Rolling today and tonight: Pontchartrain, Choctaw, Freret, Sparta, Pygmalion

Saturday is very full parade day, with five krewes and their accompanying bands and dancers keeping the Uptown route lively from early afternoon until late evening.

The National Weather Service promises a mostly sunny day with highs near 60 degrees. In the evening, clear skies and a low around 46 degrees are expected.

Rolling tonight: Oshun, Cleopatra and Alla kick off Carnival on the Uptown route

The Uptown parade season begins tonight with the krewes of Oshun, Cleopatra and Alla on the St. Charles Avenue route. It will be a special anniversary ride for two of the krewes. Oshun is celebrating its 25th anniversary. And Alla, one of the city’s oldest krewes, will close out the night of parades on its 90th anniversary.

Viewpoint: What’s your plan to stay safe during Carnival season?

With several hundred thousand people about to descend on the streets of New Orleans, each of us should make a personal commitment to avoid becoming a statistic during Carnival season. After all, Covid-19 and crime are the overarching themes of this year’s Mardi Gras. Although parade goers might not see floats or throws touting either, they definitely will be lurking in the background. 

Some people – including the majority of the Louisiana Legislature – think that masks and social distancing are a thing of the past and that Covid-19 is no longer serious or life-threatening to the majority of the population. Tell that to Ed Robinson Jr., founder of L&R Security, whose employees dressed in bright yellow T-shirts are a welcoming presence at Jazz Fest and other major events. Robinson’s wife, Octavia Robinson, a retired New Orleans police officer who had been vaccinated and boosted, just died from Covid.

All Things Green and Glittery at ricRACK pt.1 (sponsored)

 

The future of second-hand thrift is here! Since 2012, ricRACK has been a place for the community to learn how to sew, create, grow, imagine, re-use, sustain, and succeed. Founder Alison Parker not only brings high-quality second-hand clothing to the Big Easy, but with it adds sewing classes for all ages and is now adding textile recycling to the mix. 2022 is not only bringing new students and learning, but also a chance for ricRACK to grow and provide more services to the community. Revolutionizing the clothing industry, the prominent consignment shop is introducing textile recycling to the New Orleans metro area.

Tulane University to host ‘X’s and O’s,’ a play about football and traumatic brain injury

 

From Tulane University

Six years ago, Tulane University assistant professor Jenny Mercein and playwright KJ Sanchez co-created a play called X’s and O’s that examines the lasting physical and neurological impacts from playing football. Mercein and Sanchez are now bringing their docudrama to Tulane’s campus. On Thursday (Feb. 17) at 7 p.m., Tulane will host a reading and panel discussion of X’s and O’s inside the Jill H. and Avram A. Glazer Family Club at Yulman Stadium, 2900 Ben Weiner Drive. The event, a collaboration between the Tulane Center for Sport and the School of Liberal Arts’ Department of Theater and Dance, is free and open to the public.

Police blotter: Shooting, armed robbery, two carjackings

A shooting on South Claiborne, an armed robbery on St. Charles Avenue, and carjackings on Jackson Avenue and Gen. Ogden Street are among the crimes reported recently by the New Orleans Police Department. The NOPD is investigating an early morning shooting Tuesday (Feb. 15) in the 2100 block of South Claiborne Avenue, near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Initial reports show that 6th District officers responded to a report of a shooting at about 1:45 a.m. They found a 23-year-old male with gunshot wounds.