Wow, I am really behind on posting. But I am working – I promise!
Here is the archive of 2017 events!
Wednesday, January 11th: Private lecture for the Stuart Clan.
Thursday, February 9th: “The Underworld Above Ground: The Graves of the Infamous, Nefarious, and Notorious of New Orleans.” Lecture on some of New Orleans infamous characters, revealing their forgotten stories and where they are buried. Part of Save Our Cemeteries lecture series. Dramatic readings of historical source by Kate Kuen and Andrew Ward. At Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home (5100 Pontchartrain Blvd). 6:30pm. Free and open to the public.
Friday, March 3rd: Debut of documentary short “Carnival in Storyville” on Steppin’ Out on WYES/TV Channel 12. &:30pm and 11:00pm/ Part of Pocket Door Productions. A documentary I wrote and co-produced with Kerry Cahill. Directed by Eva Contis.
Saturday, March 18th: “Stories From New Orleans Neighborhoods, Streets, and Cemeteries.” Joint lecture with Maggy Baccinelli presented by the Algiers Historical Society. At the Algiers Regional Library (3014 Holiday Drive). 10am. Free and open to the public.
Wednesday, March 22nd: “Where Sex and Sin Were the Specialities: An Evening of Storyville Memories.” Part of the Tennessee Williams Festival. At the Le Petit Theatre (616 St. Peter St). 8pm. Tickets for $35/$65. Description of the event: Join us for a look inside the scandalous history and culture of the Red Light District that flourished in New Orleans from 1897-1917, that famed neighborhood that fixed the city firmly in the national consciousness as a place of licentious pleasure. One hundred years after its closure, it still illuminates New Orleans’s complex personality. Pamela Arceneaux, senior librarian and rare books curator of The Historic New Orleans Collection introduces us to the rare guides to the district chronicled in her new book, Guidebooks to Sin: The Blue Books of Storyville, New Orleans. She’ll explain how the books served up the flavor of the place – guides to brothels, liquor stores, cures for venereal disease—and what rare and fascinating information she found between the lines. Writer and photographer Sally Asher of Tulane University, accompanied by actors Kerry Cahill and Andrew Ward, brings to life the important year of 1917, the year Storyville closed, after reform movements prevailed against last-ditch efforts to save it. “The purity wave” as is it was called—with tougher enforcement of the laws and an attempt to segregate the district—grew out of protests by women’s organizations and Mayor Behrman’s desire to control the district so it could continue to exist. Nina Bozak of The Historic New Orleans Collection dazzles with period dances—from the Two-Step that was the rage in the 1890s to the Foxtrot, for which the Original Dixieland Jazz Band recorded the Livery Stable Blues in 1917 (the first jazz recording ever issued), as well as dances to Spanish-tinged rhythms of the period. Ham Kick and Naked Dance, anyone? Ward emcees, with live period music with band leader Seva Venet. And who knows? We might even see a Baby Doll or two. New Orleans has always had a reputation as a wicked city; Storyville is at the heart of that sense of excess and openness. See why it continues to captivate and intrigue us a century later, even as we learn more about its many facets as these scholars of Storyville celebrate its lively legacy in history, theater, dance and music. Directed by Brook Hanemann.
Sunday, March 26th: “Place in the Heart: The History of New Orleans’ Beloved Landmarks.” Part of the Tennessee Williams Festival. At the Hotel Monteleone (214 Royal Street) in the Queen Anne Ballroom. 10am to 11:15am. Panel moderated by Errol Laborde with Pamela Tyler, Peggy Scott Laborde.
Sunday, March 26th: “Prohibition and Murder.” Part of the Tennessee Williams Festival. At the Hotel Monteleone (214 Royal Street) in the Queen Anne Ballroom. 11:30 to 12:45pm. Dramatic Readings by actors Kerry Cahill, Chris Lane, and Marie Lovejoy.
Friday, May 19th: “The Last Days of Storyville.” Part of the Tulane Alumni Association’s Educational and Cultural Sessions. Woldenberg Auditorium in Newcomb Art Museum. 11:15am to Noon.
Tuesday, June 20th: Private lecture for the Orleans Club.
Friday, June 23rd: “New Orleans Ladies of Burlesque.” Part of the New Orleans Women’s Leadership Conference hosted by FestiGals. I will be moderating a panel with Trixie Minx of Fleur de Tease Burlesque, May Hemmer (the Cocoa Barbie) and Nina Bozak, former Shim Shamettes Performer. At the JW Marriott New Orleans (614 Canal Street). 1:45 to 2:45pm. Tickets Available.
Tuesday, September 26th: Book Release Party at WYES for “New Orleans: The First 300 Years.” The book is part of WYES’ New Orleans Tricentennial Project which also includes on-air features, documentaries and award-winning Electronic Field Trips geared to grades 5 through 8 with partners such as The National WWII Museum on the city’s upcoming 300th anniversary. Book signing to follow with over a dozen contributors. 6:00pm to 8:00pm. 916 Navarre Ave.
Thursday, September 28th: “New Orleans: The First 300 Years” book signing. Garden District Bookshop. I will be on a panel with Errol Laborde, Peggy Scott Laborde, Angus Lind, John Magill. Signing to follow. 6pm to 7:30pm. 2727 Prytania.
Thursday, October 19th: “New Orleans: The First 300 Years” panel and book signing. I will be on panel with Peggy Scott Laborde, Errol Laborde, and Connie Atkinson. Jefferson Parish Library. 4747 W. Napoleon Ave., Metairie.
Wednesday, October 25th:: Private lecture for the Primetimers Club.
Thursday, October 26th: All Saints Soiree for Save Our Cemeteries. St. Louis Cemetery #3. 6:30pm to 9:30pm
Saturday, October 28th: Louisiana Book Festival. “New Orleans: The First 300 Years” I will be on a panel with Bronson Lutz, John Kemp, and Peter Ricchiuti moderated by editor Errol Laborde. 12:15pm to 1:15pm. Baton Rouge. State Capitol Building House, Committee Room 4.
Saturday, October 28th: Louisiana Book Festival. Barnes and Noble Book Signing Tent. 1:30pm to 2:15pm.
Friday, November 3rd: Tulane University. LBC, Rechler Room. 3:30 – 4:15pm.
Wednesday, November 8th: Private Lecture for the VCPORA at Beauregard-Keyes House.
Monday, November 13th: Book launch for New Orleans & The World. Stage Door Canteen. 945 Magazine Street. 5pm to 7pm.
Saturday, November 25th: Arts Council’s Arts Market of New Orleans. Palmer Park. Corner of S. Carrollton & S. Claiborne. 10am – 4pm.
Sunday, November 26th: Arts Council’s Arts Market of New Orleans. Palmer Park. Corner of S. Carrollton & S. Claiborne. 10am – 4pm.
Saturday, December 2nd: Freret Market. Freret Street and Napoleon Ave. 12pm – 4pm.
Saturday, December 9th: Freret Market. Freret Street and Napoleon Ave. 12pm – 4pm.
Saturday, December 16th:: Arts Council’s Arts Market of New Orleans. Palmer Park. Corner of S. Carrollton & S. Claiborne. 10am – 4pm.
Sunday, December 17th: Arts Council’s Arts Market of New Orleans. Palmer Park. Corner of S. Carrollton & S. Claiborne. 10am – 4pm.