Restored fountain unveiled in Coliseum Square Park (Photos)

Photos by Zach Brien, UptownMessenger.com

On Saturday, Dec. 1, the Lower Garden District Association announced the completion of the Lafon Fountain in Coliseum Square Park.

The fountain is dedicated to preservationist Howard Schmalz, who was instrumental in getting the Lower Garden District placed on the National Register of Historic Places and in defeating a Mississippi River bridge that would have cut into the heart of the neighborhood.

Lycee Francais holds December board meeting (live coverage)

See below for live coverage. Live Blog Lycee Francais – December board meeting window.cilAsyncInit = function() {cilEmbedManager.init()};(function() {if (window.cilVwRand === undefined) { window.cilVwRand = Math.floor(Math.random()*10000000); }var e = document.createElement(‘script’);e.async = true;var domain = (document.location.protocol == ‘http:’ || document.location.protocol == ‘file:’) ? ‘https://cdnsl.coveritlive.com’ : ‘https://cdnslssl.coveritlive.com’;e.src = domain + ‘/vw.js?v=’ + window.cilVwRand;e.id = ‘cilScript-892fd111c3’;document.getElementById(‘cil-root-stream-892fd111c3’).appendChild(e);}());

Quilt exhibition and workshop opens Thursday with holiday happy hour

On Thursday, Dec. 6, the public is invited to a holiday happy hour at an exhibition of traditional American and Afro-Caribbean inspired quilts at CANO’s Creative Space at Myrtle Banks Building, above the Dryades Market on the third floor at 1307 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.

CANO welcomes the Gee’s Bend Quilters Collective from Alabama to New Orleans as they prepare to give a three-day workshop for New Orleans quilters at Ashe’s Power House Theater at 1731 Baronne St.

City Council shuts down plan for daiquiri shop on lower St. Charles Avenue

A controversial plan for a daiquiri shop in the Lower Garden District was scuttled Thursday when the City Council unanimously backed Councilman Jay Banks’ motion to deny a conditional use permit for the storefront building at 1610 St. Charles Ave.

The decision came after the months of vocal opposition from neighborhood groups, with members bringing up the unruly crowds that gathered outside the Daiquiri Place Café, two blocks away at 1401 St. Charles Ave. That business was shut down in 2012 after the city revoked its liquor license due to repeated, multiple violations. Banks said his decision was also influenced by childhood memories of living around the corner from a nuisance bar.

To make the season bright, go to a free holiday concert

Celebrating Christmas doesn’t have to involve opening your wallet. You can fill your ears and your spirit with sweet yuletide sounds, and enjoy a respite from holiday frenzy, at free concerts throughout the city during December.

Gospel choirs, jazz bands, classical artists and more perform in historic church settings during December. Here’s a list below — and if you know of others, please put the information in the comments section below or email uptown@nolamessenger.com.

All of these concerts are free and open to the public – although donations, of course, are always welcome.

Sponsored: The Louisiana Museum Foundation presents the Inaugural Founders Ball–the opening of the final tricentennial exhibition

The Louisiana Museum Foundation presents The Baroness de Pontalba and the Rise of Jackson Square hosted at the Cabildo

Cabildo Costume Ball will honor Pontalba legacy with Charles-Edouard and Isabelle, Baron and Baroness de Pontalba, from le château de Mont-l’Évêque, December 1, 2018!

The Louisiana Museum Foundation is excited to launch our Inaugual Founders Ball. The celebration will be another one for the history books that we know you won’t want to miss!

Limited tickets left for Saturday, December 1, 2018, as the inaugural Founders Ball in the Cabildo will open the Louisiana State Museum’s final tricentennial exhibition featuring Charles-Edouard’s forebears, the preeminent late 18th  century New Orleans philanthropist, Don Andrés Almonester and his daughter, Micaela Almonester, Baroness de Pontalba, who greatly contributed to our city 50 years later in the mid-19th century.

Mayor Cantrell gets 57 percent approval rating in new quality of life survey

2018 Quality of Life Survey includes City Council, crime, affordable housing, traffic cameras and more
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has a 57 percent job approval rating overall, according to the 2018 Quality of Life Survey conducted by the University of New Orleans Survey Research Center. The survey, known as the UNO Poll, also found that Orleans Parish residents consider crime to be the biggest problem facing the parish, and nearly half of New Orleans residents approve of the job the City Council is doing.

The survey of 500 Orleans Parish voters and 500 Jefferson Parish voters took place from Oct. 17 to Nov. 5. There is a margin of error of plus-or-minus 4.4 percent.