Smithsonian to Celebrate Louisiana Culture
New Orleans has often been described as “America’s Living Museum.” So what better way to commemorate that great history and culture than to have “America’s Museum” host a celebration of it?
That’s what visitors and locals can look forward to during the final weekend of October when Smithsonian Magazine sponsors “CultureFest Louisiana.” For three days, from October 26-28, nearly twenty special events will highlight significant facets of New Orleans and Louisiana culture, including food, music, history, the arts and everything in between. In short, this is a celebration of the things that make New Orleans and Louisiana internationally famous.
The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. is the nation’s major repository of artifacts and other significant memorabilia relating to American history. Smithsonian magazine, the publication arm of the Institution, hopes that by sponsoring this event, the rest of the nation and the world will see that New Orleans and Louisiana are still thriving and preserving their unique culture two years after the devastation of two major hurricanes.
The weekend will feature seminars, musical performances, art exhibitions, literary readings, tours and, of course, first-class culinary events touting the internationally renowned Creole and Cajun cuisine. Some of the events are free; others require reservations and tickets. The schedule and highlights of the events follow below.
Friday, October 26
 |
| The Ogden Museum of Souther Art |
The Ogden Museum of Southern Art, at 925 Camp Street in the heart of the Warehouse Arts District, is – appropriately enough – the starting point for the weekend’s festivities. At 7 p.m. the CultureFest will open with a cocktail reception and musical performance by Smithsonian musicologist Dr. Anthony Brown and his ensemble. With the theme “Come Fall in Love with Louisiana,” the reception will bring together many of the experts who will be hosting events throughout the weekend. Admission to the program is free but reservations are required. Click here to make a reservation.
Saturday, October 27
 |
| Alexandra Cousteau |
The weekend kicks off early with “Breakfast on the Bayou” at the Audubon Institute’s Aquarium of the Americas. And who better to share it with than a world-renowned naturalist and a rare white alligator? Alexandra Cousteau, granddaughter of the late Jacques Cousteau, will lead the discussion on Louisiana’s vanishing wetlands, their importance to our ecosystem and the creatures that call them home.
The time is from 8:30-10 a.m. at the Mississippi River Gallery in the Aquarium, located at Canal Street and the Mississippi River, adjacent to the Canal Street-Algiers Ferry landing. Reservations are required. Admission is $17 for adults and $10 for children, which includes admission and breakfast. Click here to make a reservation.
From downtown New Orleans, the cultural scene shifts uptown to Palmer Park in the city’s Carrollton section for Arts Market of New Orleans. From 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. visitors will get to view and purchase paintings, photography, jewelry and other exciting creations from some of the region’s leading artisans. There will also be live local music, a Kids Tent with entertainment and creative crafts, food vendors and more.
The monthly market, presented by the Arts Council of New Orleans, is free. Palmer Park is located at the corner of South Carrollton and South Claiborne Avenues, a 15-minute drive from downtown.
 |
| National WWII Museum |
American military history takes center stage at the National World War II Museum from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., with the first of two discussions titled Genius in Flight: Legendary Aviator General Jimmy Doolittle. Dik Alan Daso, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Curator of Modern Military Aircraft, will lecture on Gen. James "Jimmy" Doolittle, a World War II hero who led the first aerial bombing raids on Japan five months after Pearl Harbor. The museum is located at 945 Magazine Street, with the main entrance facing Andrew Higgins Drive between Magazine and Camp streets.
Reservations are recommended. Admission to the lecture is free with paid museum admission. Adults $14, youth $6 and seniors $8. Click here to make a reservation.
 |
| St. Louis Cemetery #1 |
Saturday’s slate of events takes a spooky turn (just in time for Halloween!) with A Historic Walking Tour of St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 between 11 a.m. and noon. St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is more than just New Orleans' oldest cemetery -- founded in 1789 -- it is the final resting place of some of the city's most illustrious citizens. These include Etienne de Boré, pioneer in sugar refining development; Homer Plessy, civil rights activist; Paul Morphy, America’s first international chess champion; members of Impressionist artist Edgar Degas’ New Orleans family; Ernest “Dutch” Morial, New Orleans’ first African American mayor; and, according to legend, Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau. The cemetery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is an Official Project of Save America's Treasures. It was also the site of one of the most memorable scenes in the classic 1960s film, “Easy Rider.”
Ann Masson, a licensed tour guide from Save Our Cemeteries, a New Orleans nonprofit organization, kicks off the tour with a brief talk on 19th-century mourning customs. Those taking the tour will meet at the Basin Street Station Visitors Center, 501 Basin Street Station, across the street from the cemetery. Reservations are required. Call 504-525-3377 no later than Thursday, October 25. Admission: $10, due at time of event.
Also at 11 a.m. Saturday and running until 2 p.m., is the World Cultural Economic Forum Panel Discussion & Luncheon. The purpose of the forum is to leverage the state's unique heritage and to ensure that it remains the driving force and embodiment of a global cultural economy. It was developed by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor and the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism.
Held annually on the anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the forum will bring together cultural ambassadors, educators, and arts and cultural leaders from around the world, and will feature a series of events, panels and performances designed to demonstrate the value of culture internationally. It will focus on laying the foundation for a healthy cultural economy, building investment and financing new cultural economic models, and utilizing culture to find common higher ground in communities and across the globe. A report based on the proceedings of the WCEF Executive Session will be distributed at CultureFest.
The location for the forum will be the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA), 2800 Chartres Street. The program is free but reservations are required. Click here to make a reservation.
Inside/Out: Their Outsider Art, Your History is a recently defined art genre that has actually been around for hundreds – if not thousands – of years. It is the focus of a lecture and visual demonstration by Amei Wallach at the Ogden Museum from 1:30 to 2:30. “Outsider Art” can be defined by anything from Gees Bend quilters to Haitian mural painters to Bayou carvers. Reservations are recommended. Admission to the lecture is free with paid museum admission. Adults $10, children $5 and seniors $8. Click here to make a reservation.
Food expert, chef and affectionately dubbed “Culinary Activist” Poppy Tooker is your guide to Louisiana's Ark of Taste: A Feast of Endangered Food Traditions, from 3 to 5 p.m. Chef Poppy offers up a cooking demonstration and tasting of unique Louisiana delicacies. These foods are especially remarkable because they've been singled out as endangered by Slow Food's Ark of Taste, an organization whose mission is to preserve and celebrate the economic, social and cultural heritage of international food traditions. You'll savor shrimp, oysters, Creole cream cheese, andouille sausage and calas in regional recipes, and get an expert's take on the distinctions between Cajun and Creole food.
The location for this yummy event is The Savvy Gourmet, 4519 Magazine Street, in the heart of the world-renowned Magazine Street corridor of antique stores, art galleries and other unique crafts shops. Reservations are required and can be made online at www.savvygourmet.com or by calling the store: 504-895-COOK (2665). Admission is $45 per person, including non-alcoholic beverages and a full meal.
 |
| Royal Street Gallery |
The city’s other major arts and antique showplace is the focus of an event titled
Royal Street: An Inside Look at a Multicultural Art Mecca. This elegant, historic French Quarter street is famous for its mix of art galleries, craft shops and antiques stores, as well as its architecturally significant buildings with their ornate, iron lace balconies. Local artist Fredrick Guess offers an insider's tour of the area's art scene to meet the gallery owners and learn more about the art and artists they represent. The tour begins with a 45-minute cocktail reception at one of Royal Street's Miltenberger residences, a historic space donated for the tour by Susan Hoffman, a Hollywood producer based in New Orleans.
Meet in front of the Fredrick Guess Studio, 910 Royal Street, at 4 p.m. The program is free but reservations are required. Click here to make a reservation.
The day’s events move back to the Aquarium at 5 p.m. with “Hurricane on the Bayou,” a film that documents nature's fragile beauty and awesome power. The film takes an in-depth look at the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina on Southern Louisiana's wetlands, as well as its people and wildlife. Alexandra Cousteau is once again the guide to this riparian journey.
The screening will take place at the Entergy IMAX Theatre in the Aquarium of the Americas. Reservations are not necessary but seating is limited, so early arrival is encouraged. Admission to the lecture is free with purchase of "Hurricane on the Bayou" IMAX ticket. Adults $8, children $5 and seniors $7.
Chef Poppy Tooker is once again the host for the celebration of another great New Orleans tradition that began here more than 200 years ago. Toast: The New Orleans Cocktail will take participants on a journey that started when pharmacist Antoine Amadeé Peychaud mixed his famous stomach bitters with brandy and created the first cocktail. Since then, many other notable drinks originated in New Orleans, with more being created all the time. Chef Poppy guides an All-New Orleans mixology class, that will serve up a menu of the best drinks in town, including the Sazerac, the Ramos Gin Fizz, the Hurricane (made fresh, not with a mix!), and the Monteleone Hotel-created Vieux Carre.
Location is once again The Savvy Gourmet at 6 p.m. (Those who take the culinary tour immediately preceding this one can remain in place for this tour.) Reservations are required and can be made online at www.savvygourmet.com or by calling the store at 504-895-COOK (2665). Admission: $35 per person, including four traditional New Orleans cocktails.
The day’s events end, appropriately, with A Louisiana Musical Journey at Tipitina’s French Quarter at 7:30 p.m. Dr. Anthony Brown and his ensemble embark on a fascinating musical journey that will take you from the African drumming of Congo Square through to the sounds of contemporary jazz. As this evocative range of compositions unfolds, you'll hear brief histories of some of the genres performed–Early Jazz, Gospel, R&B, Blues, Rock 'n' Roll and more. The program also includes a musical history of the intriguing Mardi Gras Indians.
Tipitina's French Quarter is located at 233 North Peters Street. Reservations are required. Go to www.tipitinas.com to reserve your tickets. Admission is $20 per person.
Sunday, October 28
Sunday’s slate of events begins with an 11 a.m. discussion on Understanding Southern Art at the Ogden Museum. Museum Director, Dr. J. Richard Gruber addresses such questions as, “When did Southern art become a distinct subcategory of American art?” “What are the parameters of this relatively new discipline?” and “How do we address the challenges to artists and art institutions in the post-Katrina era?”
Admission to the lecture is free with paid museum admission and reservations are recommended. Adults $10, children $5 and seniors $8. Click here to make a reservation.
 |
| Chase Leah Chase |
Lunch with Leah: New Orleans' Grande Dame of Creole Cuisine, is the next item on the menu as Chef Leah Chase, the city's grande dame of Creole cuisine, offers up home-style New Orleans cooking at her famed Dooky Chase restaurant, at 12:30 p.m. As legendary for its African-American art as it is for its Creole cooking, Dooky Chase is the city’s “place to go” for what has popularly been called “soul food.” Severely damaged during the hurricane, the restaurant has recently reopened.
Along with Chef Leah, Gene Bourg, a local veteran food journalist, will discuss various aspects of the food and its evolution. Location is the Victorian Room, Dooky Chase,
2301 Orleans Avenue. Reservations are required. Admission: $65 per person, all-inclusive due at restaurant. (Does not include alcoholic beverages. Cocktails may be ordered and paid for separately.) Click here to make a reservation.
The literary lions of the city and state get their moment in the sun from 1-2 p.m. as
Writers Talk: The Many Faces of Louisiana comes to the Contemporary Arts Center.
Over the past three centuries, Louisiana has been shaped by a mosaic of cultures and traditions, resulting in distinctive regions that differ markedly from the homogenized American landscape. Four regional writers will explore the state's diversity as they read selections from their work, and reflect on the eclectic environment that makes Louisiana so unique.
Writers participating in the event include Ernest J. Gaines, Joshua Clark, John Biguenet and Chris Wiltz. The Contemporary Arts Center is at 900 Camp Street, directly across from the Ogden Museum. Admission is free with paid museum admission, and reservations are recommended. General admission $5, seniors $3. Click here to make a reservation.
The second in the series of National World War II Museum events is a Panel Discussion: Jimmy Doolittle and the Raid on Tokyo from 2-3 p.m. The panel discussion picks up where the lecture of the day before left off. Panelists include Dik Alan Daso; Martin Morgan, author, historian and Director of Research, National WWII Museum; and Retired Major General David M. Jones, Doolittle Raider and pilot of Crew #5. Moderator is Dr. Allan Millet, renowned historian, author and Director of the Eisenhower Center for American Studies at the University of New Orleans. Maj. Gen. Jones will share his memories of that historic day and give a firsthand account of his part in the raid.
Admission to the panel discussion is free with museum admission, and reservations are recommended. Adults $14, youth $6 and seniors $8. Click here to make a reservation.
African culture also gets its chance to shine with A Special Performance: The Mahotella Queens, David Batiste & the Gladiators at 3 p.m. The Mahotella Queens are part of the legend of urban South African music. They helped create what is known as Mbaquanga, a fusion of traditional South African tribal music with Marabi (South African Jazz), blues, soul and gospel. David Batiste represents the heart and soul of New Orleans Old School Soul and R&B. The performance takes place at the Sugar Mill, 1021 Convention Center Boulevard. Admission is $5 cash at the door and reservations are recommended. Click here to make a reservation.
 |
| St. Louis Cathedral |
History and music share the spotlight from 3 to 4 p.m. in Making Music History: Gospel at St. Louis Cathedral. One of the most widely identifiable structures in a city that is full of them is the St. Louis Cathedral, fronting on Jackson Square between the French Quarter and the Mississippi River. Built in 1794 to replace two other churches on the same site that were destroyed by fire, the cathedral is also legendary for its rich, resonant acoustics. Shades of Praise, an interracial and interfaith contemporary Gospel choir, will project their voices against those acoustics as they continue the New Orleans gospel singing tradition popularized by Crescent City native Mahalia Jackson and others. The gospel group’s performance will be hosted by Dr. Anthony Brown, under the stirring direction of maestro Al Bemiss.
Admission is free and reservations are not necessary.
The weekend’s festivities close with “a whoop and a holler” – literally – as the Creole Wild West Mardi Gras Indians Song and Dance entertain from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Contemporary Arts Center.
Mardi Gras Indians are an integral part of New Orleans culture. According to historians, these social organizations were formed during the turbulent Reconstruction decades following the Civil War, and were designed to provide social, cultural and financial support for newly freed slaves. However, the kinship between Blacks and American Indians pre-dates the Civil War, when escaped slaves would seek and be granted refuge by Native American tribes throughout the region. Today’s Mardi Gras Indians don elaborate, colorful costumes made up largely of feathers, sequins and rhinestones as they entertain crowds of fans with African-inspired music, chanting and dance. The Creole Wild West Mardi Gras Indians are reported to be the oldest of the Mardi Gras Indian gangs.
Admission to the performance is free with paid museum admission, and reservations are recommended. General admission $5, seniors $3. Click here to make a reservation.
by Dean Shapiro
|
