Saints’ Will Smith Remembered

Super Bowl-winning  Saint, Will Smith, was murdered last week attempting to save his wife’s life after she’d been shot once in each leg. The second line celebrating his life and return home started at the Half Moon Bar, not far from where Smith lost his life, and was headed to the Ooh Poo Pah Doo Bar in the Treme. James Andrews led the band as Baby Dolls, Saints fans and local-born Saint, Keenan Lewis, gathered to hug, dance, sing, pray and cry. The 4 mile parade started with a moment of silence and some words of hope in front of the memorial that’s been climbing up the fence and spreading across the sidewalk.

Irish Channel Parade 2014

The Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Day Club was established in 1947 and has held a mass and parade for over 60 years. I’ve been attending for 5 of those, each year adding more trinkets to my costume and more recipes for the cabbage I catch. A friend of mine from college was visiting and it was her 2nd parade ever (her first was the Molly’s parade the day before). She arrived ready in a green shirt and green pinwheels spinning on her head. Not 24 hours in New Orleans and she was already getting the hint that nothing is “too silly” here.

Super Bowl – NOLA Style

As the lights went out in the Superdome and our city’s slip was showing, I had a moment to think of the last time the Dome lost power and how far this city has come from the devastation it faced over 7 years ago. New Orleans is a small city with a big heart. Sometimes traffic is held up for a parade or our cell towers go down from overuse (not anymore – thank you NFL) or our power goes out. I can’t help but think if it had been the Who Dat nation in the Dome tonight, we would have used the time to do some rounds of “Who Dats!” or sing When the Saints Go Marching In. After all, we’re only taking a short break from the marathon party of Mardi Gras to hold this extraordinary event, our 10th time hosting the Super Bowl – not bad for a small city with a big heart.

Favorite Things in NOLA 2012

I must confess that I didn’t get out as much in 2012 because Hollywood South is booming and I worked a lot. Even so, here are my 2012 favorites in a nutshell followed by my Favorite Things in NOLA 2011 and Favorite Things in NOLA 2010. Anything named previously in my Favorite Things in NOLA 2011 is marked with an Asterix*.

I have divided the list into categories this year including: Food & Beverage, Music & Entertainment, Culture, Shopping and Giving & More.

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 Dome

Went to my first Saints game of the season last night and was reminded of how much I love football season. Though I didn’t attend the festivities, today was also Mid-Season Mardi Gras, the halfway point until the next Mardi Gras. I must confess that, about 3 weeks ago, I started getting excited for Carnival and hoping it would arrive soon. I was reminded that football season would be starting and would carry us through right up to Mardi Gras and the Super Bowl. How ingenious. Just at the moment when it feels like it’s been too long since our city was celebrating, the Saints return. 

Saints Season Starts!

Preseason is the time of year where football teams try out their new players to see who will make the cut. Normally, rookies take turns showing off while diehard fans cheer on new favorites. But, the Saints almost never do things “normally.” First, there was the much ballyhooed bounty scandal followed by an eternally long negotiation for quarterback Drew Brees’ contract. The team has lost its head coach, Sean Payton, for the entire season and acting head coach, Joe Vitt, will sit out for 6 games. While everyone else is testing out players, we’re testing out coaches. So why is the Who Dat Nation so excited?

Second Line, Class Got Brass, Congo Square, Stooges and Rebirth (again)

After the perfect day we had Saturday, we finished the weekend with a perfect Sunday. Again, the weather was warm and sunny with a constant balmy breeze. Breakfast was Camellia Grill in the French Quarter. Gotta love those grits and the service (complete with fist-bumps) always puts a smile on my face. Then it was off to Armstrong Park for the Revolution Social Aid and Pleasure Club’s second line. We found Briana Edwards of Raintree Children and Family Services in the crowd of steppers and jumpers then followed along. Loved the snappy school kid costumes the paraders wore.

Congo Square, Roadfood Fest, Mardi Gras Indians and Rebirth at d.b.a.

What a perfect weekend! March madness has begun and festival season is in full swing. Saturday was marked by perfect weather. It was warm and sunny with a constant balmy breeze. City Park hosted Hogs for the Cause, an all-day music fest benefitting children with brain cancer. We decided, instead, to stay in the French Quarter which was was hopping with activity. It was NOLA Pyrate Week  so, occasionally, you ended up waiting in line behind someone dressed as a pirate or seated next to a table full of them. We also crossed paths with a gathering group of hoop-skirted young ladies preparing for the Spring Fiesta parade.

Saints and Tigers – Who Dat!

What a weekend for football in Louisiana. First up was the hugely anticipated “game of the century,” the “clash of the titans,” number one ranked LSU faced off with number 2 ranked Alabama. It’s fair to say they were evenly matched. The game was a very low scoring, edge of your seat, defense-heavy tit-for-tat that ended in a 9-6 victory in overtime. What a game. Though I never attended LSU, I’ve always owed the university my life as my parents met while attending there.