books and literature

Book Fest: Local writers and photographers take it to the streets

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The streets of New Orleans were among the wide range of topics covered at the inaugural New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University. The sessions were not on the potholes or the perennial roadwork, though that was discussed, too. (“The problem with the streets is that we are sitting on top of an ever-changing river,” writer Jason Berry said.) They were on the spectacle of street life in New Orleans. Two Friday (March 11) sessions — a panel called “Visual New Orleans: A City of Neighborhoods” and a talk by Berry on his film and book “City of a Million Dreams” — covered recent works chronicling public rituals in the city’s Black communities that have become emblematic of New Orleans: the second-line parade and the jazz funeral. Judy Cooper’s “Dancing in the Streets” and Jason Berry’s “City of a Million Dreams” delve deeply into these traditions — deep enough to avoid cliches and appropriation.

events

Book Festival at Tulane, opening Thursday, includes sessions on jazz, Southern humor, climate change, football, race and more

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The long-awaited inaugural New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University opens Thursday (March 10) and runs through Saturday on Tulane’s Uptown campus. The festival was planned for 2020 and again for 2021 but was canceled twice amid Covid-19 surges. 

The event features more than 60 panel sessions from a lineup of 130 renowned and rising authors, including an award-winning group of children’s authors, some of New Orleans’ top chefs and an all-star musical lineup. The book festival is free and open to the public. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. The author lineup includes national bestselling authors participating such as John Grisham, Malcolm Gladwell, Michael Lewis, Imani Perry, Eddie S. Glaude Jr., Bakari Sellers, Don Lemon, Jon Meacham, Charles Blow,  Sarah M. Broom and David Brooks. 

Local authors include Jason Berry, John Barry, Barri Bronston, Richard Campanella, Donna Brazile, Macon Fry, Sister Helen Prejean, Michael Tisserand, James Gill and Tom Piazza.

Mardi Gras

Yardi Gras stories: University area house floats celebrate ‘Les Bons Temps’

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When three smaller subkrewes of the Krewe of House Floats —University, Freret and St. Charles Avenue — melded into one, an anything-goes theme evolved, which in turn became “Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler,” said subkrewe captain Jenna Rockett. With no constraints to follow, krewe members improvised their individual whims. The Bergers of State Street decided to lean into their name by turning their house into a burger joint. The family’s “State Street Soda Shoppe” house float serves up a giant balcony burger, fries, a milkshake and an ice cream sundae. It’s a theme that delights the Bergers’ two young daughters, Lillian and Grace.

Festivals

New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University announces full schedule for inaugural literary celebration (sponsored)

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The New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University announced today its much-anticipated lineup and complete schedule for its inaugural event, which will take place March 10-12, on Tulane University’s Uptown campus. The book festival is free and open to the public. Among the national bestselling authors participating are Malcolm Gladwell, Michael Lewis, John Grisham, Imani Perry, Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., Bakari Sellers, Don Lemon, Jon Meacham, Charles Blow, Clint Smith, Cleo Wade, Sarah M. Broom and David Brooks. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. 

The event will feature 130 renowned and rising authors, including an engaging group of children’s authors, some of New Orleans’ top chefs and an all-star musical lineup. Click here to view the complete book festival schedule.

colleges

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

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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.

books and literature

How writer Matt Haines became the king cake guy

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Matt Haines didn’t intend to write a book on king cake, its historical and modern incarnations, or the bakers who mix and roll it into shape and knead innovations into their dough each year. But when you spend a Carnival season determinedly sampling your way through scores of king cake varieties in the metro area, the development comes naturally. Haines, an Uptown resident and the author of “The Big Book of King Cake,” said it all started at a party he attended a few years ago. “I’d had king cake every Carnival season without really thinking too much about them for most of the years that I was in New Orleans,” he told Uptown Messenger. “But then, in 2017, I was invited to a king cake party.”

Every attendee of the lavish affair had to bring their own cake, and Haines was determined to bring the best.

food and drink

That sinking feeling: Turkey and the Wolf cookbooks may be at the bottom of the Atlantic

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Robert Burns wrote, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”

The same applies to turkeys and wolves, when it came to the distribution plans for the cookbook “Turkey and the Wolf: Flavor Trippin’ in New Orleans” from Ten Speed Press. Allow me to explain. The Turkey and the Wolf restaurant has been serving up delicious comfort food at 739 Jackson Ave. since 2016. The menu consists of items like Fried Bologna Sandwich, Collard Green Melt, Mama Tried Burger and Hog’s Headcheese Taco.

music

For rapper Alfred Banks, Uptown is ‘where I came from, where I’m at and where I want to go’

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A few days after hip-hop artist Alfred Banks returned to his Uptown apartment from a Hurricane Ida evacuation, his ceiling caved in. Mold began to penetrate his apartment. So he left for Dallas and, after some texts to a few connections, ended up doing three shows there. “Not coming from a lot financially, not having financial backing and not being signed to a record label, you have to be resourceful as an independent artist,” he said. “It’s just mandatory.”

Banks, 30, is making a full-time living from his music for the first time in his life.

events

Holiday markets and events make the yuletide bright across Uptown neighborhoods

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A wide variety of markets in Uptown neighborhoods give you the chance to find the perfect Christmas gift for family and friends while supporting local artists and businesses. Plus, browsing a market is more fun than shopping online or in the big-box stores. If you want to forget about the shopping and just sit back and enjoy the festive spirit, you can take in a concert inside one of Uptown’s resplendent churches. A list of markets and other holiday events is below. Christmas markets

Nov.

Advertiser specials

Bayou Relief Porch Concert with Amanda Shaw at CR Coffee Nov. 27th (sponsored)

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Free Porch Concert and artisan coffee/teas is the perfect mix to bring a burst of energy to Uptown for Small Business Saturday. Music will fill the air on Magazine St. Nov. 27th, thanks to CR Coffee Shop and special guest Amanda Shaw. As we enter the season of gratitude and giving, this festive event will be an opportunity for the community to donate to The Amanda Shaw Foundation Fund while supporting their local cafe. While strolling Magazine, guests will get into the holiday spirit by enjoying the sweet sounds of Amanda Shaw & the Cute Guys and sipping one of their favorite CR favorites.