events

Drew Brees and Saints teammates give away Thanksgiving meals in Central City

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On Tuesday, November 21, 12 members of the New Orleans Saints arrived at the Dryades YMCA in Central City to hand out Thanksgiving to dinner to people in need. The players participating included Drew Brees, rookie tackle Ryan Ramcyzk and second year players safety Von Bell and wide receiver Michael Thomas. “Who dat!” was a common refrain throughout the afternoon, and other various forms of praise for their stellar performance so far this season.  

events

11th Annual Po-boy Festival takes over Oak Street

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The 11th Annual Po-Boy Festival was held Saturday on Oak Street, featuring four stages, 14 musical groups and 30 different vendors, and two Uptown establishments — newcomer Simone’s Market and mainstay Vincent’s Italian Cuisine — were named among the best of the festival. Simone’s Market, nearing the end of its first year open on Oak Street, won in two categories, best poultry for its “smoked fried-chicken po-boy” and most original for its “Lebacajun po-boy.” Vincent’s Italian Cuisine, a regular at the festival for years, won the pork category for its meat-heavy “Godfather” po-boy. Other winners were:

Red Fish Grill’s barbecue oyster po-boy won best seafood and best overall,
Seither’s Seafood won best shrimp for the “Peepaw” po-boy. Bienvenue Bar and Grill won best beef for its prime-rib po-boy,
Bratz Y’all won best sausage for the drunk pig po-boy, and

events

Annual festival highlights Irish culture (Photos)

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The fourth-annual Irish Festival was held at the Kingsley house on Saturday, September 16 in the Irish Channel. The Kingsley House is a community center first established in the late 19th century to “help immigrants overcome language, cultural, social and family displacement barriers as they settled in New Orleans,” according to their website. The festival features Irish music, cultural competitions and more.

events

The Krewe of O.A.K. gets dirty for 31st annual Mid Summer Mardi Gras (Photos)

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On Saturday, August 19, the Krewe of O.A.K. hosted the 31st annual Mid Summer Mardi Gras parade. The parade rolls down Oak street to Carrollton avenue, down to Palmer park and back up Carrollton down Oak street, finishing at the Maple Leaf Bar. This year’s parade, which rolled a week early, was themed “Dirty One XXXI Coming In Hot.” The queen was Stacy Morigeau and King Robustus XXXI is Doug Trager.

public safety

Two homes burn in Irish Channel fire

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Curtains that caught fire inside a Chippewa Street home on Thursday afternoon quickly spread to engulf the entire house and the home next door, leaving a total of four people homeless afterward, New Orleans fire officials said. A resident of 2400 Chippewa Street was working inside his single-story wood-frame home around 2:45 p.m. “when the curtains ignited and quickly spread throughout the home,” according to a New Orleans Fire Department news release. Firefighters arrived seven minutes after the 911 call, but the house was already engulfed in flame that was spreading to the house next door at 632-34 First Street, the report states. Residents of the home on First Street heard their neighbor yelling, “Fire!” and were able to escape their house before it was consumed by the fire, the report states.

arts, books and music

Social event at Dryades Market draws attention to community resource

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The Dryades Public Market hosted the popup marketplace “Friends and Flows” for the first time Saturday, raising awareness of issues like food deserts, the market’s role in the Central City neighborhood, and gentrification. “We create social environments for young creatives and professionals to connect and cultivate new relationships,” said Damon Landry, one of the founders of Atypical SEC who put on the event. Central City is primarily a food desert because of the lack of stores that offer healthy food options. Dryades Public Market seeks to resolve this issue. Alana Harris, the community outreach director for the market, asserts that such a business is necessary for the community, but not everyone buys in.