The New Orleans Museum has completed a renovation of a cultural space called the Lapis Center for the Arts.
The renovation began in January 2020. The space will serve film screenings, lectures, theater and dance performances and more. It features surround sound, theatrical lighting and accommodates seating for up to 360 people.
The renovation was funded mostly by the Zemurray Foundation which has supported many of the museum’s operations and projects. NOMA director Susan Taylor said the space will provide opportunities for the visual and performing arts and allow the museum to expand its offerings.
On the walls of the Lapis Center is Enrique Alférez’s monumental plaster relief mural, “Symbols of Communication.” Alférez completed the mural in 1967 for the lobby of the Times-Picayune building. It was given to NOMA by investors and developers Joe Jaeger, Barry Kern, Michael White and Arnold Kirschman, who are turning the site of the building into a Drive Shack golf en
Carnival has ended, which means cleanup begins Author: Jade Cunningham / WWL Eyewitness News Published: 7:53 PM CST February 17, 2021 Updated: 7:53 PM CST February 17, 2021
NEW ORLEANS Carnival season is over, which means cleanup begins. Dinosaurs, bees, a giant Dr. John bust all must come down. Floats in the Oaks displays also need to be put away.
It s like the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. So today, we re taking down the lights and picking up everything, packing it up, said Justin Berger. All we have left here are to take lights off the fence, get it loaded and move onto the next.
New Orleans might be the only place where a pair of giraffes, a velociraptor and Dr. John can co-exist peacefully. The Krewe of House Floats, started by a casual suggestion on the internet to decorate one’s house as a Mardi Gras float, quickly sprang into a full-blown movement. Within a short time, 2,600 homes across New Orleans as well as homes around the country and as far away as Australia, Europe, and Asia displayed the creativity, pageantry and joie de vivre of Mardi Gras. Megan Boudreaux, founder of the Krewe of House Floats, said that the almost overnight response to her suggestion was “mind-boggling.” She is grateful for the many enthusiastic and talented folks who helped make her idea a reality. Boudreaux is scheduled to receive a key to the city from the New Orleans City Council for helping New Orleanians remember their “collective ability to keep the good times rolling.” She’s recognized for fostering commerce between residents and local merchants and art
Making New Traditions, Celebrating Mardi Gras During a Pandemic
One of the magical things about being born and raised in Louisiana is being able to celebrate Mardi Gras. Depending on what part of the state you are from, the celebration may start earlier while others start closer to the actual holiday. The Mardi Gras hub is, of course, New Orleans, and festivities begin after the first of the year, around January 6th. Carnival season comes to an official end on Fat Tuesday, better known as Mardi Gras Day, which falls right before Ash Wednesday each year.
New Orleans’ Mardi Gras parades typically draw crowds in the millions from all over the world every year. Many were disappointed, of course, being that it’s such a large part of our culture. But knowing that New Orleans was one of the country’s earliest hot spots for the virus last Spring, it made sense. Many health experts have traced the massive outbreak from the Mardi Gras celebrations held in February of 2020.
Raising Cane’s St. Charles Avenue Restaurant Celebrates “Yardi Gras”
February 2, 2021 · ·
Not even a pandemic can stop the Mardi Gras spirit in New Orleans and Raising Cane’s is decked and ready for the “yardi” party. As a participant in the
Krewe of House Floats, Raising Cane’s location on historic St. Charles Avenue joined in on the Mardi Gras fun with custom float decorations.
Designed by
Kern Studios, the restaurant followed the “Garden Party” theme of the Garden District neighborhood for their decor complete with flowers, giant beads, jesters and a towering version of their yellow Labrador mascot, Raising Cane III.