If Mardi Gras, Spring Fiesta and French Quarter Festival didn’t show that New Orleans is coming back, Jazzfest 2007 sure did.
Next year, they’ll have to restore Thursday performances to help spread the crowds out. After this year’s success, it is bound to get bigger. The first Friday was very well attended. And the Saturday and Sunday performances even moreso.
The second Friday was going the same way until the clouds burst loose at mid-day and sent the crowd under the tents. Some decided the rain would last all day and went home.
But along about 3:30 when the weather had cleared, many came back and others arrived to take advantage of the lessened crowd. They had fun with their boots on, dancing in the water and sliding in the slush that remained.
The next two days were like the first weekend, with perfect weather and huge crowds. And crooner Harry Connick Jr. did the finale of what was perhaps the most successful Jazzfest ever.
Are we becoming Broadway South?
Louisiana is becoming quite a showplace with the success of Jazzfest and other musical events. It is already known as Hollywood South where many movies are being made and now the Louisiana Legislature is considering bills that would help make it a Broadway South.
Bills in the current session would offer incentives for live professional productions such as major concerts and pre-Broadway stage show openings. It seems like a natural for this state to be a center for live entertainment since the social climate is so enjoyable for visitors.
If these bills pass, it could mean the reopening of Saengar, Orpheum and other theatres in New Orleans that could make the Canal-Rampart Street area the major live entertainment district in the south. It would help attract tourists and give us an opportunity to enjoy even more great live entertainment right here at home.
Get rid of hazardous, recyclable materials:
It’s time to clean out your shed of hazardous materials you can’t throw in your garbage can or put out with the trash.
Materials such as batteries, tires and paint cans will be welcomed at a collection station at the Jerusalem Shriners’ Hall on Ormond Boulevard in Destrehan Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p. m. Don’t include dynamite or anything of an explosive or unidentifiable nature.
Also, residents may get rid of recyclable materials such as paper, plastic items and metal containers Saturday, May 19 from 9 a. m. to noon. It may be dropped off at St. Charles Plaza on U. S. 90 in Luling or New Sarpy Annex on River Road in New Sarpy. We used to put it out in the blue recycle bins once a week for pick-up but this was discontinued after Katrina. The program reportedly was costing too much for the amount of its use.
And that is a shame. At the present rate, we could become one big trash dump in the future. Be sure to bring your recyclables to one of those two pick-up spots on May 19.
Be the first to comment