Rebirth at Maple Leaf

There are New Orleans traditions that belong mostly to our visitors (Bourbon Street) and those that belong uniquely to locals, but there are a few traditions we all share. We all eat beignets, we all love Mardi Gras (though often for different reasons) and we all love the Tuesday night tradition of Rebirth Brass Band playing the Maple Leaf. Rebirth is the first brass band to ever win a Grammy. The world has heard them in many soundtracks dating back to Reginald Hudlin’s Boomerang starring Eddie Murphy in 1992. Last years’s hit Girls Trip included the band’s original, Do Watcha Wanna – practically a city anthem.

I’d been to the Maple Leaf in the 90’s during a location scout for a film and not much has changed. The service was fantastic – a winning balance of fast and friendly.

The Pelicans Season 2018

I was never much of a basketball fan. In college, I knew Patrick Ewing, David Robinson and the late, great Len Bias. But I never saw them play. Over the years I met Scotty Pippin, John Salley and more – but I still never went to a game. I attended 2 Hornets games when I first moved to New Orleans. They were fun but I felt I’d gotten the idea, amazing athletes playing a ball game with a lot of running. Like soccer. I was always a football fan.

Then the Bensons, the couple who owned the Saints, bought the Pelicans. Tom put his wife Gayle in charge of remaking the game day experience. 

Mardi Gras = Fat Tuesday

Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday in French) effectively splits the city into 2 groups – parade-goers and costumers. The fabulous and feathered Krewe of Zulu starts the parades with an early morning roll across the city. We caught the beginning floats, but closer to the end of the route when they’d already been going for hours. Spike Lee handed out beads as did an entire float of Saints.

We’re costumers so we left early and headed into the French Quarter so my husband could become a wrestling taco.

Krewe of Tucks Parade

The Krewe of Tucks parade is always fun. Focused around toilet humor, throws include hand-decorated plungers and scrub brushes made by special needs adults at Magnolia Community Services. The rolls of purple, green and gold toilet paper leave the route strewn with streamers. Photos include some of our beloved Saints, Ducks of Dixieland, Muff-A-Lottas, Organ Grinders, Disco Amigos, Alter Egos, the lounge-chair-riding Laissez Boys and a bunch of shots of Dames du Perlage. There’s also a good shot of the bead bridge the kids near us built to cross over the moat between the sidewalk and the floats

The Who Dat Nation Wins

Sure, the Saints lost the playoff game against the Vikings last Sunday, but winning rarely teaches us about the character of a person, a team or a place. Most of us don’t really know who or what we are until we’re faced with failure. As an actor, my life has been nearly defined by rejection. My life credo has long been “Dare To Fail.” Maybe that’s why being a Saints fan has come so easy to me. So, the Saints lost in the last millisecond of the game and, of course, we’re all disappointed. But Saints fans can turn any loss into a win.

Though I have roots reaching back centuries in this city, I didn’t move here until 2009 as the Saints were heading to their amazing Super Bowl victory. That made me more of a “New Dat” than a Who Dat. But I watched every game in bars throughout the city,

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.

Gay Pride Parade 2017

Occurring just after the Naked Bike Ride and the Creole Tomato Fest, the Gay Pride Parade seems to be growing each year. In addition to the many LGBT groups, there were representatives from rugby, track club and kickball teams, the teachers union, Planned Parenthood and community organizations like churches and a suicide prevention center. And of course there were drag queens and walking groups from Big Easy Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Mystic Krewe of the Lords of Leather and the New Orleans Girls of Leather.