Vieux To Do

Vieux To Do is 3 festivals in one, the Creole Tomato Festival, the Cajun-Zydeco Music Festival and the Louisiana Seafood Festival. The Creole Tomato Festival is an over 20 year tradition showcasing the French Market, our country’s oldest city marketplace (1791). In addition to the super-tasty locally grown tomatoes, there are stages with live music, an air conditioned enclosed tent for cooking demonstrations and a parade I apparently missed.

Threadhead Thursday 2011

Yesterday, it was time once again to head to City Park’s beautiful Botanical Garden for Threadhead Thursday produced by Threadhead Records. Threadhead Records helps Katrina-affected musicians by loaning artists money to produce a CD. The artist pays back the loan within 6 months (and the money is returned to the investor-fans) along with a 5% donation to the Threadhead Records Foundation or other recognized charities benefitting local musicians and 5% to cover expenses. It’s a win-win situation resulting in amazing music.

Treme Premiere – Season 2 (and more on the Saints)

HBO’s Treme is back with new opening credits, some new cast members and the same great music. The story has moved forward to 14 months after Katrina left the region in ruin. I guess I’m glad people are seeing how little was done to step in and help the city, to hear that 85% of the remaining residents were on medication for depression and related disorders. Though it’s a downer to watch it play out again, it’s nice to know how far the city will come in the years leading to the present.

French Quarter Fest – Day 4

The last day of French Quarter Fest, we decided to quit fighting the crowds and enjoy the many international bands who’d flown from around the world to, as Julie Parker of K College in England said, “Have the audacity to play your music to you.” Recently, Japan has experienced a natural disaster that exposed infrastructure weaknesses and led to manmade devastation. That’s familiar territory for this city and the people here feel deep empathy for the people of Japan, just as they have for the people of Haiti. We decided to start the day with the Sound of Vespers from Japan.

Satchmo Fest

Satchmo Fest celebrates the life and music of Louis Armstrong, a native of New Orleans. It kicks off with a Friday night pub crawl, followed by a weekend full of live music, dancing and great food. The festival takes place at the Old U.S. Mint (1835). Built under Andrew Jackson, it is the only place in the United States to have been used as both a Confederate and a U.S. Mint.

French Quarter Fest

This weekend, the French Quarter Festival kicked off festival season. Apparently, all of the parading, eating and drinking we’ve been doing in the streets since I got here are all a prelude to the dozens and dozens of annual festivals this city has to offer.