RSS Feed
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Living with art: Visit to a fair city
Yes, there are whole neighbors still wiped out. Yes, after a year and eight months have gone by. Grassroots efforts mainly account for the recovery of the schools in St. Bernard Parish. Part of these efforts was the Annual Crawfish Festival in Chalmette - a lively and raucous carnival, Cajun and Creole foods galore, gaudy souvenirs and energetic bands. Tons of people showed up, knowing that the money they spent was going to help the parish in its recovery. We enjoyed a symphony concert by the Louisiana Philharmonic, performing in one of the temporary venues at Loyola University, as their own concert hall is still not reclaimed from the storm damage. Mozart's great C-Major works, the Concerto and the Jupiter Symphony, never sounded better. Over at the New Orleans Museum of Art there is an unprecedented collection graciously on loan by a cooperative effort of 40 museums in France. "Femme, Femme, Femme" presents nearly a hundred paintings of women in French society representing masters from Daumier to Picasso. Two months after Katrina, France's Minister of Culture, along with the president of the Louvre, Henri Loyrette, lead a delegation to New Orleans and came away determined to support the city with this incredible exhibition. "Femme, Femme, Femme" runs through June 7. An equally fine exhibit is at St. Ursuline's Convent, through June 1, where 37 astonishing works from the Vatican Mosaic Studio are on view. Tipitino's on Napoleon Avenue has long been a popular spot for Zydeco bands and Cajun dancing. We found it lively with authentic music and a crowded dance floor. An energetic treat, especially for those of us whose dancing is mostly confined to mountain contras and squares! The French Quarter is alive and full of fun! We didn't try Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville Cafe, but we did very much enjoy The Gumbo Shop, the famous Pat O'Brien's and others, and we had to have coffee and beignets at Cafe DuMonde. A neighborhood snowball shop was another favored treat for the taste buds. For an art supporter like myself, a number of small galleries were a delight, and I did not mind at all losing five bucks for a pointed lesson in chess from the famous Jude Acer, a local chess master who has taken on all comers at his table on Decatur Street for 28 years! The neighborhoods along St. Charles Avenue and tucked away in the Garden District still offer views of marvelous and varied architecture of the fine old mansions built in bygone periods. Even here the occasional blue tarp can still be seen, signaling both the long lasting and the wide ranging effects of Katrina. The well to do of New Orleans are certainly recovering. The poor and working folks struggle. Perhaps you already know of and participate in some volunteer organizations helping with the ongoing efforts to assist this great city, and my hat is off to you!
Many local churches can put you in touch with what their particular denomination is doing, so you can lend a hand if you've a mind to. But here's an easy way you can help. If you are in a position to vacation soon, spend that time just enjoying New Orleans! The working folks who wait on you in shops and restaurants, the museum guard, the housekeepers at a hotel, even the violin player in the symphony, they all appreciate your participation in the life of their city. Everyone who has lived in New Orleans knows that it is a city that wants you to enjoy yourself. You can help New Orleans while you have a great time. Yes, you will also come away with an awareness of the effort needed for such a huge city to arise from such a great calamity. But New Orleans is arising, and it calls to you to
|
for larger version      |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
)
