tour. Bertie, however, has hit a creative roadblock and isn’t singing. Fred hopes she’ll snap out of it and join his band on the road. Then Lane arrives, which is a jolt, since she and Bertie are former lovers, and Lane did not attend Bertie and Fred’s wedding. The setting is idyllic, as Bertie and Fred live among grape vineyards and when not rehearsing spend much of their time socializing. Neither Bertie nor Lane are as fluent in French,

P R OV I D E D P H OTO B Y INGRID WILLIAMS

Tank and the Bangas perform Saturday at Tipitina’s.

Tank and the Bangas and Berkley the Artist which is a little bit isolating, and it also leaves them fewer distractions and makes their history together an unavoidable issue. Hill spent some of her childhood in the area where the film was made. Her mother moved there in the 1960s as an immigrant from Vietnam. Hill moved to New Orleans in 2017, in part because of the city’s filmmaking scene. She had visited several times for Jazz Fest during college, when she played synthesizers and keyboards in a funk band. Up until January of this year, she worked as a videographer for WWOZ. Hill has made several short films addressing queer femininity. She was the only experienced filmmaker in the collective that created the 2018 short film “Goddess House,” which involved queer sex work. She soon started thinking about making her own feature. “It felt like just scaling up,” she says. “I wasn’t trying to do anything other than bring a bunch of people to Europe. It was a really contained story. I felt that if I could get everybody there, that place would contribute a lot to the story, and I could just do what I know how to do.” She says she was rewriting the script to include the French actors she found as the New Orleans cast was arriving in France. Filming was completed in 13 days of shoots over four weeks. The soundtrack is by local composer and musician Mahmoud Chouki. The story originally was inspired by relationship concerns Hill experienced as a queer young woman. “It was like, ‘OK, Marion, let’s say your biggest fear does come true and the person you love more

P R OV I D E D B Y M A R I O N H I L L

Idella Johnson, Sivan Noam Shimon and Hannah Pepper star in ‘Ma Belle, My Beauty.’

than anyone else in the world does go off and marry this man. What happens?’ ” she says. “It started out with that. It wasn’t until I had been thinking about this story for a year or two that polyamory became part of my own life. As I started to learn the rules of polyamory and the concepts and how it makes so much room for nuance, communication and specificity in your relationship, I thought, ‘OK, let’s set these characters in a world where marriage isn’t actually the be-all, end-all of the relationship.’ The man isn’t the issue standing between these two women.” Bertie, Lane, Fred and others navigate their relationships, all of them aware of the other connections. Hill crafted the story to have many points of empathy. Polyamory is “a world in which respect and communication and selflove are the driving force,” Hill says. “Those are things people in all relationships should be thinking about more. For me, it’s expanded how I move through the world generally.” “Ma Belle, My Beauty” won the audience award in the Next category at Sundance. It has screened at other festivals and now is hitting theaters. For most of the pandemic, Hill has been at home in New Orleans — working on finishing the film last year, and now following its rollout. She’s also starting to think about a new film, which involves the Vietnamese community in the Delta and which she plans to set in New Orleans.

SONGWRITER AND VOCALIST BERKLEY THE ARTIST last year was featured in Tank and the Bangas’ joyful rendition of “What the World Needs Now” and released his new single “Never Never Land.” This year, the former Water Seed singer is working on his debut solo full-length, “The Frank Album.” Catch him opening for Tank and the Bangas at 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28, at Tipitina’s. Tickets are $25 at tipitinas.com.

Surfer Blood SUN-SOAKED INDIE ROCK BAND SURFER BLOOD GOT A LITTLE CLOSER TO ITS ROOTS on its fifth studio album, “Carefree Theatre,” released in September. It’s the band’s first album back on Kanine Records since its breakout debut album, “Astro Coast,” a decade ago. And the album’s title is a nod to a beloved theater in frontman John Paul Pitts’ hometown of West Palm Beach, Florida. Surfer Blood returns to The Parish at House of Blues for a show at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27. Tickets are $15 at livenation.com.

NOLA Downtown Music and Arts Festival PRESENTED BY THE CUTTING EDGE CE CONFERENCE, the NOLA Downtown Music Festival features live music at the New Orleans Jazz Museum. Bluesmen Mem Shannon and Little Freddie King and others perform Friday, Aug. 27. Sharon Martin, the Lilli Lewis Project and others perform on Saturday, Aug. 28. Visit nolajazzmuseum.org for schedule and information. The PAGE 23

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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OPENING GAMBIT N E W

O R L E A N S

N E W S

V I E W S

Remember, kids, you can’t spell Jeff Landry without the words Abject Failure

# The Count

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French Quarter Festival,

forced to cancel its 2021 events amid the current surge in COVID-19 cases, plans to provide relief payments to about 1,500 musicians and gig workers who are losing out on much needed income from the cancellation. Chevron, the festival’s presenting sponsor, will help with that relief aid. The festival was called off on the heels of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival’s own announcement that its October event was canceled, striking a blow to the city’s musicians, artists and culture bearers.

Jeff Landry is now going after the New Orleans Saints by asking state lawmakers to withhold any funding from the team for their decision to not offer optouts or refunds to season ticket holders who decide not to attend games at the Superdome because they aren’t vaccinated or refuse to show a negative COVID-19 test. The Saints are requiring proof of vaccination or a negative test to attend games, which is in line with the city’s broader mandate for indoor venues.

Anti-mask protesters led

by “preacher” Tony Spell forced the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to delay deciding whether they, and not the governor, have the authority to decide whether mask rules apply to schools. The meeting came in response to an “opinion” from AG Jeff Landry challenging the gov’s authority.

P H OTO S P R OV I D E D B Y C A N D I DAT E S C A M PA I G N S

Lesli Harris, left, is vying for City Council, District B. Freddie King III, right, is vying for Seat C.

PROGRESSIVE NEW ORLEANS COALITION BACKS NEWCOMERS HARRIS AND KING, TAPS MORENO, GIARRUSSO AND MORRELL CANDIDATE FORUMS ARE STARTING TO PICK UP, and one thing is clear: Some folks are still having trouble figuring out how to mute their microphones on Zoom a year and a half into the pandemic. Also, they all purport to be against potholes. Last week the New Orleans Coalition hosted a virtual candidates forum for various City Council seats. The Coalition recently angered many LaToya Cantrell stans for its surprising endorsement of longshot candidate Belden “Noonie Man” Batiste after Cantrell was a no-show at last week’s forum. Sources within the organization said current Councilmembers Helena Moreno (at-large 1) and incumbent Joe Giarrusso (District A) won the endorsements, while JP Morrell (at-large 2), Lesli Harris (District B) and Freddie King III (District C) all won the organization’s favor. Forums for District D and E will take place later. Some highlights: At-large 1: Moreno largely focused on her efforts to improve quality of life for the city’s youth, highlighting her support for the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission. Candidate Kenneth Cutno spent much of his time accusing Moreno of only caring about becoming mayor in four years and said she cares more about Entergy than the people. At-large 2: Current Councilmembers Kristin Gisleson Palmer and Jared Brossett focused on their previous successes with the council. Palmer said her priorities moving forward are addressing juvenile crime, creating job opportunities for youth and improving infrastructure and affordable housing. Brossett’s focus is on public safety and said this will be accomplished through hiring and maintaining more police officers. JP Morrell, a former state legislator, talked about diversifying the economy and said the recent collapse of the tourism industry has devastated everyone. Bart Everson, who is running to put environmentalism at the forefront of policymaking, spoke of the climate crisis and how it is impacting other issues candidates are pursuing, like crime and affordable housing. District A: Joe Giarrusso highlighted his accessibility and open communication with his constituents. His push is for agencies like the Sewerage and Water Board and the Department of Public Works to work together on improving drainage, rather than just blaming one another. Bob Murrell, who is running a grassroots progressive campaign,

The number of New Orleans public school students and staff in quarantine after 299 students and staffers tested positive for COVID-19, as of Aug. 17. Most area schools began just a week prior. In Jefferson Parish, 1,267 students and staff were sent back home after 345 people, including 295 students, tested positive. Growing case numbers and quarantining in local schools have been largely attributed to low vaccination rates among the eligible population, which excludes children under 12. Statewide, 28% of new cases being reported are among children.

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Fight over teaching history of racism shifts to Board of Education DESPITE SETBACKS IN THE LEGISLATURE THIS YEAR, Louisiana Repub-

licans haven’t given up efforts to curtail the teaching of racism and its historical roots in the United States, and are now turning their attention to the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE)’s effort to create new social studies learning standards. Louisiana’s social studies content standards are supposed to be reviewed and revised every seven years “to maintain rigor and high expectations for teaching and learning,” Jenna Chiasson, assistant superintendent for the Louisiana Department of Education, told the state school board Monday. The standards were last revised in 2010-2011, she said. The department found in their review that some social studies content is “unnecessarily repeated in multiple grades” and “some essential, highly complex content is taught at the elementary level and never again,” Chiasson said. For example, Louisiana seventh graders learn about the era of American Reconstruction, “but the effects and rise of Jim Crow are curiously absent from the high school U.S. history course,” Chiasson said. “This lack of cohesion does not help

students form solid chronology, which they need to make valid causal connections.” Rep. Charles Owen, R-Rosepine, told BESE he liked that the revised standards include an emphasis on “minority experiences and underrepresented populations in America,” but said the revised standards need “a more objective approach to what really happened in history.” “In 39 pages (of the revised standards), the word ‘liberty’ appears three times. ‘Culture’ and ‘cultural’ appear 75 times,” Owen told BESE. “‘Freedom’ appears six times … The standards are a little out of balance.” “The phrase ‘American imperialism’ appears there as fact,” he said. “A lot of people don’t believe the United States is an imperialist nation. I don’t.” Rep. Ted James, D-Baton Rouge, who “came as a parent to listen,” told BESE he “hopes you all don’t get driven by a lot of the national and public conversation, and the discourse that’s happening across the street [in the Capitol].” “I think way too often we have tried to push bills regarding curriculum, and that’s not our place,” said James, who is chairman of Louisiana’s Legislative Black Caucus. A steering committee will decide whether or not to endorse the revised standards Sept. 25. — JC CANICOSA / THE LOUISIANA ILLUMINATOR

New Orleans DA reaches $2 million settlement in wrongful conviction case ORLEANS PARISH DISTRICT ATTORNEY JASON WILLIAMS AGREED Mon-

day to settle a wrongful conviction lawsuit filed by a freed Angola lifer for $2 million, the latest step toward wrapping up lingering misconduct claims from earlier administrations. The DA’s Office said it will pay former state prisoner Robert Jones in annual installments of $342,000 until 2026. Meanwhile, it has agreed to new policies for turning over evidence to defendants ahead of trial. Jones, now 48, waged a 23-year battle from prison to overturn his convictions in a string of crimes in the French Quarter. He was released in 2015, prosecutors dropped their bid to retry him in 2017 and he filed a lawsuit against the office in 2018. “I welcome this measure of justice after so many years,” Jones said in a brief statement. The settlement pact comes weeks after Williams’ office agreed to resolve remaining claims in a lawsuit from crime victims and witnesses over fake subpoenas and material witness warrants used under former DA Leon Cannizzaro. Williams’ office hasn’t disclosed that settlement’s terms. — MATT SLEDGE / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

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said his priorities are expanding both affordable housing and public transit to improve quality of life for the working class. District B: Incumbent Jay Banks and newcomers Rella Zapletal and Lesli Harris, who have a history of public service and neighborhood activism, all spoke about better enforcement of Airbnb regulations. But Harris — a longtime attorney who said she’d focus on ensuring essential services like trash pick-up actually happen — seemed to win the group over. District C: There are no incumbents in this race as it is being vacated by Palmer. Six candidates joined for the forum, including city attorney Stephanie Bridges; former president of the Algiers Economic Development Foundation Barbara Waiters; and attorney and InspireNOLA charter school network board member Freddie King III. Other candidates include Treme business owner Alonzo Knox, who has been especially vocal about not relocating City Hall to Armstrong Park; City Hall staffer Stephen Mosgrove; and small business owner and president of the LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana Frank Perez. Much of the discussion centered on short-term rentals District C is an area where many have been operating illegally, and Cantrell’s administration has been lax on enforcement. — SARAH RAVITS

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COMMENTARY

City Hall, please don’t stop the music

THE MUSIC AND CULTURE COALITION

of New Orleans (MaCCNO) this/ last week called on New Orleanians to contact city officials, particularly City Council members and Mayor LaToya Cantrell, and urge them to remove regulatory barriers to live outdoor music in the city. This does not mean “opening up” the city. The pandemic is not going away anytime soon, but city officials by now should be able to implement reasonable health and safety measures to protect residents while also allowing them to make a living. For months, MaCCNO has led the drive to change a host of city ordinances which make it difficult, if not nearly impossible, for bars, microbreweries and other businesses to operate outdoor music venues. Although the city has allowed some to operate during the pandemic, The Lens recently pointed out that officials are champing at the bit to rescind temporary permits and initiate a citywide crackdown. MaCCNO put it well in an Aug. 17 statement: “[O]utdoor performance spaces, too, are part of the long-term solution. They deserve the city’s support, not uncertainty and bureaucratic dead-ends.” To say music is the heartbeat of New Orleans is an understatement. City Hall must do whatever it can to support musicians by giving them reasonable opportunities to perform. We fully support MaCCNO in its efforts, and we urge our readers to contact council members, Cantrell and other city officials. MaCCNO helpfully provided sample language you can use: “I am a strong supporter of outdoor music and outdoor music venues. Outdoor music venues are the safest spaces to perform and watch live music during the pandemic and provide a crucial income stream for musicians, service industry workers,

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New outdoor venues like The Broadside should be encouraged, not targeted by overzealous regulators.

and support staff. Please reinstate all temporary outdoor live music permits and allow them to continue until permanent regulations for outdoor live music are developed and adopted in conjunction with musicians, venue owners, traditional culture bearers, and other neighborhood residents.” We also commend Councilman Jay Banks’ decision to defer a proposed noise ordinance that would make anyone operating “a mechanical loudspeaker or sound amplifier” subject to arrest if a police officer decides they are causing “traffic congestion or congregation of crowds that obstructs any public sidewalk, 11 street, alley, or right of way.” We understand Banks’ intentions in trying to curb disruptive — and often times dangerous — behavior. We also recognize that New Orleans is, by its nature, a noisy place. Music, singing, hollerin’ at friends down the block — these are the background sounds of our lives. In fact, one of the most eerie and disturbing aspects of last year’s lockdowns was just how quiet the city became. For many residents, the return of familiar sounds has restored our sense of normalcy. There also is a growing body of evidence that noise ordinances are often used in racially targeted ways, often in the context of gentrification efforts in minority communities. “Noise” is at best a subjective term, and regulating it is never easy. This much is clear, however: We don’t need cops coming into conflict with citizens playing music on their stoop — or in licensed outdoor venues.

CLANCY DUBOS simple solutions

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@clancygambit

Ignorance, demagoguery on display at BESE meeting olive

P H OTO B Y T R AV I S SPRADLING / T H E A DVO C AT E

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Pastor Tony Spell and other anti-science protesters disrupted the BESE meeting on mask mandates in schools. ONCE AGAIN THE YAHOOS HAVE TAKEN CENTER STAGE in Louisiana’s

political Circus Maximus. This comes as no surprise, given our state’s long history of ignorance and demagoguery in the public square. The latest example came during the Aug. 18 meeting of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) as board members met to decide whether to continue applying Gov. John Bel Edwards’ statewide masking mandate to public schools across the state. The meeting ended abruptly after hours of loud, angry outbursts by an unruly crowd of unmasked protesters who disrupted the meeting so often that frustrated board members called it quits without even considering the issue. The scene was reminiscent of the mobs that gathered outside William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans’ Upper 9th Ward more than 60 years ago to hurl insults and racial epithets at 6-yearold Ruby Bridges, the first Black student in the South to integrate an all-white school following Brown v. Board of Education. Then, as now, it boggled the mind how adults could display such anger, hatred and ignorance in the name of their children’s education. Another common element was demagoguery. Politicians in both eras either cowed before the mobs or fed their anger. Today’s Exhibit A: Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, who continues to find new lows when it comes to political grandstanding and legal dumb-assery. After Gov. John Bel Edwards issued his latest statewide masking mandate, Landry rushed to oppose him. The AG opined that only BESE, not the governor, could mandate masks in public schools — even

though a governor has plenary authority to issue public health mandates during an emergency. BESE members were expected to take up the issue at their Aug. 18 meeting, but the choleric science deniers descended upon them, led by right-wing Evangelical preacher Tony Spell. Pastor Spell gained notoriety last year by repeatedly flouting restrictions on crowd sizes during the pandemic. He was arrested, and more recently he warned his flock against getting vaccinated. Spell couldn’t resist trying to grab the spotlight at the BESE meeting. At one point he stood on a chair in front of the room in an attempt to “take over” the meeting, according to USA Today reporter Greg Hilburn. Spell told the faithful, “They cannot arrest all us.” Maybe not, but recent history assures us “they” can certainly arrest Spell, who deserves another stint in the pokey for that stunt. As for Landry, it’s no secret he would love to run for governor in 2023. It’s also no secret he’s a legal moron and buffoon, having lost every major court fight he waged against Edwards since both men took office in 2016. Still, he persists. BESE, for its part, ought to hold its next meeting virtually — and stand with Edwards on the masking mandate. Angry parents who want to exercise their right not to make their kids wear masks to attend school can also exercise their responsibility to homeschool their children if they feel that strongly about not masking. Recent events suggest they would rather flout the law and disrupt classes. At Circus Maximus, the show must go on.

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COMMUNITY VOICES

In City Hall fight, New Orleans once again treats Tremé like low-hanging fruit, ripe for plucking BY FREDDI WILLIAMS EVANS

“They used to have the Square right where the auditorium is now, that Square there, used to go straight across there, used to be named Congo Square. They changed it to Beauregard Square, and they had a hall — used to call it the Globe Hall — right there, where you could set down out in the square when they’re going to have a dance there and they’ll come outside and play two, three numbers. That’s where I heard Bolden [Buddy Bolden] and Manuel Perez, all different Bands come around there, they get out and play a coupla numbers.” — JAZZ MUSICIAN HARRISON BARNES, IN A 1959 INTERVIEW BY BILL RUSSELL AND RICHARD B. ALLEN

BUDDY BOLDEN, REGARDED AS THE PROGENITOR OF JAZZ, was known to

take his band outside New Orleans performance venues and play a few numbers to attract people. Legend has it that when people heard Bolden, they would know it was him and head to the party because they knew the music would be good. When he did that at the Globe Hall, he stepped into Congo Square, and his music drew people the way the drums did on Sunday afternoons. The music that Bolden played was not yet called jazz, but it contained traits of the music played at Congo Square gatherings and the music

P H OTO B Y J . R . T H O M A S O N

Paving stones on the floor of Congo Square.

that would become known as jazz. Alarmingly, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell seems to be following through with misguided plans to relocate New Orleans City Hall to the Morris F. X. Jeff Sr. Auditorium,  previously known as the New Orleans Municipal Auditorium.  The auditorium sits on the doorstep of Congo Square and on the footprint of land that was part of its gathering ground. The Tremé neighborhood, the home of Congo Square, was developed in 1812 and is perhaps the oldest African American neighborhood in the country. Although racially

P H OTO B Y BRETT DUKE / THE TIMESP I C AY U N E

Bianca Brown dances as drums are played during a gathering in Congo Square to remember Portia Pollock Sunday, June 13, 2021.

mixed when founded, it constituted the largest neighborhood of free Black people in the city and country, the majority of whom were women. As a public gathering place, the square is the epicenter of the city’s African American culture as well as the point of reference for indigenous practices and tourist attractions such as second line parades. However, the neighborhood’s proximity to the French Quarter, its historic architecture and its large and economically challenged African American population, have long made it low-hanging fruit ripe for expropriation, demolition and gentrification. For more than a century, city officials have plucked away at the neighborhood — particularly Congo Square and the immediate surrounding area.  They changed its name, barred Black people, tore down Black religious and cultural institutions, built an auditorium, destroyed housing, displaced people, built an interstate and made a park. Now there’s talk of putting City Hall there. During the early years of the city, Congo Square was one of several locations where enslaved Africans and some free people of color congregated on Sunday afternoons.  After an 1817 city ordinance, it became the only official gathering place for those who were enslaved, establishing a tradition that continued intermittently until the mid 1850s. On those

Sunday afternoons, Africans and their descendants spoke and sang in their native languages, practiced their religious beliefs, danced according to their traditions and played African-derived rhythmic patterns on instruments modeled after African prototypes. They also bought and sold goods they made, gathered, hunted and cultivated much in the style of West African marketplaces. Even when some of them introduced European musical instruments, songs and dances, accounts confirm that African cultural practices persisted.  Dena Epstein’s research on African music in the New World showed that Congo Square in New Orleans was the only place where African traditions continued in the open — and they were practiced there longer than anywhere else in North America. That long-term performance, preservation, and transformation of African cultural practices informed local, national and international popular culture. E. P. Christy of Christy Minstrels frequented the Sunday gatherings when he lived in New Orleans and acknowledged that Congo Square was a source of materials for his 10 years of shows on Broadway. Christy included his version of the Juba dance, which gatherers performed in Congo Square, as well as an act that he named “The Congo Green dance” (using another common name for the landmark). UNE-

COMMUNITY VOICES

F I L E P H OTO / L I B R A R Y O F C O N G R E SS

The old Basin Canal with Globe Hall in the background.

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Protestors second line back to Congo Square after marching to City Hall in protest against the proposed move of City Hall to the Municipal Auditorium.

Peter and St. Claude streets with the Old Basin Canal and its barges and boats on the opposite side. As one of the most prominent dance halls in the city for Black New Orleanians, it hosted the first ball for the Illinois Club in 1899 and pioneering jazz musicians such as Bolden, Manuel Perez, Freddie Keppard, King Joe Oliver and Kid Ory. Sanborn maps show other names for the venue including the Masonic Hall, the Knights of Pythias Lodge and the Negro Dance Hall. Although struck by fire in 1918, the hall remained in existence until the late 1920s. Between 1956 to 1973, the city expropriated and cleared land for additional components of the cultural center.  Officials sanctioned the displacement of hundreds of families and cultural bearers and the demolition of nine blocks of historic housing and performance venues bounded by North Rampart, the original Orleans, North Villere, and St. Philip streets. During that phase, in the late 1960s, Tremé suffered yet another assault with the building of the Interstate 10 overpass through the heart of its thriving business district. That infringement served the White people driving to and from the suburbs but not the Black people in the neighborhood. Despite the large-scale destruction, the The-

ater of Performing Arts, completed in 1973, was the only additional building erected. Left behind was an expanse of blighted wasteland and neither a viable plan nor available funds to move forward.  As the city was searching for a way to justify the devastation, the 1971 death of native son Louis Armstrong prompted officials to ditch the plans for a cultural center and name a park in Armstrong’s honor. After $10 million of renovations, the 31.2-acre park opened in April 1980 in conjunction with the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and with the dedication of a twelve-foot sculpture of the musician crafted by renowned artist Elizabeth Catlett. However, the iron fence surrounding the park’s perimeter with customarily locked gates except for openings facing Rampart Street — providing access to and from the French Quarter and downtown — spoke for itself.  That fence still stands. As another olive branch, the city built the Tremé Community Center at the corner of North Villere and St. Phillips with no surrounding fence, making it accessible to residents. The plan to make a park shed light on historic Congo Square and its connection to jazz. Archeological excavations preceded the extensive revitalization of the area including

the laying of paving stones in a quasi-circular pattern on the floor of the hallowed ground. City developers and administrators began using the name Congo Square instead of Beauregard Square on documents and in conversations, and gradually other New Orleanians did also. However, it was not until 2011, 118 years after the initial change, and only after an appeal from the author of this article, that the City Council passed an ordinance that made the name Congo Square official. It took more than a century to recover from that particular assault on the cultural landmark, but Tremé and Congo Square may never recover from the impending threat if it is realized. The mayor’s plan to move the seat of city government to the municipal auditorium is impossible without stepping on the toes of Congo Square and without impacting the neighborhood on multiple levels. City-led initiatives have repeatedly wronged the neighborhood. Led by the Save Our Soul Coalition, community organizations and individuals representing a wide and diverse segment of the New Orleans citizenry are appealing to the honorable mayor to change the paradigm. She should make a decision about Tremé that favors Tremé and its rich history and cultural contributions. Otherwise, the neighborhood will remain low-hanging fruit ripe for the plucking and profit of people who don’t live there. © Freddi Williams Evans. She is the author of Congo Square: African Roots in New Orleans, Come Sunday: A Young Reader’s History of Congo Square and numerous essays on Congo Square. Her research and advocacy initiated the New Orleans City Council ordinance that made the name Congo Square the official name of the landmark.

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SCO (United Nations Educational and Scientific Cultural Organization) came to Congo Square to launch International Jazz Day because of the significance of the location to the beginning of jazz, America’s gift to the world. Locally, gatherings in Congo Square also influenced second line dancing and parades, jazz funerals and the music of Mardi Gras Indians, as well as foodways and marketing practices. These traditions help brand New Orleans and draw tourists, just as Congo Square did; and, many of them started in Tremé. However, as the adage goes, that which New Orleans celebrates is that which New Orleans “also” denigrates. Despite Tremé’s role in creating and perpetuating popular culture in New Orleans, early on, city officials positioned the neighborhood as a service provider, by way of venues and labor, for citizens and businesses of other neighborhoods — particularly the French Quarter and downtown. An early example was the appropriation of Congo Square. In 1893, as governments across the South were celebrating the “Lost Cause,” the New Orleans City Council changed the name of Congo Square to Beauregard Square after Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard, and the park was eventually tagged with “White-only” signs. City records show that in 1906, the Beauregard Park Commissioners, responding to complaints, stopped Black people from walking through the park on Saturday nights en route to the Globe Hall, a popular dance hall that had long existed in the vicinity. A 1906 newspaper article reveals that the ultimate goal was to prevent Black people from giving balls at the Globe, the same place where Barnes remembered hearing Buddy Bolden.  The move to create a cultural center in the area was another assault from city officials.  That effort began in the 1920s and continued in phases for 60 years with ever-changing plans and always insufficient funds. Creating a cultural center required destroying Black cultural venues and homes and uprooting Black cultural bearers and patrons whose culture gave the city its identity. City officials essentially decimated a center of culture while unsuccessfully trying to build a cultural center. The municipal auditorium, completed in 1930, followed the expropriation and destruction of the Globe Hall and a block of historic residences heavily occupied by Black citizens, bounded by St. Peter, North Liberty, St. Ann, St. Claude, and the original Orleans streets. The Globe Hall, in existence as early as the 1840s and also the called Globe Ball Room, stood catercorner to Congo Square at the corner of St.

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BLAKE PONTCHARTRAIN™ @GambitBlake | askblake@gambitweekly.com

Hey Blake, I read about Dillard University professor Mona Lisa Saloy being named the state’s poet laureate. Who was the first and how many others have been from New Orleans?

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Dr. Mona Lisa Saloy, a New Orleans native and Dillard English professor, is best known for her work documenting Black Creole culture. One of her former students is Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Jericho Brown. The poet laureate is selected by the governor and the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities (LEH) to serve a two-year term as a literary ambassador for the state. According to LEH, 42 states have poet laureate programs. In Louisiana, the honorary position was created in 1942 by a bill sponsored by Rep. Wellborn Jack Sr., D-Shreveport. Gov. Sam Jones appointed the first: Shreveport resident Emma Wilson Emery. According to a profile by Rien Fertel published in 64 Parishes, her debut collection of poems, “Velvet Shadow,” was released in 1934. The most popular of Emery’s poems was titled “Lovely Louisiana.” Fertel writes that it “was printed in state textbooks, distributed on pocket-sized cards to homesick military men and women during World War II and nearly, in 1955, voted the official state song.” Emery held the title of poet laureate until her death in 1970. Southern University professor and

P H OTO BY L A R R Y E V E R AG E / THE AP

Dillard University professor and Louisiana Poet Laureate Mona Lisa Saloy.

Pulitzer Prize nominee Pinkie Gordon Lane was the state’s first Black poet laureate from 1988 to 1992. Prior to Saloy, two other native New Orleanians have held the post: Elsie Jean McGivney Boese (19801988 and 1996-2004) and Brenda Marie Osbey, who served from 2005 until 2007. Jack Bedell was a Terrebonne Parish native and Hammond resident who served from 2017 to 2019. His successor, John Warner Smith, was born in Morgan City, grew up in Lake Charles and earned his M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of New Orleans.

BLAKEVIEW THIS WEEK MARKS 70 YEARS SINCE THE DEDICATION OF ST. AUGUSTINE HIGH SCHOOL , a landmark in the Seventh Ward which has educated generations of

young Black men in the city. The Catholic school’s Aug. 26, 1951, dedication ceremony featured remarks from Archbishop Joseph Francis Rummel, Mayor deLesseps “Chep” Morrison and the Very Rev. Thomas McNamara, S.S.J., Superior General of the religious order known as the Josephites, which oversees the school. The original school building at 2600 A.P. Tureaud Ave. (on a stretch of the street known as London Ave. until 1981) was built at a cost of $359,000. The school’s campus, academic and athletic programs have expanded greatly in the six decades since. Though its students excelled in the athletic league organized at the time for Black students, in 1967, St. Augustine won a legal battle which led to the desegregation of Louisiana high school sports. The Purple Knights have gone on to win six state basketball championships and three state football championships. The school’s Marching 100 band performed for Pope John Paul II during his 1987 visit to the city. They are fixtures at Mardi Gras and have marched in the Tournament of Roses Parade, five Super Bowls and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. St. Augustine saw its first graduating class in 1955. Since then, notable graduates include Academy Award-winning and Grammy-nominated musician Jon Batiste, Grammy winner P.J. Morton, New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet, actor Carl Weathers, former Mayor Sidney Barthelemy and nearly three dozen NFL and NBA players.

GAMBIT INTERVIEW

Author

P H OTO B Y S H AW N F I N K / T H E A DVO C AT E

BY JOHN STANTON | Gambit editor RAISED IN NEW ORLEANS EAST,

Ruffin attended McDonogh 35, where he played football and met his future wife, Tanzanika Washington. Ruffin would attend the University of New Orleans, where he’d earn a bachelor’s degree in English. Though he wrote an unpublished novel while in college, at the time he didn’t consider the possibility of becoming a writer professionally. After college Tanzanika decided to go to law school. Ever the romantic, Ruffin figured he’d join her on that adventure, enrolling at Loyola University College of Law. But by then, the writer bug had bit him, hard. While working as an attorney, Ruffin figured he wasn’t busy enough and enrolled at UNO again, this time in its Master of Fine Arts in Writing program. Ruffin has been a prolific writer since, and his career took off in 2013. Over the course of the next two years, he’d publish dozens of pieces, including 20 short stories. In 2019, he published “We Cast A Shadow.” The novel is a dystopic, satirical meditation on race set in a near-future South plagued by police violence. Author Roxane Gay called it “a chilling, unforgettable cautionary tale, and one we should all read and heed.” Ruffin’s second book, “The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You,” a collection of short stories, came out earlier this summer.Ruffin will read from, and discuss, his new book Aug. 24 at Blue Cypress, and again at Octavia Books Aug. 31.

When did you first start telling stories? Maurice Ruffin: Since I was a kid. My mama says I was always asking questions and jabbering stories. My teachers volunteered me to read for class or at assemblies through grade school and high school. I didn’t start writing stories down until college for a creative writing class. I only started publishing stories regularly in my 30s.

For those of us who aren’t living inside your head, who do you think would be the most surprising influence on your story telling? MR: Chris Claremont who wrote X-Men comics from the 1970s to the 1990s is an influence from my childhood that I’ve never forgotten. That’s right, a British comic book

writer. He was fantastic at building characters you care about. I learned so much from his work.

Just reading the list of things you’ve done, a lot of them simultaneously, is exhausting and frankly, I’m beginning to suspect your body produces some sort of natural Adderall. Have you always been like this? How do you manage it all?

are also very different types of storytelling. Was it challenging moving from telling a big overarching story to writing more confined pieces? MR: It wasn’t harder or easier. Just different. The characters in the story collection live in our world so I can rely on readers’ knowledge without having to explain as much as in the first book. But these short story characters often have some pretty difficult problems.

MR: Ha! I get tired when I’m doing things I don’t like. But I’m the kind of writer who finds writing extremely fun. I don’t write every day, but I am very driven to create stories and to share them. I adore revision.

What piece of advice would you give an aspiring writer that you didn’t get when you first started out?

Issues of race and class and society run deep in both “We Cast A Shadow” and “The Ones Who Say They Love You,” but they

MR: Figure out why you want to write. Self-knowledge is important and it makes you more powerful. You can create a personal mission statement that only you know. It’ll help keep you on track over the years.

And a couple of questions from Daniel Jose Older:

DJO: When is your epic fantasy series starting? MR: Tomorrow. It’ll be cats versus dogs, but ultimately they become friends to fight the humans for control of an Applebee’s restaurant location. In the series, it’s called Peachalebee’s. DJO: And what’s your gumbo recipe? MR: My recipe is available only to those who can complete the same 12 tasks given to Hercules. DJO: Bitch, I’m a cow (not a question; more of a comment) MR: I know, buddy, I know. Maurice Ruffin appears Aug. 24 at Blue Cypress Books, 8123 Oak St., at 6 p.m. Tickets are $26; and on Aug. 31 at Octavia Books, 513 Octavia St., at 6 p.m. Admission is free.

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Maurice Ruffin

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The Musicians Village

MODEL HOMES 16 years on it’s time to learn lessons from post-Katrina housing initiatives BY SARAH RAVITS MARGIE PEREZ, LIKE MANY OF NEW ORLEANS’ MUSICIANS, was desper-

ate and frustrated. Displaced by Hurricane Katrina, she’d first gone to D.C., where she would end up staying the first few months after the storm. Once the initial shock had worn off and the reality of a life turned upside down had set in, however, she returned to New Orleans. Her Broadmoor apartment, along with everything in it, had been destroyed by the floodwaters unleashed after the storm. For weeks she couch-surfed with friends while she worked to recover her life and find a new place to live. But so was much of the city. Musicians, artists, waiters, lawyers … New Orleanians of all walks of life were without long-term housing. Then the opportunity of a lifetime came along. A friend suggested Perez fill out an application to move into the Musicians’ Village, an Upper

9th Ward neighborhood that was being built by Habitat for Humanity in partnership with Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis. “I was homeless and I qualified,” she says. “Most musicians — we don’t really handle our finances very well, but Habitat helped us get it together.” Instead of a down payment, the soon-to-be residents put in 350 hours of labor to build the homes, working alongside volunteers to construct the colorful, affordable houses situated on top of a razed former school in the aftermath of the storm. “It was a mixed bag of people — every race, every gender, everything was there. It also helped the people that came back and rebuilt [in the surrounding area] — it gave them a bit more motivation to know that they’ve got neighbors instead of looking at an old, abandoned school,” Perez says of the project,

which would ultimately rehouse more than 70 musicians and other qualified residents. Sixteen years later, New Orleans is once again in the midst of an affordable housing crisis. Skyrocketing rents over the last decade combined with housing developments geared toward the wealthy have pushed musicians, artists and hospitality and service industry workers further and further from their jobs in the French Quarter, CBD and Marigny. And now, the COVID-19 pandemic and looming evictions once again have thousands of New Orleanians desperate and frustrated. But this time, New Orleans has something of a road map to follow, thanks to the sort of post-Katrina affordable housing projects that helped Perez. Targeted toward artists and musicians, projects like Musicians’ Village and the Bywater Art Lofts have proven it’s possible to create

quality, long-term affordable housing for the artists and workers who are the backbone of New Orleans. “The biggest housing lesson from the aftermath of the failure of the federal levees,” says Casius Pealer, director of Tulane’s Master of Sustainable Real Estate Development program, “is similar to the housing lesson we have learned in the pandemic: Housing is infrastructure.”

LONG GONE ARE THE DAYS of cheap

rent in New Orleans. According to rentcafe.com, the average tenant in the Crescent City pays their landlord around $1,200 a month. And the closer you get to the central core of the city, the higher the cost of housing gets. HousingNOLA, a coalition of public, private and nonprofit organizations aimed at addressing New Orleans’

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MODEL HOMES |

COVER STORY

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The Bell Artspace Campus

affordable housing crisis, published a staggering report in May that detailed just how bad the situation is in the city. In 2015, under then-Mayor Mitch Landrieu, the city had set a goal of creating 7,500 affordable housing units by the end of 2020. But HousingNOLA’s report showed the city missed the mark significantly, rehabbing just 1,214 units. But even if the city had met that goal, it wouldn’t be enough. The group estimates that by 2025 the city will need nearly 33,600 additional units. While Mayor LaToya Cantrell has repeatedly said her administration would make affordable housing a priority, HousingNOLA’s Executive Director Andreanecia Morris says it has been a tedious, challenging process and she is pushing for them to be more proactive. “We’ve put our heart and soul into [these plans] and watched the Cantrell administration slowwalk it,” she says. “And now it’s at risk because the City Planning Commission is not well-funded and they made budget cuts.”

IN THE INITIAL AFTERMATH of

Katrina, there was no shortage of people with ideas of how to help

the city recover. There was, of course, the ill-fated Make It Right program launched by Brad Pitt — homes built in the Lower Ninth Ward that were made with defective materials and insufficient ventilation, among other problems. But many, like Musicians’ Village, were successful in getting artists and hospitality workers — who frequently overlap — back into homes. New Orleans’ identity is inextricably tied to music, and if the city was to ever recover, getting musicians back to New Orleans and into homes was critical. Connick Jr. and Marsalis announced the project in December 2005, and in January 2006 Habitat for Humanity had taken over the site of Kohn Junior High School, which had been destroyed during the storm and subsequently demolished. It was a unique partnership between private funders, nonprofits and government which were able to come together in a remarkably short period of time to solve an enormous problem. Perez, the Ninth Ward musician, praises the Musician’s Village nonprofit staff for helping residents like herself figure out how to defer on mortgages to help them through financial uncertainty. And, of course, she’s thankful

that organizations like Habitat for Humanity stepped in to help residents like herself during the uncertain days after the hurricane hit in 2005. “Habitat for Humanity proved that you can, for an affordable price, build a house from scratch, from the ground up,” she says. “It’s a great idea, and it can be done so much more if there was financial backing from the city or from organizations that can help subsidize it.” As housing continued to be a challenge, other projects took form in the years immediately following Katrina. These housing initiatives were designed to help subsidize and support the city’s creatives and low- to medium-income earners. Once again, the city partnered in many of the cases with private developers and money interests, as well as the crop of new nonprofits that aimed to help bring back the thousands of displaced residents who’d lost their homes. Nearby, the Bywater Art Lofts were another development that took shape to help out the struggling artists who were displaced or getting priced out by skyrocketing rents in the gentrifying neighborhood. Developed by Pres Kabacoff, a large-scale historic property de-

veloper, the installment opened in a former factory building in 2009. The buildings offer residency to artists whose earnings were 30 to 60% of New Orleans’ median income. His development company, HRI, received tax credits through the federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives program and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. A second round of apartments opened in 2012 in the area and Kabacoff told the Times-Picayune at the time, “The concept of combining desperately needed housing for people who can’t afford it and artists achieves two goals: It provides housing and neighborhood revitalization. Artists are creative, they care about their neighborhood and other people follow. It’s kind of a no-brainer.” The Bell Artspace Campus, a former school building on Ursulines Avenue in Treme is a similar project aimed at artists. Started in 2016, it opened in 2018 to accommodate low-to-moderate income artists, culture bearers and their families. The 79 units were developed by Providence Community Housing, using a combination of historic preservation tax credits, low-income housing tax credits, city investments and philanthropy. Project manager Joe Butler says the school had long been a part of Treme’s cultural and historic fabric and part of the goal was to preserve that significance. “The idea came up when the city was having a conversation on how to protect our low-income neighborhoods and protect our culture bearers,” Butler says. “It is for people who are involved in second lines, brass bands, Mardi Gras Indians and other fine artists. It was a moment in time when things came together really nicely … We saw what the possibilities were, which was driven by the community.” HousingNOLA’s Morris praised ArtSpace’s model of housing developments — especially now that the pandemic, like Katrina, has put major strain on the creative and hospitality workers who are struggling to make ends meet and keep the lights on. The Bell Artspace units, she explains, are subsidized by vouchers to ensure that renters pay on a sliding scale. Residents spend no more than 30% of their income on rent, which is “the definition of affordable housing,” she says. There are, of course, challenges that will come with these sorts of efforts that in some cases weren’t there after Katrina. The Musicians’ Village benefited from the involvement of celebrities and the general public sentiment that

MODEL HOMES |

MUSICIANS’ VILLAGE , the Art Lofts and Bell Artspace have all proven to be long-term successes. They all continue to serve largely — though not exclusively — artists and musicians, many of whom, like Perez, have lived in them for years. New Orleans is a city “defined by our people and unique culture,” says Andrew Tuozzolo, chief of staff for City Council President Helena Moreno. “But that definition fades if those same people can’t afford to live and work here.” There are efforts to give relief to out-of-work service workers, like rental assistance or Council Cares, which gives a $400 utility credit to Entergy users, but robust measures are needed to tackle housing affordability. The sort of long-term solutions represented by the post-Katrina projects are needed now more than ever, particularly for service

and hospitality workers — many of whom find themselves living far from their jobs. “Specific, designated housing for musicians and culture bearers is a welcome addition, especially as part of a more holistic discussion on general housing affordability,” Tuozzolo says. Chef Nick Lewis is one such member of the service industry who is reeling from the pandemic and the housing crisis that has worsened because of it. For more than 20 years, Lewis has worked in a variety of popular restaurants, but he lost a lucrative job at Rum House as pandemic restrictions went into effect March 2020. “I had to move out of my MidCity apartment because I could no longer afford it,” he said. “I live in a shitty house now in a jackedup part of Central City … I’m a guy who rolls with the punches. But I just want to stop getting my ass kicked.” “We are absolutely hemorrhaging money,” he adds. His mental health has suffered, too, and he finds himself wondering if he might fare better elsewhere. Friends and family keep him here, but he says, “If I weren’t a bornand-raised New Orleanian, I’d be gone.”

ON THE BALLOT this fall will be a

chance to renew a millage for a housing trust fund, which could help the issue by bringing in as much as $3.5 million every year to go toward affordable housing construction, fighting blight and safeguarding housing for low-income residents. If it is not renewed, Morris says the results could be catastrophic. “The city is going to die,” she says. “We are letting some of the decision-makers kill the city. We can’t take much more of this. There’s too much vacancy

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The atrium at Bywater Art Lofts, pictured here in 2008

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Yellow Pocahontas and Washitaw Nation Mardi Gras Indian Big Chief David Montana lives in the Bell Artspace Campus where he once attended school when it was the Andrew J. Bell School in Treme.

and too many projects that are ‘market rate,’ which I call luxury. Market rate should reflect what the average person can afford — not be more expensive than what they can afford.” Pealer agrees. “The divergence of housing prices from incomes puts the community at risk — creative and hospitality workers, yes, but also folks we now consider frontline workers, elderly households, individuals with disabilities and those who care for them, and of course children.” While she is frustrated by the pace of housing efforts, Morris sees New Orleans as a place that could set a national standard on how to get its working class into reliable houses. The city’s previous experience with rebuilding and some of its post-Katrina developments could be inspirational to other struggling cities who are also experiencing a housing crisis. She says that creatives and hospitality workers are suffering across the country, but there is more opportunity to build in New Orleans because there are so many abandoned lots and blight that could become sites for more homes. “We can build the housing that meets the need,” Morris says. “We have the room, we

have the space; this isn’t impossible. We just need to stop accepting excuses.”

PEREZ SAYS she feels like one of

the lucky ones. The pandemic has been hard on her, and day-to-day living is once again challenging. Still, she has a stable place to live, which is critical. But Perez is also worried about some of her friends who haven’t received this type of assistance and hopes more efforts materialize soon. “There is so much uncertainty; there are so many issues we’re going through,” she says. “We’re all just trying to stick together but it’s so hard right now … There’s so much housing that could be available if developers would put their eye toward helping somebody.” Meanwhile, though she is exasperated on behalf of the struggling New Orleanians down on their luck, HousingNOLA’s Morris is also cautiously optimistic. Significant developments that could keep the city’s working class in safe and affordable housing could happen at a greater capacity if officials make it a top priority, and she doesn’t plan to give up the fight or stop pressuring them.

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something needed to be done to help the city. This time around, however, the entire world has been affected by the pandemic. But as the Art Lofts and Bell Artspace campus — which did not benefit from the same initial outpouring of support and attention — demonstrate, it is possible, so long as developers and government work together. “You start with the intention and then look at the constraints … There has to be zoning conversations,” says Morris. “If you want to work with artists, for example, you should know how much they make — they don’t make a lot of money here. So if you want to do affordable housing, that means you have some subsidies, not just for the developer but also to make sure the rents are in line with what people can actually pay.”

COVER STORY

EATDRINK

FORK CENTER

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Crescent city Empanola opens a second location on Magazine Street BY B E T H D ’A D D O N O EMPANOLA’S SUCCESS IS A FAMILY AFFAIR. It just opened a second

restaurant in Uptown, and while it’s co-owned by chef Marcelo Garcia, his wife Jimena Urrutia and her brother Javier Urrutia, it’s not unusual to find one of the couple’s daughters behind the counter. “We’re slowly populating New Orleans,” says Jimena Urrutia, who recently moved her mother from her native Argentina to the Irish Channel. Their take on empanadas, the tasty snack popular in Spain and South America, is the result of the hard work and smart ideas that drive these family-owned eateries. The family’s embrace of all things New Orleans has been reciprocated. Locals have sparked Empanola’s success since it debuted at the St. Roch Market in 2017. It expanded to the Auction House Market and the family opened its first location and kitchen at 7321 Freret St. in 2019. On Aug. 5, they opened the new location at 3109 Magazine St. Opening an empanada business wasn’t something Garcia had dreamed about. The family came to New Orleans for a year in 2016 to take a sabbatical from Garcia’s stressful career running his own publicity company in Santiago, Chile, where he’s from. Jimena Urrutia already had ties to New Orleans — she had been an exchange student at Tulane University — and adored the city. It turns out that the whole family felt the same way. “The year went by so fast,” she says. “We looked at each other and said, ‘What are we really going back to?’ “We are in love with the city. It’s mellow, but there’s so much culture at the same time. And the food is amazing. We let go of the stress of the big city.

We are raising kids, and you can have a good quality of life here. Sometimes you get some kind of earthquake that shakes up your life in a good way. This was ours.” Garcia decided to pursue his passion for food. “I’ve always loved to cook, so we started thinking of business ideas,” he says. A sandwich shop concept was shot down by his wife. “This is the city of po-boys!” she said. Urrutia then had a dream about empanadas, the crescent-shaped, filled pockets of dough that she grew up with. “It’s not common here, so we thought, ‘Why not?’ ” she says. They added the twist of New Orleansinspired fillings and flavors such as crawfish etouffee made with Louisiana crawfish, onions, peppers and celery, and a “gumbo” version made with roasted chicken, sausage, onions and peppers. Empanola was born. Javier Urrutia and his wife were living in Barcelona and joined the enterprise at the beginning of the pandemic, trading in his job in human resources for a role in the business. “It’s so wonderful to have my brother and mother here,” Jimena Urrutia says. “We all work together very well.” The location on Magazine is a bright modern space, with a full coffee bar as well as a selection of at least 11 types of empanadas, along with daily specials, such as a breakfast empanada. Popular flavors include traditional Argentinian-style beef, chorizo and Peruvian-style chicken, featuring bits of the bird marinated with a yellow hot pepper paste. There’s an Impossible empanada made with the meat substitute, which is amazingly close to the real thing thanks to the blend of spices and its texture. There are three house-made sauces, including chimichurri, cilantro-lime and an apple-cider-based hot sauce. Learning how to make the dough was a process, Garcia says. He had

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River view FOR MONTHS, THE MYRIAD COMPONENTS for Miss River have been

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

Javier Urrutia, Jimena Urrutia and Marcelo Garcia opened Empanola.

gotten to know baker Dominique Rizzo, the former owner of La Boulangerie, and turned to him for guidance. “Dominique became my mentor,” he says. In the beginning, the dough was shaped by hand and was flakey and delicious, but not firm enough to contain the fillings. “You had to eat them with a fork,” he says. A slightly denser Argentinian-style dough was developed and as the empanadas flew out the door, it was clear that moving from shaping each one by hand to using a hand-press that stamps out uniform empanadas was the way to go. “My brother helped us with this innovation, which allows us to maintain quality and consistency and keep up with the demand,” Jimena Urrutia says. Another innovation was stamping each empanada with the name of its flavor. Custom catering orders can include personalized names, like a bride and groom. Catering demand is growing, for both the larger empanadas and the smaller, bitesized versions. Franchising the business is a possibility down the road. “We’ve learned so much since we started four years ago,” Jimena Urrutia says. “Our vision was to make a food you hold in your hand that could still be gourmet. Empanadas are so versatile.”

? What Empanola

Where 3109 Magazine St., (504) 582-9378; 7321 Freret St., (504) 249-5977; empanolaempanadas.com

When Magazine Street: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Wed.-Sun.; Freret Street: 11:30 a.m.8:30 p.m. daily

How Dine-in, takeout and limited outdoor seating

Check it out Empanadas with a variety of fillings

coming together within the Four Seasons New Orleans hotel, a constellation of marble, antiqued mirror, pearlescent tile and burnished brass. However, chef Alon Shaya says the ideas inspiring this new restaurant have been coalescing for much longer — a blend of flavors, traditions, social rituals and personal experiences from his years pursuing food in Louisiana. “This restaurant is a dream for me,” Shaya said while showing visitors around Miss River. “I’ve spent so long studying the food culture here, and now we have a way to turn these experiences into a place where people can come celebrate.” The Four Seasons officially opened Aug. 17, along with Miss River and the adjacent Chandelier Bar, the bar in the hotel’s lobby. The Four Seasons is the transformation of the landmark World Trade Center at the foot of Canal Street. Creating it entailed a long stretch of heavy renovations behind

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

Chef Alon Shaya in the sommelier station at Miss River inside the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences in New Orleans.

construction barriers. Miss River and the Chandelier Bar are poised to give the public the first taste of the project. The hotel has begun booking rooms. Some other phases of the overall property, including its second restaurant, Donald Link’s forthcoming Chemin à la Mer, and its pool and spa are slated to open in the fall. To begin, Miss River serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. When Chemin à la Mer opens, it will take over breakfast service and Miss River will add brunch.

EAT+DRINK There’s a mix of paved areas for outdoor seating and a garden terrace area. It’s a multifaceted outdoor space that can be used for events and gatherings when it’s finished this fall. Four Seasons developed Miss River in partnership with Pomegranate Hospitality. That’s the company Shaya and his wife Emily founded in 2017, following his departure from what was then called the Besh Restaurant Group (the chef is no longer affiliated with the Uptown restaurant Shaya). Today, Pomegranate runs Saba, the modern Israeli restaurant in Uptown, and its sibling restaurant Safta in Denver. While those restaurants draw from the Israeli-born chef’s own heritage, Miss River traces a thread through New Orleans and Louisiana. To start developing their menu Shaya and Kelley Schmidt, the hotel’s executive chef, undertook a series of eating tours around the city and the region. The result shows folds in influences from French Creole grand dames to the area’s Vietnamese community. At lunch, there’s even red beans and rice, from the recipe that won Emily Shaya first place at the citywide Bean Madness cooking competition a few years back. “This is all an expression of what we love about Louisiana cuisine, and a modern lens on what we love so much about grand New Orleans dining,” Shaya says. — IAN McNULTY/ THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

Mi two YOU WON’T FIND BANH MI FILLINGS

like five spice pulled pork, Cajun garlic butter shrimp or chicken katsu just anywhere. But soon the Metairie-based restaurant Banh Mi Boys will be slinging these signature sandwiches on Magazine Street. Work on a second location is underway at 3244 Magazine St., in a corner building that had long been home to a Reginelli’s Pizzeria. It is slated to open this fall, perhaps by November. A third Banh Mi Boys is also taking shape in Portland, Oregon. Both expansions are franchises, part of a plan that founder Peter Nguyen has been working on since he established Banh Mi Boys and saw its growth potential. “We have a lot of customers who live uptown but work in Metairie or the other way around, and they’ve always encouraged us,” Nguyen says. “Once we built up the original business, I started seeing how this could grow.” Nguyen started Banh Mi Boys in 2015, taking over the deli attached to the Texaco gas station his family runs at the corner of Airline and Transcontinental Drive.

His parents urged him to stick to traditional po-boys. Instead, Nguyen decided to blend his Vietnamese heritage with his New Orleans upbringing to create Banh Mi Boys, which has since earned a following for its next-generation banh mi. Korean bulgogi beef, Chinese char siu barbecue pork and bang bang shrimp are a few of the specialty banh mi, tucked into crusty rolls with cucumber, carrots, radish, jalapenos and fresh cilantro. His menu includes traditional banh mi and traditional New Orleans po-boys as well, plus salads, rice plates, spring rolls and cheese fries topped with oyster Rockefeller

WINE OF THE

WEEK

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 U N E

Sandwiches from Banh Mi Boys.

sauce or Vietnamese bo ne (a sizzling version of steak and eggs), or bacon, ranch dressing and spicy crackling crumbs. Local businessman Christian Lombardo is the franchisee who will run this second location. He’s a friend and longtime customer of Nguyen’s. He says he and his wife eat at Banh Mi Boys so often they already feel like investors. “We spend an embarrassing amount of time there,” he says. His goal is to bring the same menu, feel and attitude from the original to this new Banh Mi Boys, and for that he’ll be turning to Nguyen’s support. “We fell in love with Banh Mi Boys and our goal is to continue that growth with Peter,” he says. “We wouldn’t have done this without Peter involved. We can tap his expertise on the cuisine and the flavors.” The new location will have counter service, like the original, and it also will add a bar. The Reginelli’s at the corner of Magazine and Toledano streets had been in business for 17 years before pandemic pressures led the local brand to shutter this location in May 2020. Another local Vietnamese restaurant, Lilly’s Cafe, also plans to expand with a second location at 3329 Magazine St. — IAN McNULTY/ THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

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To visit Miss River and the Chandelier Bar now feels like raising a curtain on a grand production. A sense of the theatrical is woven across the space and even into its menu concepts and service approach — including its “food stage” and sommelier station. Miss River is a contemporary, upscale Louisiana restaurant, with next-generation renditions of dishes from redfish courtbouillon to oyster patties and barbecue shrimp. Whole fried chicken, clay pot dirty rice with duck breast and salt-crusted whole red snapper share the menu with chilled seafood platters, baked Alaska and, at lunch, muffulettas and oyster po-boys. Lush in design, the concept behind Miss River is equally ambitious. Shaya frames it as a “love letter” to Louisiana cuisine and a modern take on the grand dining traditions of New Orleans. Arriving at the Four Seasons, diners first see the Chandelier Bar, where a constellation of artisan glass is suspended above. The cocktail menu was created by hotel beverage director Hadi Ktiri, a longtime New Orleans bartender who made his name at Arnaud’s French 75 Bar. The Chandelier Bar pours a wide range of Champagnes and sparkling wines. Its food menu, created by Shaya’s team, includes dishes like deviled eggs with trout roe, Louisiana-made foie gras and caviar. The restaurant was designed with a mix of art deco contours and a vintage maritime motif. The doors open to a narrow vestibule lined by cases of fine spirits and prestige Champagne. The dining room progresses through a number of distinct spaces united by the style and details that London-based Alexander Waterworth Interiors worked into the design. The “food stage” offers a new approach to tableside preparations. Built like a cooking show demonstration kitchen, it holds a central space in the dining room where people can watch as dishes are finished or carved, bringing some of the culinary process into view. Next to this, the sommelier table is a kiosk-sized nook with a stand-up station where guests can informally visit with the restaurant’s wine staff. It’s at once a more casual and individualized way to explore the restaurant’s wine program. Miss River certainly is high end and opulent. But Shaya eschews the label of fine dining. He sees it as something more indulgent and freewheeling. One side of Miss River is a wall of windows overlooking the hotel’s patio.

EAT+DRINK

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3-COURSE INTERVIEW

Ashley Webb Gardener ASHLEY WEBB AND HER HUSBAND

Andres Barcelo-Sanchez started a community garden when they lived in Los Angeles. Webb was born in Lake Charles and grew up in Lafayette, and the couple moved to New Orleans four years ago to be closer to her family. They started a garden near their home in the Upper 9th Ward, and now Barcelo Gardens hosts farmers markets on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month at 2301 Gallier St. from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. In September, they kick off a first Sunday of the month farmers market at Tip Top Snowballs at 3317 Franklin Ave. from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

How did you get into gardening? ASHLEY WEBB: Ron Finley is this man in Compton. In Los Angeles, everything is concrete. The space between the sidewalk and the road is considered city property, but he started planting there. He got laws changed so that anyone who wants to plant there can plant there now. There was a vacant area by our apartment, so we started guerilla gardening. We made a whole area with a little library and plants. The neighbors would come and help us. That was cool. Mostly we grew tomatoes, corn, some flowers and things like that.

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710 VETERANS MEMORIAL BLVD. | METAIRIE DORIGNACS.COM | (504) 834-8216 Open 7am-8pm Everyday

W: We realized when we moved here that the 9th Ward was a bit of a food desert, so we started planting. We tried to get the neighbors planting, and they weren’t as into it. They were like, “Why don’t you plant some okra for us or some mustard greens?” When Covid started, we had a bit more time, so we started to do the farmers market, and they seemed to like that. We tried to grow the things we were growing in Los Angeles initially, like corn, carrots and tomatoes. The corn didn’t do too well, and the carrots didn’t do too well, so we changed what we grow. Right now we’re doing okra, long beans, cucumbers, hot peppers and that type of thing. We came here with the idea that doing a community garden would

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

be a great way to meet people. People are always dropping by and asking us questions. If anyone wants to plant, they’re allowed to plant on the property. People would drive by and be like, “Do you have any cucumbers or any greens?” Someone suggested that we do a farmers market.

How does the market work? W: The first one was last July, and it did really well. Sometimes there are other farmers and we have other vendors. It was just vegetables, and then [we added] food that was ready to eat, like bread and hand pies. Usually, it’s a mix, but I try to keep it food-related or body care, so there are candles and soap and baked goods. Some people bring pickles and jam. We had a honey guy. There’s a person in the neighborhood who has yard eggs. I try to have what people need to be healthy, like fruit and vegetables, and then the fun stuff, like cookies and popcorn. I try to keep it mostly Black people or people of color to keep it representative of the neighborhood. It’s becoming this whole big thing. We’re clearing off a lot right now so we can plant even more. I didn’t realize when we moved there that there were no grocery stores, a few fast food places, corner stores with po-boys or fried chicken. I think it’s nice that when people come, they do buy the vegetables, not just the cookies or the hot plate if we have a food vendor. My ultimate goal is to make a permanent space where we can have vendors who sell vegetables on a regular basis. — WILL COVIELLO For information on the garden and markets, visit facebook.com/ barcelogardens.

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 WO 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) 586-0300; sonesta.com/desireoysterbar — The menu features Gulf seafood in traditional and contemporary Creole dishes, po-boys and more. Char-grilled oysters are topped with Parmesan, herbs and butter. Reservations recommended. Takeout available. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$

GENTILLY NOLA Crawfish King Seafood & Barbecue — 5321 Franklin Ave., (504) 571-5038 ; crawfishking.com — The restaurant specializes in boiled seafood and barbecue. The Gentilly Reuben features housesmoked brisket pastrami, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and house sauce on marbled rye. No reservations. Takeout and outdoor seating available. Lunch and early dinner Wed.-Sun. $$

HARAHAN/JEFFERSON/ RIVER RIDGE The Rivershack Tavern — 3449 River Road, (504) 834-4938; therivershack-

tavern.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. $

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) 6093871; 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. $$

21 G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > Au g u st 24 - 3 0 > 2 0 2 1

OUT EAT

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 features 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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MUSIC F O R C O M P L E T E M US I C L I S T I N G S A N D M O R E E V E N T S TA K I N G P L AC E I N T H E N E W O R L E A N S A R E A , V I S I T C A L E N DA R . G A M B I T W E E K LY. C O M To learn more about adding your event to the music calendar, please email listingsedit@gambitweekly.com

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Note: Due to COVID-19, events may have certain restrictions or may be postponed; we recommend checking out a venues social media sites or call before you go for the most up to dateinformation.

TUESDAY 24 BAMBOULAS — Hannah Mignano Quartet, 12 pm; The Villains, 3 pm; Smoky Greenwell Blues, 6:30 pm; Chance Bushman & Rhythm Stompers, 10 pm DOS JEFES — Tom Hook, Wendell Brunious, 8:30 pm GASA GASA — Jordy Searcy, 8 pm SIDNEY'S SALOON — Steve Detroy, 8 pm THE SPOTTED CAT MUSIC CLUB — Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns, 6:30 pm; Smoking Time Jazz Club, 9:30 pm

WEDNESDAY 25 BAMBOULAS — Eight Dice Cloth, 12 pm; Fully Dressed Po’Boys, 3 pm; Bamboulas Hot Jazz Quartet, 6:30 pm; The Pentones, 10 pm DOS JEFES — Kris Tokarski, 8:30 pm GASA GASA — Jamie Lynn Vessels, 7 pm LONGUE VUE HOUSE AND GARDENS — NOLA String Kings, 5 pm ROCK 'N' BOWL — Ryan Foret & Foret Tradition, 7:30 pm SANTOS — Russell Welch Swamp Moves Trio, 9 pm THE JAZZ PLAYHOUSE — Funkin' It Up with Big Sam, 7:30 pm THE SPOTTED CAT MUSIC CLUB — Shotgun Jazz Band, 6:30 pm; Antoine Diel and the New Orleans Misfit Power, 9:30 pm

THURSDAY 26 New Orleans Public Radio • wwno.org

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BAMBOULAS — Andy J. Forest Treeaux, 12 pm; Christopher Johnson Jazz, 3 pm; Marty Peters & the Party Meters, 6:30 pm; Tree House Band, 10 pm BOURREE — Jenn Howard Band, 6 pm BUFFA'S — Tom McDermott and Aurora Nealand, 7 and 9 pm CARNAVAL LOUNGE — Black Laurel, 7 pm DOS JEFES — The Mark Coleman Trio, 8:30 pm NOLA BREWING TAPROOM — Electric Yat Quartet presents “Name that Tune”, 6 pm ROCK 'N' BOWL — Rusty Metoyer & the Zydeco Krush, 8 pm SNUG HARBOR JAZZ BISTRO — NOLA String Kings CD Release Party, 8 and 10 pm THE JAZZ PLAYHOUSE — Brass-AHolics, 7:30 pm THE SPOTTED CAT MUSIC CLUB — Miss Sophie Lee, 6:30 pm; Jumbo Shrimp Jazz Band, 9:30 pm

FRIDAY 27 BAMBOULAS — Sabertooth Swing, 11 am; The Villains, 2 pm; Les Getrex N Creole Cooking, 6:30 pm; City of Trees, 10 pm BOURREE — Buddy Conway Band, 6 pm BUFFA'S — Meryl and the Zimmermen, 7 and 9 pm CARNAVAL LOUNGE — Death Church/The Palace of Tears/ Rhelm, 9 pm DOS JEFES — The Jazz2 Band, 9 pm GASA GASA — The Band Karolina, 9 pm JAZZ @ THE BLUE DOG — DUKES of Dixieland, 8 pm P H OTO B Y S C OT T T H R E L K E L D / T H E A DVO C AT E ROCK 'N' BOWL — The Topcats, Tank & The Bangas perform Saturday 8:30 pm at Tipitina’s SANTOS — Hidden Charms, 9 pm SIDNEY'S SALOON — Wumbo, Jacob Stanley, Sunday Circus, 8 pm THE JAZZ PLAYHOUSE — The Nayo SNUG HARBOR JAZZ BISTRO — Jones Experience, 7:30 pm Herlin Riley Quartet, 8 and 10 pm TIPITINA'S — Tank & The Bangas + BerkSOUTHPORT HALL LIVE MUSIC & PARley The Aritist, 10 pm TY HALL — Maiden LA, 8 pm THE JAZZ PLAYHOUSE — Burlesque SUNDAY 29 Ballroom feat. Romy Kaye, 7 and 9 pm THE SPOTTED CAT MUSIC CLUB — BAMBOULAS — Hannah Mignano QuarWashboard Chaz Trio, 5 pm; New tet, 11 am; NOLA Ragweeds Jazz, 2 pm; Orleans Cottonmouth Kings, 8 pm; Chance Bushman & Rhythm Stompers, Soul Brass Band, 11 pm 6:30 pm; Ed Wills Blues 4 Sale, 10 pm TIPITINA'S — The New Orleans Suspects BOURREE — Curry, 2 pm + Sluggers, 10 pm BUFFA'S — Some Like It Hot, 11 am and 1 pm; Dr. Sick, 7 and 9 pm SATURDAY 28 CARNAVAL LOUNGE — Anne Elise Hastings and Her Revolving Cast of BAMBOULAS — Hot Club of Mazant, Characters with Butte, 7 pm 11 am; G & The Swinging Gypsies, 2 pm; Johnny Mastro Blues, 6:30 pm; DOS JEFES — Buddah, 8 pm Crawdaddy T’s Cajun/ Zydeo GASA GASA — joystick with Flying Review, 10 pm Racoon Suit, Rich Octopus and The BB'S STAGE DOOR CANTEEN, NANo-Shows, 8 pm TIONAL WWII MUSEUM — Big Band NOLA BREWING TAPROOM — BrewSummer Swing, 7 pm grass Sundays, 4 pm BOURREE — Taylor and the Brudduhz, 1 ROCK 'N' BOWL — BRW, 4:30 pm pm; Sam Cammarata, 6 pm THE CHLOE — John Rankin, 11:30 am BUFFA'S — Jeff “Snake” Greenberg, 7 and 9 pm THE SPOTTED CAT MUSIC CLUB — The New Orleans Songbird Robin Barnes + CARNAVAL LOUNGE — Kinky Vanilla/ Fiya Birds, 6 pm; Spotted Cat Band ft. Beach Angel/Midriff, 9 pm Marla Dixon, 6 pm; Pat Casey and the DOS JEFES — The Joe Krown Trio, New Sound, 9 pm 9 pm GASA GASA — The Ladies of...featuring James Hall, 8 pm MONDAY 30 JAZZ @ THE BLUE DOG — DUKES of BUFFA'S — Meschiya Lake w/Tyler Dixieland, 8 pm “Twerk” Thonlson, Ben Polcer, PIROGUE’S WHISKEY BAYOU — Clock7 and 9 pm work Elvis, 8 pm CARNAVAL LOUNGE — Turbine 6, 7 pm ROCK 'N' BOWL — Kermit Ruffins & the DOS JEFES — John Fohl, 8:30 pm BBQ Swingers, 8:30 pm THE SPOTTED CAT MUSIC CLUB — SNUG HARBOR JAZZ BISTRO — Michael Watson and The Alchemy, Mahmoud Chouki Sextet, 8 and 10 pm 9:30 pm

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Cutting Edge conference features speakers on an array of entertainment business and law topics and runs Aug. 26-28. Visit cuttingedgenola.com for information.

‘Searching for Mr. Rugoff’ ARTHOUSE FILM BUFFS MAY RECOGNIZE THE NAME DONALD RUGOFF. The New Yorker opened a host of theaters and helped introduce arthouse films to mainstream audiences. He was influential in the promotion of films including “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” the Rolling Stones documentary “Gimme Shelter,” social justice film “Harlan County USA,” “Pumping Iron” and many more. Director Ira Deutchman, a former employee of Rugoff’s, goes in search of how he faded into obscurity. The documentary opens at Zeitgeist Theatre & Lounge on Friday, Aug. 27.

FRIDAY

‘The Green Book: Guide to Freedom’ IN THE LATE-1930S, Victor Hugo Green, a Harlem postal worker and travel writer, began publishing “The Negro Motorist Green Book,” a travel book for Black Americans to help them safely navigate the country amid racist Jim Crow laws, “sundown towns” and hostile white communities. The “Green Book” served as a lifeline for Black travelers through the 1960s to help them see their country while having safe havens along the road. On Saturday, Aug. 28, the Ashe Cultural Arts Center will host an outdoor screening of the Smithsonian Channel documentary, “The Green Book: Guide to Freedom.” A happy hour will start the program at 7:30 p.m. and the screening begins at 8:15 p.m. The event is free. Find more information at ashenola.org.

James Lee Burke AWARD-WINNING MYSTERY WRITER JAMES LEE BURKE is known for his Dave Robicheaux series, featuring a former New Orleans cop who solves crimes in south Louisiana. His latest book is an installment in his Holland family series. In “Another Kind of Eden,” Aaron Holland Broussard falls for painter Jo Anne McDuffy and stumbles across a series of gruesome murders with occult overtones in the American southwest in the 1960s. Burke is interviewed about the new book and participates in a Q&A in a Zoom event at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 26. Find information about the event at gardendistrictbookshop.com or register on eventbrite.com.

4:30 Abita Blues Band 5:30 The Chitlins 7:00 Big Al and the Heavyweights 9:00 Kenny Neal

SATURDAY

SEPT. 24–25, 2021 CASSIDY PARK BOGALUSA, LA www.bogalusablues.com

1:00 Looka Here 3:30 Laurie Morvan Band 5:30 Walter “Wolfman” Washington 7:00 Jonathan Boogie Long 9:00 Eric Gales

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2021 Festival Tickets and Camping Now Available at www.bogalusablues.com/tickets | Children 10 and under are free! The Bogalusa Blues & Heritage Festival is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All donations are tax-deductible

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P R OV I D E D P H OTO B Y DA R R E N C A R R O L L

Robert Earl Keen performs Thursday at House of Blues.

Robert Earl Keen ROBERT EARL KEEN DRAWS ON COUNTRY, bluegrass and classic rock, but he excels as a storyteller in songs including “The Road Goes on Forever,” “Gringo Honeymoon,” “The Front Porch Song,” which he co-wrote with his college roommate Lyle Lovett, and more. He performs at 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 26, at the House of Blues. Tickets $35-$89 (plus fees) at houseofblues.com.

LOCAL FUNK OUTFIT THE NEW ORLEANS SUSPECTS headline a Free Fridays show at Tipitina’s. Slugger opens at 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27. Visit tipitinas.com for information.

Eric Johanson BLUES GUITARIST ERIC JOHANSON RELEASED THIS 2018 ALBUM “BURN IT DOWN” on Tab Benoit’s Whiskey Bayou label and opened shows for Benoit on tour for a couple of years. For his 2020 release, “Below the Sea,” Johanson worked with the North Mississippi Allstars’ Luther and Cody Dickinson. He performs at 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27, at d.b.a. Tickets $15 on eventbrite.com.

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With top-tier education and facilities, UNO ﬁlls critical role in Gulf Coast shipbuilding industry By Amanda McElfresh amcelfresh@theadvocate.com This article is brought to you by the University of New Orleans

A unique program and facility at the University of New Orleans is playing a key role in helping students prepare for careers in shipbuilding, engineering and more with a combination of theoretical knowledge and handson skills. The UNO Boysie Bollinger School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering (NAME) was ﬁrst established in 1980. Today, it offers a bachelor’s degree in naval architecture and marine engineering, a master’s degree in engineering and a Ph.D. in engineering and applied science. And, with a new $3 million gift from shipbuilding magnate Donald T. “Boysie” Bollinger, the school’s future is as bright as ever. Bollinger’s gift will create endowed scholarship support for students in the College of Engineering, with preference given to those majoring in naval architecture and marine engineering. It will also fund equipment upgrades for the school’s 128-footlong marine towing tank and ship design computer lab. “I think I’m most excited about some things we are doing on the research side and the projects we are working on,” said Brandon Taravella, an associate professor and graduate program coordinator of NAME. “We’re doing some work for the U.S. Navy to design an underwater autonomous vehicle that swims like an eel. Having the towing tank inside the NAME facility has been critical to completing that research.” That towing tank allows UNO faculty, students and other researchers to study how water and waves will affect ships and equipment, then make necessary adjustments. The NAME facility also includes a model shop and computer labs with the most up-to-date software, which allow for marine design and analysis. “Our facility lets us expose the students to a lot of hands-on opportunities to do experimental work

on models, as well as some things in full scale,” Taravella said. “We’ve got some high-end computer labs where students can run advanced computer programs. We focus on teaching theory in the class and then how that theory applies to practical situations in the labs.” Mara Kramer said that work has been an invaluable part of her UNO experience. Kramer graduated last spring with a bachelor’s degree in naval architecture and marine engineering. This fall, she is continuing her UNO education in the naval architecture master’s degree program. “A lot of what we learn in the higher level classes can be incredibly theoretical and complex. These are principles that people are still studying today,” Kramer said. “But to be able to take that knowledge, then go to the towing tank and see the water motion and how it all

one of only a handful in the entire country. Having state-of-the-art facilities as a part of the program make it “a crown jewel” for the university, he said. “The equipment we have, such as the towing tank, allows us to do research and teach courses that other universities cannot do as effectively as we can, simply because they don’t have ready access to the same tools,” he said. Kramer said another major asset at UNO is that many NAME faculty members are currently working in their ﬁeld or have several years of previous experience. That allows the faculty to share real-world examples and explain how the students’ coursework will apply in various situations, she said.

A 128-foot towing tank at the UNO School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering allows students to gain hands-on experience. The tank is also used for research projects.

plays out is incredibly beneﬁcial. For me, it makes things make a lot more sense. That is deﬁnitely where UNO shines compared to other schools that may have a smaller tank or no towing tank at all. The students there don’t get to have the same hands-on experience.” Taravella agreed. He noted that UNO’s NAME is the only program of its kind in the Gulf Coast region and

“It’s really nice to know you’re learning from people who are using the same software, the same equipment, and have done the same tests you are performing,” she said. That combination of experienced faculty, top-tier facilities and a hands-on education is ensuring that UNO graduates can enter the industry as prepared as possible. Conrad Shipyard, which has locations across

UNO President John Nicklow and businessman Boysie Bollinger, who recently donated $3 million to UNO’s School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.

south Louisiana, has about 15 UNO graduates among its employees, said Rene Leonard, Conrad’s vice president of engineering and program management and a UNO alumnus. “What really stands out about the school is that of the 15 graduates we have at Conrad, about half are working on engineering activities. The others are in business development or program management or other roles in the shipyard,” Leonard said. “UNO gives them a well-rounded understanding of shipbuilding, which is key when you begin thinking about people for senior roles.” With New Orleans’ location along the central Gulf Coast, Leonard said he also sees the school as being a critical piece of the overall economic landscape of the region. Conrad and other companies look to UNO’s NAME for future employees and also work with faculty on research projects that lead to innovation in the industry, he said. “There are only a few schools like this in the country, and many of the others are along the West Coast and East Coast,” Leonard said. “They tend to recruit students from those areas. Having a local school like UNO with homegrown talent who want to stay here and work here is a critical piece of what helps making shipbuilding in Louisiana such a successful industry.” For more information on UNO’s Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering program, including opportunities for research and industry partnerships, visit https://www.uno.edu/academics/ coe/name.

DANCE

Always delicious

BY JAKE CLAPP

Daily Specials!

MAGNOLIA DANCE & COMPANY’S “Motion

to Move” carries two messages: It’s a celebration of Juneteenth, of emancipation and of Black American achievement, but it’s also an education in the ways slavery continues today through the prison system. “When I think of this historical holiday, yes it’s a celebration of when Black people felt we were free, but in this generation of people, that freedom now has new layers,” says dancer, choreographer and company founder Edward Spots. “The first thing I thought was the prison system is a new form of slavery, and so I wanted not only to celebrate Juneteenth but I wanted to bring awareness to the problems that still exist.” Spots and Magnolia Dance performed “Motion to Move” — named for the legal procedure formerly incarcerated people must file to have their record expunged — at the New Orleans Museum of Art in front of an audience in the Lapis Center for the Arts this past Juneteenth. NOMA commissioned the work and filmed the performance. The organization now will host a one-time-only virtual screening of “Motion to Move” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 25. The viewing is free and will be available via NOMA’s YouTube channel. “Motion to Move” opens with a new hip-hop song by New Orleans rappers Doc & D8NO — which pushed Spots out of his classical arts comfort zone, the dancer says with a laugh — and moves into a solo performance by Le’Brian Alexander Patrick, dressed in an orange prison suit. “What I’m hoping is conveyed is this is a human in this suit,” Spots says. “With art, it’s one of those things where you want it to say all these things. I wanted people to see a Black man in a prison suit and feel his power and leave questioning, ‘What did I just see? What was he trying to say?’ and ‘Why was there a prison suit for Juneteenth, this celebration of freedom?’ ” During the live performance, Patrick’s performance was followed by a solo by Nikki Hefko, artistic director of the New Orleans School of Ballet. The piece commented on

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Edward Spots and Celine Seiber perform in ‘Motion to Move.’

the emotional masks many Black women feel forced to wear every day, and the weight that comes with the grief of losing husbands, brothers and sons to the prison system and police brutality, Spots says. That piece will be missing from the virtual premiere due to a copyright complication with an accompanying poem. After a poetry interlude, “Motion to Move” transitions into a celebration. “My next goal was to showcase beautiful Black people,” Spots says. “And to showcase Black girls doing ballet classical works.” The second half of the program opens with a performance of Black women, dressed in African skirts, dancing ballet en pointe and set to traditional African drumming. “Because I’m trying to inspire young Black girls to do [ballet], I want them to find ways to make it their own,” Spots says. The penultimate piece in the program features Spots and Celine Seiber performing a beautiful pas de deux. “This is part of the celebration of Black love,” Spots says. “After the pas de deux is done,” he adds, “we do this huge coda and we end on this high note that we’re still here to celebrate. My whole goal was to have motion to move people. I hope the juxtaposition gives a strong message.”

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for Ambush Magazine and former organizer of the Ambie Awards, will announce this week a new annual grant supporting works of theater designed for Black lead actors, but especially for Black women. He’s naming it The Carol Sutton/Sherri Marina Memorial Grant. Both actresses died of COVID-19 in December 2020. “I hope it will go to support new scripts that will feature roles for people like (Marina and Sutton) as well as actors of color in general,” Sands says. The grant will be available to nonprofit theater companies or producers to bring new productions to New Orleans stages. Applications for the first grant will be accepted beginning sometime in September and the recipient will be announced Dec. 15, Sands says. Details of the grant will be announced at a public event at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 26, at Samuel DuBois Cook Hall Theatre at Dillard University, where Marina formerly served as chairperson of the theater department. The initial grant will be for $6,000 and will be $12,000 starting next year, Sands says. That size grant would enhance many larger theaters’ productions or enable an independent group to mount a full production. Sands is funding the grant himself and will dispense funds as a donation to the nonprofit. Sands says the grant is open to various types of projects, from original works to updates of classics to settings in New Orleans. “What I was thinking is not only nontraditional casting for the classics per se, but taking works from the Greeks, Elizabethans, Moliere, Ibsen, Chekhov and Strindberg and adapting them to New Orleans to make something organically new,” he says. “This gives you the bones of structure, storylines and characters that have survived the test of time.” The grant is intended to expand opportunities for actors of color. “It all goes back to my thinking about how historically — here and other places — actors of color and Black actors have not had the opportunities that white actors have had,” he says. “In past 5-10 years, things have changed. There’s more colorblind casting. I hope this will give a little extra support where it is needed.” Sands had planned on asking Marina to serve as an adviser on the grant. Instead, he’ll be advised by singer Wanda Rouzan and actress Gwendolyne Foxworth. Foxworth, who got her start with Dashiki Project Theatre and Free Southern Theater and has acted on stages across New Orleans, issued a

P R OV I D E D B Y B R I A N S A N D S

Sherri Marina and Brian Sands at the Big Easy Awards.

statement in support of the grant’s mission. She shared that following an audition for the role of Anne Sullivan in “The Miracle Worker” (about the teacher who helped Helen Keller), she was told by the director that she gave a great audition, but “he did not think the audience would be able to make the leap and find me believable in the role.” Sutton did get such a chance on a local stage in the 1994 when Carl Walker cast her as Amanda Wingfield for a Tennessee Williams Festival production of “The Glass Menagerie.” Sutton was born in New Orleans and became a familiar presence on local stages for more than four decades, as well as appearing in more than 100 film and TV productions. Her credits include “Steel Magnolias,” “The Pelican Brief,” “Ray,” “Eve’s Bayou,” “Treme,” “Queen Sugar” and many more. Marina was from Ohio and was a professor at Dillard and Loyola University New Orleans. She appeared on stage and film, including in “Girls Trip.” In addition to expanding roles for Black actors in New Orleans, Sands hopes the grant may help get local actors and shows to New York, where he grew up. “Despite the fame that comes from New Orleans in music, theatrically, nothing has gained much notice that came out of here since ‘One Mo’ Time,’ ” he says. “My hope is that in addition to works generated here, there might be partnerships with companies in New York. They may be able to partner with local organizations, and that might be a more direct route to New York.” For information about the grant, contact Brian Sands at bsnola2@ hotmail.com.

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PREMIER CROSSWORD PUZZLE NINE FLEET

By Frank A. Longo 29 Portion (out) 31 Part of “GWTW” 32 Mosque God 35 Black-and-yellow stinging insect 39 1993-2004 Chrysler sedan 43 Thing to fly in the wind 44 Pertaining to 45 Seat in a bar 46 Seat in a church 48 Things 52 Give new weapons to 54 Fluctuate wildly 56 Cole — (shoe brand) 59 Curious pet 60 Gift label 61 Pro- — (some tourneys)

64 Sport fish also known as “little tuna” 68 “Them’s the breaks!” 71 Title word before “Inferno” or “Peak” 72 Came to rest 73 Atlanta daily since 2001 77 “Game of Thrones” actress Chaplin 78 Charlotte — (Virgin Islands capital) 79 Turning out 80 Windy City airport 84 Adobe Acrobat file 85 “— believer!” 88 Almond-hued 89 Actress Olin 90 Plaintiff

92 Turns toward 94 Darling child 96 Perceive 99 Imitated a sheep 102 — -pedi 103 “It’s My Turn” singer Diana 106 Small, floating cephalopod 109 Device used in cardiology 113 Actress Eve 114 Everything 115 Venus de — 116 9-to-5er’s shout 118 Of a junction point 122 Gazed angrily 124 Principle of capitalism 129 Showing on TV 130 Work to make 131 Second-largest city of India 132 — out a win (just prevail) 133 Distant 134 Californie, par exemple 135 Stellar hunter 136 Abbr. that can precede nine key words in this puzzle DOWN 1 Fluctuate 2 “Dies —” (Mass hymn) 3 Similar 4 Car radiator covering 5 Toon pal of Stimpy 6 “The Ice Storm” director Lee 7 Plastic pail or shovel, say 8 Toxin fighters 9 Form a rough judgment of 10 Vanity 11 With 15-Down, flimflamming guy 12 “Lady and the —” 13 Rum cocktail 14 Evita’s land 15 See 11-Down 16 Big name in faucet filters 17 Solemn vows 18 Expensive 24 Veteran 25 Casual statement of sympathy

30 Comic shriek 33 Fleur-de- — (iris) 34 Kitchen pest 36 Fabric flaw 37 Bardic verse 38 Rainy 39 Juicy gossip 40 Draft-eligible 41 Coercing 42 Edifice topper 47 “Let’s suppose ...” 49 Like the study of habitats 50 County in the Bay Area 51 “Undo” mark 53 Bryn —, Pennsylvania 55 Info that’s not up to date 57 Pub spigot 58 Preposterous 62 Domestic household 63 Hit hard, as the brakes 65 Airline to Copenhagen 66 Apnea-treating doc 67 Abel’s brother 69 Blacklisting org. of the 1940s-’50s 70 Petting zoo animals 73 2008-12 Mets pitcher Santana 74 Roman 151 75 Suffix with planet 76 Petty quarrel 77 Eight: Prefix

81 Doled-out share 82 French inn 83 2021 is one 86 Diner list 87 Sale rack caveat 91 Pursued speedily 93 Key related to C major 95 Bungle 97 Lead-in to center or dermis 98 Do lunch 100 Gift for music 101 Clunker 104 Wee bit 105 Note above fa 107 Very strong 108 One of a bowler’s targets 109 “Horrible” cartoon Viking 110 Actress Kemper 111 Fire alert 112 Credit card lure 117 — -Chinese 119 God, to Gigi 120 Inquires 121 Some blue jeans 123 Brazilian city, in brief 125 Hamelin pest 126 Slice of time 127 Yale attendee 128 Pi-sigma link

ANSWERS FOR LAST ISSUE’S PUZZLE: P 2

PUZZLES

ACROSS 1 By means of 4 Seizes suddenly 9 Niche religion 13 Cousins of rumbas 19 Noah’s craft 20 Zellweger of “Bee Movie” 21 Assistant of Frankenstein 22 Mount where the 19-Across landed 23 1987 comedy starring Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter 26 Set fire to 27 Streisand musical film 28 Diner relative

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