Culture
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Free NOMA Admission on Wednesdays for “Art for All”
"Art for All," the popular program that provides Louisiana residents with free admission to local museums, is switching back to a Wednesday schedule. Beginning March 3,...
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Flying High and Serenading on a Plane to Europe
When I took my first plane flight to London, Paris, and Rome in 2016, I took my Martin Backpacker guitar, which I had gotten from late Advocate Contributing Journalist Mark...
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Cross Purposes: How to Get Across the Mississippi River
New Orleans was built around the Mississippi River, and as long as there's been a city here, people have been looking to travel up and...
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Cancelling Carnival: The Times That Mardi Gras Was Called Off
Few things are as synonymous with New Orleans's identity as Mardi Gras. While Mobile may have been the first city in America to celebrate Carnival, popular...
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The Meaning of Mardi Gras
Christmas movies often contain lines about the true meaning of that holiday and how the spirit of it is the most important aspect. There aren't many Mardi Gras movies out there,...
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"La Cucaracha" and Spanish Lessons
My late daddy, who was fluent in Spanish, had a funny story he used to tell us from when he was in college at Tulane University after WWII. He happened to meet a rather...
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Showing Your Krewe Colors: The History of Purple, Green, and Gold
[Brian Lin / Flickr] Almost 150 years ago, the Rex Organization was created to orchestrate a citywide Mardi Gras party to impress the grand duke of Russia,...
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Po-Boy Views: Valentine’s Truth or Consequences
"Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater, had a wife but couldn't keep her. Put her in a pumpkin shell, and … she left him for Abe the green grocer." Pete didn't know what to make of it; he...
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Throws of Passion: The History of the Mardi Gras Loot We Love
Fun isn't the only motivating factor at Mardi Gras anymore. The holiday has become something of a competitive sport of Olympic proportions, with everyone trying to outdo...
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Tales From the Quarter: Cats Rule
Cats most certainly communicate with one another. And I don't just mean the usual back-and-forth exchanges of: "Hey, lookin' good, wanna mate?"
"Hell, no. I'm spayed, and... -
Mardi Gras Floats on a Shoebox Budget
This year, the Hilton Krewe of Shoebox will be hosting a float-making contest with the expectation of having all participants craft their floats out of shoeboxes. With the...
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Missing the Krewe of Bacchus Parade This Year? There’s an App for That
As a native New Orleanian and regular Mardi Gras celebrant, the Sunday before Mardi Gras was always dedicated to preparing for the roll of the Krewe of Bacchus. The beauty and...
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Floating Floats for Mardi Gras 2021
Parades are cancelled on land, but this February 13, a krewe of floating floats plan to proceed on the waterways. The Krewe of Tickfaw has chosen their king, queen, and "Rat...
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Mardi Gras Comes to City Park With “Floats in the Oaks”
This year, the floats are parked, and you drive to them at Floats in the Oaks in City Park. The event is being billed as a...
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Big Freedia Starring in Sailor Jerry Podcast
On Wednesday, January 13, Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum launched its first podcast, hosted by Matt Caughthran, the lead singer for punk-rock band The Bronx. The Sailor Jerry Podcast...
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Carnival Carelessness? Florida City’s “Pandemic Parade” for Mardi Gras
Zoom in on a map of Florida, and a small dot for the city of Milton will pop up roughly 25 miles northeast of Pensacola. Situated on the delta where the tannic Blackwater River...
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The Show Must Go On! Krewe du Vieux Displaying Floats Around Town
Instead of going on parade, Krewe du Vieux's sub-krewes are putting their floats on display around town. This year's installations reflect their raucous nerve, still...
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Window Dressing: Saks Fifth Avenue’s Mardi Gras Window Displays Blend Art and Fashion
With parades cancelled, Carnival spirit keeps finding new forms. It's most recent manifestation? Window displays in Saks Fifth Avenue at Canal Place. Like Christmas windows, the...
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Krewe of House Floats: What to See and How to Join
Where there's a will, there's a way—so says the cliché. For a brief moment, it seemed will alone wasn't enough to bring back parades. New Orleanians took stock of where...
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Foundation for Louisiana Offering Grants for Local Artists
For centuries, the survival efforts of the indigenous and African American people of Louisiana have been overlooked. The gratifying endeavors of minorities to outlive incessant...
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In the Dog House: Krewe of Mardi Paws Announces Floats and Other (Glittered) Crap
Pink, green, gold, purple, or blue—no matter the color, the signature turds sparkle like Swarovski. We're talking about the photo banner on the Krewe of Mardi Paws website,...
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Never too Young to Fall in Love
Valentine's Day is still a month away, but as we enter the official season of "looovve," here's one writer's Valentine's...
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Krewe of You: Make Mardi Gras Art With the Pros
This Mardi Gras season is all about channeling new ways to carry on the creative spirit. KID smART—a local nonprofit that brings arts integration to the classroom and the...
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Reminiscences of Mardi Gras: “My Missing Carnival”
It's officially Carnival season now, and yet, not really—not like it usually is. Here's one look back at a memorable—and more festive—Mardi Gras of many years ago, complete...
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Po-Boy Views: Old Iron or The Duchess
The Duchess of Lincolnshire is 24 years old and has seen a lot in her few years. Of course, if you measured her in human years, she would probably be as old as your new president....
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Le Mieux Galleries Presenting Pandemic-Inspired Art Exhibitions
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a large impact on every state, city, and individual. The art community was impacted as well, but in a different way. The pandemic inspired a lot of...
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Maid of Honor: Celebrating Joan of Arc, Maid of Orléans, 600 Years Later
January 6 is a very important day. Perhaps most notably, it marks the Epiphany, or the day that the famous Three Kings finally arrived in Bethlehem to pay...
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The Tarnished Silver Linings in the Cloud of 2020
We all know 2020 sucked. Everything that could go wrong pretty much did: global pandemic, racial turmoil, too many hurricanes but not enough toilet paper, unemployment, virtually...
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Good Luck in the New Year: Why Do We Eat Black-Eyed Peas on New Year’s Day?
By now, you probably know the short answer: We eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day because it's supposed to be lucky. But...