News and information clippings from New Orleans, Louisiana and the Gulf Coast.
New Orleans is most associated with the world-renowned French Quarter when tourists think of the city. Also popular are the Saints NFL Football Team, Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest. The nola411 website is here to roll up information from around the web that locals ad visitors will hopefully find as a useful tool and check back frequently for the latest news.
Each year, Mardi Gras offers plenty of unique business opportunities, as folks shell out cash for everything from restroom access to some of the typical carnival treats. t's one of the world's biggest parties, and for some -- a chance to mix business and pleasure...
New Orleans' only Carnival parade for dogs, Barkus trots down the streets of the French Quarter two Sunday's before Mardi Gras. Each year a new Queen is chosen, always a rescued or adopted female dog. A Broadway Tail is the theme for the eighteenth year of the Mystic Krewe of Barkus. Feel free to explore creative costuming while keeping in mind that we are calling attention to homeless animals in shelters across our area waiting to be adopted into a good home...
Award-winning actor Wendell Pierce will address Loyola University New Orleans’ Class of 2011 during its unified commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 14, at 9:45 a.m. in the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The star of HBO’s “Treme” series will also receive an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters during commencement exercises. Pierce joins Loyola’s other honorary degree recipients including National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administrator Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., legendary music producer Cosimo Matassa, and New Orleans businessman and Loyola trustee emeritus John B. Levert Jr.
“Harry Connick Jr. in Concert on
Broadway” airs on PBS on Wednesday.
New Orleans singer and piano man Harry Connick Jr. always wanted to be in the limelight. He got his wish. At age 9 he was playing with the New Orleans Philharmonic. At 19 he cut his first CD. It wasn’t because of some extraordinary talent, Connick believes...
Emeril's Homebase, as its called, is located on Historic St. Charles Avenue, right on the Mardi Gras parade route and streetcar line to the Garden District. Homebase is an old brick building, renovated to a modern loft style space that houses the people that make Emeril's empire work. Inside are the administrative and executive offices, the fulfillment warehouse for Emeril's online store and the Emeril test kitchen...
The two biggest mobile phone shows of the year are on the move. Today the CTIA, the U.S. wireless trade organization, said it's moving next year's spring show back from March to May, and to New Orleans. Meanwhile, next year's Mobile World Congress will be two weeks later than this year's, coming at the end of February...
Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, New Orleans, and the stretch of Texas coastline known as "Refinery Row" are among the at-risk areas cited in the documents. Citing homeland security concerns, the government keeps the industry filings under close guard in Washington, D.C...
Wanger is a mosaic artist, and he uses the beads to create large New Orleans themed pieces. He has big plans for his big pieces of art that can cover several square feet. Wanger wants to take them to Europe and use them to drum-up tourism for New ...
Allen Toussaint is already a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. A multi-talent pianist and producer, he’s written hundreds of songs recorded by scores of artists. They range from the instrumental “Java,” a huge hit for Al Hirt, to “Whipped Cream,” a smash for Herb Alpert and the theme music to the original “Dating Game”, to “Southern Nights,” which Glen Campbell took to No. 1, and the Lee Dorsey hit “Working in the Coal Mine,” later covered by ‘80s band Devo and mother/daughter duo the Judds...
Some people living near the Harvey Canal said the State Gaming Control Board made the right move. The board voted against giving Louisiana's last available casino license to Penn National, a gaming corporation which proposed building a riverboat casino on the Harvey Canal along Peters Road...
This spring, something in the zeitgeist has moved local party planners and fashion insiders to try their hands at rolling out runways to spotlight various clothing designers and boutiques. Through lots of Twittering, Facebooking and one old-school billboard, these efforts — all with confusingly similar names — are growing legs...
Shockey addressed his fans via his Twitter and Facebook pages saying, “Always will remember my time in New Orleans. What a city, you all welcomed me like one of your own, and we had a great run. Onto the next chapter, the Deep Unknown.”
The blue-and-white hull of James Blanchard’s trawler, the Waymaker, glided south Wednesday on Bayou Little Caillou. The veteran fisherman headed out for shrimp at a time of year when many others remain in port...
Café Abyssinia, which opened in November, serves traditional Ethiopian cuisine, characterized by spicy meat and vegetable dishes that are transformed into sautéed meat, or "tibs, " and stews, or "wats." ...
Take a ride down any street in New Orleans and chances are you'll run into similar properties, side by side, with different property tax assessments. It's a frustration for neighbors who say they're fed up with paying more than their fair share of taxes...
Gasoline prices are on the rise. In the New Orleans area, the average cost of regular has broken $3.00. A survey says the average price of regular gasoline in the United States has jumped more than five cents per gallon in the last two weeks...
While there's plenty of debate on the subject, New Orleans is generally considered to be the home of the first cocktail and that first cocktail was the Sazerac. If you've never had one, be warned: With rye whiskey and Pernod (or absinthe or Herbsaint), the Sazerac is one serious beverage...
The recently-released 2010 census shows that New Orleans now has a population of 343,829, a drop of 140,845 residents from 484,674 in 2000. This 29 percent decrease reflects Hurricane Katrina’s displacement of the city’s population, though it has been noted that the city was already losing residents to the surrounding parishes of the metro area between 2000 and 2005...
The 2011 Parade this year is on Saturday, February 19, 2011 and the Krewe will be rolling and stumbling through the Marigny Triangle and the Lower French Quarter. This year’s theme is 25 Years Wasted! The King is Don Marshall, Jazz and Heritage Festival and Foundation Executive Director.
The Krewe du Vieux is a New Orleans Mardi Gras or Carnival krewe, originally and more fully known as the Krewe du Vieux Carre (“Vieux Carre” being another term for the city’s French Quarter). It is one of the earliest parades of the New Orleans Carnival calendar, and is noted for wild satirical and adult themes, as well as for showcasing some of the best Brass and Jazz Bands in New Orleans.
Everyone who's attempted to make a difference by taking on a "kindness challenge" knows that it can be hard going at times. But, hands down, the best place to start is often with you own unique skill set, says New Orleans chef John Besh, who stepped forward to help feed his city in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Today, Besh is announcing the launch of a new culinary scholarship opportunity for low income youth, which, he explains, grew out of his special talents in the kitchen...
Actor Andy Garcia will reign as Bacchus in 2011, the krewe announced Tuesday from the World War II Museum. The parade has a World War II theme this year...
Over 40 million people in the coastal United States--including New York City and D.C.--could be impacted by rising sea levels in the coming decades.
The world will only get wetter. That's the somber conclusion of a new study done by the University of Arizona. Miami, New York City, and Washington D.C. are among 180 coastal cities that are all at risk of facing sea level rises of 20 feet by the year 2100, causing floods and erosion and impacting over 40 million people, according to the first large-scale study that looked at sea level rises for the entire continental United States. Miami and New Orleans alone could lose over 10% of their land by 2100...
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu wants to set the record straight on the future of the city. It comes after Newsweek recently labeled New Orleans as #1 on it list of America's Dying Cities...
Lee Celano for The New York Times Marlin N. Gusman, right, the Orleans Parish sheriff, with James Stark of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in 2007.
Even in the context of Louisiana, which has the highest incarceration rate in the United States, which in turn has the highest incarceration rate in the world, the numbers stand out. This city, by any measure, puts a lot of people in jail. So when the sheriff proposed a large new jail complex, it came as no surprise. The surprise was that the city pushed back...
You can add fans of the New Orleans public radio station WWOZ to the list of those who can show support for their cause with a specialty car license plate. The community radio station announced Monday that specialty plates bearing a saxophone and the radio station’s call letters are now available for purchase...
This year's official Jazz Festival poster is produced by Garland Robinette.
Jazz Fest 2011: For the Jazz Festival poster, Garland literally took pages from Jimmy Buffett’s autobiography & imagined what it would have been like to meet the young musician as he played on the streets of New Orleans in 1967. He pictures Jimmy at the corner he worked as night melted to dawn, with the musician’s trusty Falcon parked nearby, and after his weekend gig filled his cigar box.
Congo Square 2011: The immortal Matthew “Fats” Houston, the most iconic grand marshal ever to strut a New Orleans street, graced the 1976 Jazz Fest poster – a poster distinguished as the most valued of any before or since its publication 35 years ago. And while releasing this year’s marvelous retake celebrates the 35th anniversary of that glorious slice of time and place, it also lovingly memorializes the great man’s passing 30 years ago. Produced by Kenneth Scott, Jr.
New Orleanian Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews and his band wowed the audience with a performance at the Grammy Awards pre-show webcast Sunday afternoon, but will have to wait for another chance to bring home an award.
Andrews was nominated in the best contemporary jazz category for his breakthrough album “Backatown.” ...
Huck Wirtz has launched Bayou FX, a post-production film company in Covington. He plans to start off with five employees, and keep an eye on expanding as work picks up.
Activities are lining up leading to the 19th Annual Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club's Lundi Gras Festival. A day before Mardi Gras, at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, members anticipated the meeting of the Zulu and Rex Kings in Wolderburg Park...
Go New Orleans : Do yourself a favour and stay away from tourist traps like Bourbon Street if you want to discover the true heart of the city, advises a former resident...
It's pink. It's sweet. It involves Champagne. In short, this cocktail is everything one can hope for in a Valentine's Day beverage, and if it delivers on the promise implicit in its name (i.e., tastes like a boozy Sweet Tart), then I am sold. Courtesy of Whiskey Blue New Orleans, here's a recipe for all you lovers out there — and those who just like pretty, girly drinks...
Former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning is turning his sights on the restaurant business, opening up a new restaurant and bar on Fulton street, Manning's New Orleans Eat, Drink and Cheer...
Singer Stevie Wonder, and journalists Cokie Roberts and Thomas Friedman are part of an eclectic group named to receive honorary degrees from Tulane University at this spring’s commencement ceremonies. The university announced its honorary degree recipients Friday...
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced Friday that New Orleans has been selected as a "Let's Move!" city. The program, created by Michelle Obama and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, encourages communities to adopt a long-term, holistic approach to fighting childhood obesity...
The creator of The Wire tells Benji Wilson why his new drama about New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is not for those who want their TV spoon-fed. That most people can’t pronounce the name of his new television show should be a pointer.Treme – David Simon’s elegy to post-Katrina New Orleans, pronounced “Truh-may” – is all about taking viewers to a place they don’t know...
At Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, the new parakeet exhibit will provide a memorable, interactive experience for Aquarium guests who stroll through the exhibit space among hundreds of brightly-colored parakeets. Guests will have the opportunity to purchase seed sticks and feed the birds as they walk through the free-flight exhibit.
New Orleans and the Idea Village are looking for 500 local entrepreneurs. The city of New Orleans is heeding President Obama's challenge to ‘Startup America’ by calling for 500 local entrepreneurs to participate in New Orleans Entrepreneur Week (NOEW), March 19-25, 2011...
"Pedi-cabs" could join mule-drawn buggies and gasoline-powered taxis as a means of transportation in New Orleans under policies to be considered Friday by a City Council Committee...
The Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation and the State of Louisiana will host the 41st Classic, Feb. 18-20 out of New Orleans. The Classic pits 50 of the world's best anglers against each other and the bass of the Louisiana Delta. The qualifiers fought all last year for the right to compete. Likewise, being there to watch is the dream of many fishing fans. A list of 41 activities...
Sunday, February 13, 2011 is New Orleans Hornets Day at Audubon Zoo in New Orleans and the Zoo will be buzzing with special appearances, games and performances. This event is free with Zoo admission!
Also, as part of Audubon Nature Institute's ongoing celebration of Black History, visitors ages 5-17 can take part in a Black History Scavenger Hunt and register to win a free family membership! Local African American Firsts will also be honored at a special ceremony during this event.
Entertainment
Here’s what’s on the schedule from 10 am to 4 pm:
* Appearances by Hornets players (times to be announced)
* Performances by the Honeybees and the Stingers
* Live music
* Interactive games
* Hornets Bookmobile
Many locals like to get away when the throngs of visitors are coming into the New Orleans area for Carnival. With the Mardi Gras break now less than a month away, it's time to finalize travel plans. And there is still time left to book some of the fantastic vacation deals available in early March...
Nagin is back -- and quickly gaining an audience -- on Twitter and Facebook. After noticing an apparent uptick in activity in his Twitter account, which allows users to share 140-character messages with registered "followers," Nagin posted this last week: "Well, well. The local press has woke up to me being on twitter and I am being flooded with new followers. Welcome to all." …
At Markey Park in the Bywater neighborhood, work is underway to remediate high levels of lead that were found in the soil around the playground. The park is closed until further notice...
Fair Grounds on Saturday announced a second round of purse increases for the 2010-11 meet, with both overnight races and three stakes on Louisiana Derby Day given a bump...
Grand Marshals Kelly Ripa, Mark Consuelos, Anderson Cooper and Train are among the grand marshals for the 2011 Endymion parade, and organizers say it is likely Train will jam with the Bucktown All Stars...
A look back at Super Bowl IV on Jan. 11, 1970, the first to be held in New Orleans. The halftime show at Tulane Stadium presented a 'resplendent' sampling of New Orleans culture:
Crescent City Cooks is a wonderful little café and kitchen store in the Riverwalk Marketplace in New Orleans that hosts demonstration cooking classes every single day! With a class schedule including all dishes that Louisiana is famous for, you’ll be happy with any of these classes you choose to attend...
Members of the Krewe of Thoth shower Mardi Gras
crowds in New Orleans with beads and toys.
Like most of the season’s signature processions, the early parades follow oak-shaded St. Charles Avenue through the Uptown, Garden District and Lower Garden District neighborhoods, before proceeding through the Central Business District and disbanding at the border of the French Quarter. During the early parades, observers also have more space to set up picnic spreads along the route. The grassy median (“neutral ground,” in local parlance) is transformed from streetcar track to informal picnic ground as families take in the afternoon parades, during that first weekend, of the Krewe of Pontchartrain and the Krewes of Carrollton and King Arthur...
The new Faubourg Lafitte development opened Friday, and it was a welcome sight for many who lived in the former Lafitte development, and since Hurricane Katrina. Former residents of Lafitte will be the first to move in, and more than 130 families will have keys to their homes by spring...
According to newly released data from last year's National Census, New Orleans lost a staggering 29 per cent of its population between 2000 and 2010, more than anyone has hitherto been willing to admit...
New Orleans beer drinkers have one more “made in Louisiana” option with the arrival of Tin Roof brewery of Baton Rouge. The malty Perfect Tin and the hoppier American pale ale Voodoo Bengal, which is brewed with Steen’s cane syrup, showed up on the taps of local bars and restaurants the first week of February.
A new species of giant crayfish, named Barbicambarus simmonsi, found in Tennessee, is pictured here in this image released to Reuters January 20, 2011. The new crayfish at about 5 inches (12 cm) long, is huge -- twice the size of other species, the team at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Eastern Kentucky University said.
Photograph by: Handout Photo, Reuters
The Archdiocese of New Orleans has done something historic, with a hi-tech twist. Centuries old records of slaves and free people of color in New Orleans are now available on its website.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has approved a plan to turn the Naval Support Activity site on the eastbank of New Orleans into a disaster management center.
Larry Lundy, a well-known New Orleans businessman and Pizza Hut magnate who owned dozens of the franchises in southeast Louisiana that abruptly closed last month, filed a counterclaim Monday against the pizza chain, claiming it hampered his company's profitability as it attempted to squeeze him out of the market.
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” series will also receive an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters during commencement exercises. Pierce joins Loyola’s other honorary degree recipients including National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administrator Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., legendary music producer Cosimo Matassa
, and New Orleans businessman and Loyola trustee emeritus John B. Levert Jr.
always wanted to be in the limelight. He got his wish. At age 9 he was playing with the New Orleans Philharmonic. At 19 he cut his first CD. It wasn’t because of some extraordinary talent, Connick believes...
empire work. Inside are the administrative and executive offices, the fulfillment warehouse for Emeril's online store and the Emeril test kitchen...
,” a huge hit for Al Hirt, to “Whipped Cream
,” a smash for Herb Alpert and the theme music to the original “Dating Game”, to “Southern Nights
,” which Glen Campbell took to No. 1, and the Lee Dorsey hit “Working in the Coal Mine
,” later covered by ‘80s band Devo and mother/daughter duo the Judds...
. If you've never had one, be warned: With rye whiskey and Pernod (or absinthe or Herbsaint), the Sazerac is one serious beverage...
, who stepped forward to help feed his city in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Today, Besh is announcing the launch of a new culinary scholarship opportunity for low income youth, which, he explains, grew out of his special talents in the kitchen...
.” ...
" at the 2011 Grammy Awards!
– David Simon’s elegy to post-Katrina New Orleans, pronounced “Truh-may” – is all about taking viewers to a place they don’t know...
. 
,” “A Cook’s Tour
”) and TV star (the Travel Channel’s “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations
”), is writing restaurant scenes for the second season of “Treme.” …
playing 'Bourbon Street Parade
and Onward
brass bands
