Saints Playoffs in the Superdome

As Saints season ticket holders, we get first dibs on our own seats when the Saints have a playoff game in the Superdome. This season, both our games will be at home in the Dome and the Who Dat Nation couldn’t be happier.

It was a perfect day starting with a walk through the French Quarter past bars filled with black-and-gold-wearing fans. We made a few stops to have drinks with friends we spotted. Spirits were high, the music was loud and it felt a lot like 9 years ago when the team went all the way, winning their first Super Bowl. It was the first time the team had even been to the Super Bowl at all. The victory marked a rebirth for the city. As recently departed Saints owner, Tom Benson, said, “The best thing we can do for New Orleans is WIN. Our city holds its head higher, walks taller and shines brighter when the Saints win.”

Gleason Gras, Downriver Festival & Burger Fest

My family is safe after Hurricane Irma but it was a long, scary weekend. Luckily, New Orleans always has plenty of distractions. Friday, I performed with the Pussyfooters at 7th annual Gleason Gras. Presented by former Saint, Steve Gleason, and What You Give Will Grow in the Superdome’s Champions Square, the event raises awareness and money for ALS and the Gleason Family Trust. The show included Jon Cleary, Colin Lake and Rebirth Brass Band as well as performances by the 610 Stompers and the Pussyfooters! We danced, ate, took photos with the Lombardi trophy and had a great time for a great cause.

Saturday was a 2 Fest day. First was Downriver Festival, celebrating the cultural and environmental impact of the Mississippi River region. Soul Brass Band played as DancingMan504 and Spidey504 put on a show under a shady tent next to the U.S. Mint.

King Cake Fest and Pelicans Win!

Word must’ve gotten out because over 12,000 people attended the second annual King Cake Fest at Champions Square. And they came hungry, buying more than 50,000 “tasting tickets” benefitting babies and children at Ochsner Hospital for Children. The tickets sold at $10 for 10 King Cake tastings. Vendors also sold full-size cakes and specialties from donut King Cakes to King Cake bread pudding. But the all-day concert featuring Old Sole, The Lucky Dogs, Dr. Jazz, Bucktown All-Stars, and Cowboy Mouth was free.

King Cake

Twelfth Night sounds the alarm that Carnival is just around the corner, but it’s also the starter pistol for King Cake season. Throughout New Orleans, people have been eating King Cake daily for a week. Officemates take turns bringing in cakes from different bakeries. If they follow the tradition, whoever finds “the baby” buys the next cake. The plastic baby used to be a red bean when the tradition first came to New Orleans in 1870. The wreath of cinnamon-layered bread can be stuffed with cream cheese, strawberry jam, etc. and the whole works is topped with a white icing and sugar in the traditional Mardi Gras colors of purple for justice, green for faith and gold for power.

Gleason Gras, Krewe of Boo Parade, Pelicans and more!

As I wrote in my last post, I have no time to blog but it’s been a very eventful couple of weeks and I at least wanted to share some of the photos. I attended a bunch of movies at the 25th annual New Orleans Film Festival, including the premiere of Black and White starring Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer. It was great as were Imperial Dreams, Cast the First Stone, Imitation Game and the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prizewinner of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, Whiplash, to name a few. I also modeled in a fashion show for the St. Elizabeth’s Guild annual celebrity fashion show and “Volunteer Activists Awards” fundraiser. Saint Steve Gleason was one of the many honored and I was excited just to be in the room with him.

Saints, Katrina and Rebirth!

It’s been 9 years today since Katrina made landfall on the Gulf’s coast. By the time it reached New Orleans, winds were estimated to have been Category 1 or 2 but then the levees failed and all hell broke loose. And then the world watched on TV as Americans stood on rooftops for days begging for water and worse and worse and worse. The Superdome became a symbol for loss, despair and failures at every level. It only took 4 1/2 years to change the Superdome into a house of triumph and a symbol of rebirth, renewal and rebuilding. The Dome, and all it represents, have become part of this city’s story and what better way to celebrate how far we’ve come than to go to a Saints game with the Rebirth Brass Band kicking things off in Champions Square.

Parades, Festivals, Saints and Treme

Is there another city where 4 parades cross your path by 6pm? It’s not even Mardi Gras, but Saturday was one of those days. There’s nothing like hearing a brass band heading your way, running to door and finding a birthday girl leading a second line, or the talented kids of The Roots of Music marching past or an endless stream of women in neon-lit hats or poodle skirts passing by. The city was hopping this weekend with the Treme Creole Gumbo Fest, Ladyfest, the Falcons getting their asses kicked at the Dome and Veteran’s Day doings. Good thing so much of it passed in front of our door since we were nursing a change-of-season cold and barely left the house.

Saints and Skins

My parents were born in Louisiana and met at LSU. They remain LSU fans, but my father became a fan of the Redskins after moving to the D.C. area before my birth. When I was a small child, he propped me in front of the TV and asked me to tell him what happened while he attended to other things. Maybe it was initially to please my dad, but I fell in love with football and a Redskins fan was born. In the 80’s, I lost interest in the game then moved to L.A. for 18 years, where they didn’t have a team. When I moved to New Orleans in 2009, the Saints were undefeated and on their way to the Super Bowl. I was buying sundries at Walgreens when I noticed my cashier had 10-0 painted on her face with a fleur de lis. I used to paint my face, wear my colors and love my team and her face ignited my love of football again.

Saints in the Playoffs at the Dome!

The Saints have a name for for the fans that attend the games at the Superdome – the Twelfth Man. Like all fans, we cheer on our team when they do well and encourage them when they need it. What makes us the Twelfth Man, the extra player on the field, is our volume. We play defense, drowning out all attempts by the opposing team to communicate in the huddle and at the line of scrimmage. Just like the team brings a little extra enthusiasm to each playoff game driving them closer to the Super Bowl, so did the Twelfth Man.

Buckjumpers and Saints

Sunday, we headed to the theatre to see The Muppets on the big screen. The movie was great, reminding me of everything valuable about Hollywood. On the way home, we had to choose between turning or getting stuck while a parade passed. You can guess which one we picked. The super-cool Original New Orleans Lady Buckjumpers were the focus of the parade, but the second line included Junior Buckjumpers and 3 brass bands – Young Fellaz, then Stooges then Rebirth Brass Band. I thought of how many of us attend festivals or go to clubs to hear these bands and here they were, just playing in the street.