Tag: New Orleans

  • Discovering Relics from the 1884 World’s Fair Inside and Outside New Orleans

    Discovering Relics from the 1884 World’s Fair Inside and Outside New Orleans

    Recently, we wrote a blog post about the 1984 New Orleans World’s Fair, known more formally as the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition. If you talk to New Orleanians who were in the city during that time, the six-month-long event was a memorable one. In fact, you can still find relics — both in New Orleans…

  • Demourelles Island: The Story of New Orleans’ Little-Known Island on Bayou St. John

    Demourelles Island: The Story of New Orleans’ Little-Known Island on Bayou St. John

    You most definitely know about Bayou St. John. It’s one of New Orleans’ treasures, a sanctuary along which you can sit with friends for a drink, jog, or — if the season’s right — maybe even boil some crawfish. But did you know Bayou St. John is also home to an island, called Demourelles Island,…

  • Rediscover the 1984 World’s Fair in Present Day New Orleans

    Rediscover the 1984 World’s Fair in Present Day New Orleans

    For a long time, hosting a World’s Fair was an extremely big deal. People would travel across the globe to a host city to experience the newest, cutting edge technologies and learn about different cultures.  New Orleans hosted its first World’s Fair in 1884, mostly in what is now Audubon Park. But our fair city…

  • The New Orleans Streetcar Through the Years: Part 1

    The New Orleans Streetcar Through the Years: Part 1

    When the sun is shining, there’s hardly an image more iconic in New Orleans than that of a streetcar rumbling down St. Charles Avenue. Tennesee Williams knew it when he wrote his 20th century masterpiece, A Streetcar Named Desire. By then, railway technology had already been spreading across the globe for a hundred years —…

  • Boeuf Gras: Get Your Carnival Fill Before Lent

    Boeuf Gras: Get Your Carnival Fill Before Lent

    If you’ve seen the Rex parade on Fat Tuesday it’s likely you’ve noticed the enormous white bull sitting atop one of the iconic parade’s signature floats. And you’re not alone. Decades of New Orleanians have seen the same bewildering sight. Welcome to Boeuf Gras. The massive creature is known as Boeuf Gras and is one…

  • King Cake’s Cousins Around the Globe

    King Cake’s Cousins Around the Globe

    When you ask most Americans where king cake is eaten, the most frequent answers you’ll hear are Louisiana or New Orleans. But, to the surprise of many, king cake is enjoyed all across Europe and North America.  This is because the king cake tradition began thousands of years ago in Ancient Rome. Mardi Gras (or…

  • Twelfth Night Traditions of New Orleans

    Twelfth Night Traditions of New Orleans

    Twelfth Night — or January 6 — is the undisputed kick-off to Carnival season! But the Twelfth night of what?  In many parts of the world, Twelfth Night and the Christian holiday, Epiphany, are synonymous. One definition of epiphany is “the manifestation of a supernatural being.” In this case, that supernatural being was the baby…

  • Fresh Jazz/Old Mint

    Fresh Jazz/Old Mint

    In a city known for its uniqueness, the combined Old U.S. Mint and New Orleans Jazz Museum are among the most unconventional of pairings. Housed in a nearly 200-year-old building, the idea of one of the world’s largest jazz archives being kept in a decommissioned mint may seem incongruent at first. But the merging of…

  • Guardians of the Groove: How a Community Radio Station Became an Archive of Music History

    Guardians of the Groove: How a Community Radio Station Became an Archive of Music History

    WWOZ 90.7FM is a rarity among community radio stations. Where most have gone off the air in the decades since streaming music services debuted, WWOZ has grown from a favorite among locals to being heard all over the world. Named for the Wonderful Wizard of OZ, this station encourages you to pay no attention to…

  • Meet Me Under My Porch’s Flagpole

    Meet Me Under My Porch’s Flagpole

    New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is entering its 51st year. While last year’s festival had to be canceled, the 2021 festival is scheduled for October. This is good news for music lovers and for the city of New Orleans. This upcoming return to normalcy is a welcome ritual where friends and family unite for…

  • Ashes and Rubble: Rebuilding New Orleans After the Great Fire of 1788

    Ashes and Rubble: Rebuilding New Orleans After the Great Fire of 1788

    It seems no matter where they’re located in the world, every major city has suffered through a devastating fire. While some of the more famous blazes took place in Chicago and London, New Orleans has had several of its own. The largest of these took place in 1788, and the Great Conflagration of New Orleans…

  • The Meeting of the Courts: When Rex Met Comus

    The Meeting of the Courts: When Rex Met Comus

    While Mardi Gras is known for its lavish parades and costumed revelry, there is also an air of romance and mystery which is sometimes overlooked. Though thousands gather to watch elaborate floats pass by, crying out for various trinkets, few give thought to the royalty waving at the crowds. Masked or bare-faced, the Royal Courts…