Saturday, June 25, 2011
Copeland’s restaurants raise funds for cancer
Posted by Kandace Graves on Sat, Jun 25, 2011 at 9:16 PM
It’s time to eat up, New Orleans — to help fight cancer. Copeland’s restaurants and Copeland’s Cheesecake Bistro are donating 28 percent of proceeds on Tuesday, June 28, as part of its “28 Days of Fighting Cancer.” The restaurants have been collecting donations throughout June for seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong’s LIVESTRONG Foundation. People who donate $1, $5 or $20 receive a link on the restaurants’ paper Chain of Hope, with those who donate $5 also receiving a yellow LIVESTRONG wristband, and people donating $20 receiving a chain link, wristband, LIVESTRONG card and $10 Copeland’s gift card.
The four-week-long campaign ends Tuesday with celebrity bartenders serving drinks from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at local Copeland’s restaurants and Cheesecake Bistros. Drinks will be served at Copeland’s restaurants by New Orleans Saints kicker Garrett Hartley (1001 S. Clearview Pkwy., Jefferson, 620-7800; www.copelandsofneworleans.com); ABC26 reporter Glynn Boyd (1700 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, 364-1575; www.copelandsofneworleans.com); Bucktown All-Stars trumpeter Ryan Thibodaux (1319 W. Esplanade Ave., Kenner, 617-9146; www.copelandsofneworleans.com) and former Cincinnati Bengals special teams ace (and Louisiana native) Kyries Hebert (1337 Gause Blvd., Slidell, 985-643-0001; www.copelandsofneworleans.com). Copeland’s Cheesecake Bistro celebrity bartenders include Treme actor Chris Bailey (4517 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, 454-7620; www.copelandscheesecakebistro.com) and musician Rockin’ Dopsie (2001 St. Charles Ave., 593-9955; www.copelandscheesecakebistro.com).
The LIVESTRONG Foundation provides support for people affected by cancer and helps communities take action in the fight against cancer. The foundation has raised more than $400 million for the cause since Armstrong established it in 1997.
Last second line of the season: Uptown Swingers
Posted by Red Cotton on Sat, Jun 25, 2011 at 1:50 AM
UPTOWN SWINGERS PARADE SUNDAY, JUNE 26, 2011 - 1-5pm
(route after the BUCKJUMP!)
Friday, June 24, 2011
Da Winnas & Da Loozas
Posted by Clancy DuBos on Fri, Jun 24, 2011 at 11:07 PM
Louisiana lawmakers generally avoid divisive, controversial issues in election-year sessions, and Louisiana governors generally have their way with lawmakers. What a difference a $1.6 billion revenue decrease makes.
The 2011 legislative session, which ended last week, contained more than its share of surprises, but in the end not much got done beyond the bare essentials. Despite all the advance wailing, the sky didn’t fall after lawmakers passed a smaller budget with no earmarks. That’s pretty much how everything went: This session will be remembered more for what DIDN’T happen than for what did.
Which brings us to our annual recap of the political carnage — da winnas and da loozas, starting with …
DA WINNAS
1. UNO — Defeat of the UNO-SUNO merger was a slap at Jindal but a godsend to UNO, as it ignited a push to get the Lakefront campus out of the oppressively controlling LSU System. The bill moving UNO to the eminently more hospitable University of Louisiana System sailed through both houses, and the UL System appears much more likely to perceive UNO as a partner rather than a competitor.
2. Higher Ed Governing Boards and SUNO — The state’s four post-secondary education boards survived Jindal’s push to combine them. The governor’s merger plan fizzled quickly after the UNO-SUNO merger failed to get off the ground in the House. SUNO, which has two employees serving as House members, wielded more clout than LSU this year.
3. Casinos — Even though the bill seeking to ban smoking in bars and casinos was amended to exempt casinos, the gambling moguls figured they were next, so they provided the muscle needed to kill the anti-smoking bill — and proved once again that they have replaced Big Oil as the Big Shots of state politics.
Common Ground Summer Wellness Fest
Posted by Kandace Graves on Fri, Jun 24, 2011 at 10:36 PM
Visitors to Common Ground Health Clinic’s (CGHC) Wellness Fest from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday, June 25, can get acupuncture and acupressure for stress relief, pick up information on how to maintain their health, get a little exercise — and hear live music. Vendors will offer food and drinks. The event is free, but attendees who make a $5 donation will be entered into a drawing to win prizes.
The event at Fox Playground (122 L.B. Landry Ave.) features music by the Mohawk Hunters (12:15 p.m.), Heavenly Melodies (12:50 p.m.), Sweet Street Symphony (1:25 p.m.), Charmaine Neville (2 p.m.), Melomania (3:50 p.m.), Ben Hunter (4:30 p.m.), Arden Lo (5:10 p.m.), Renovacion 6 (6:10 p.m.) and all-women Original Pinettes Brass Band (6:45 p.m.). In between, see salsa and Zumba demonstrations, as well as a skit by NO/AIDS Task Force.
The event is is designed to help residents learn how to stay healthy and ensure they have access to adequate health care. Visitors can learn about and sign up for the Greater New Orleans Health Connection (GNOCHC) program, which provides health insurance for low-income and uninsured residents. To quality for GNOCHC, an individual must be uninsured for at least six months; between 19 and 64 years old; not eligible for Medicaid, CHIP or Medicare; a resident of Orleans, Jefferson, Plaquemines or St. Bernard parishes and meet financial guidelines.
Here is the bounce remix of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep"
Posted by Lauren LaBorde on Fri, Jun 24, 2011 at 4:35 PM
Singer Adele has become a pop radio sensation, and rightfully so — she's really, really good (embedded below is her incredible NPR Tiny Desk Concert if you need proof). Seemingly everyone is taking notice of the British soul crooner, including Power 102.9's DJ Chicken, who created this bounce remix of Adele's hit "Rolling in the Deep."
It's not the most inspired remix, since it's pretty much just the song mashed up with a bounce track (sounds like a Big Freedia song), but it does make Adele booty-danceable.
In the aforementioned NPR Tiny Desk Concert video, which you can find under the jump, she sings (the non-bounce version of) "Rolling in the Deep" along with two other tracks.
Gay Pride weekend in New Orleans: the events
Posted by Kevin Allman on Fri, Jun 24, 2011 at 3:42 PM
It's the culmination of a weekend of events that starts tonight in the French Quarter with a bar crawl, continues on Saturday with a festival on Fulton Street and family activities in City Park and concludes on Sunday with the parade and another street party. Local grand marshals are charity-minded fundraisers Misti Ates and Chris Leonard. For more info, check out the Pride website.
Stylish swimsuits
Posted by Missy Wilkinson on Fri, Jun 24, 2011 at 2:19 PM
Special thanks to Sue Strachan and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art (925 Camp St., 539-9619) for graciously hosting our photo shoot.
Model: Renesha Renee
Makeup: Faris Puglise for Hair Loft by Le Unique (5300 Tchoupitoulas St., Suite F4, 895-2911)
Hair: David Connor for Hair Loft by Le Unique (5300 Tchoupitoulas St., Suite F4, 895-2911)
Photography: Carlton Mickle
Popeyes to host flash mob dance
Posted by Lauren LaBorde on Fri, Jun 24, 2011 at 1:09 PM
A brief history of flash mobs: they originated in the early 2000s, when people started using the Internet's early social networking tools (like Yahoo groups. Remember those? Remember Yahoo?) to arrange for people to "spontaneously" congregate at a public location at a specific time, engage in some strange, synchronized activity together, then suddenly disperse. One of the earliest publicized examples of a flash mob was a 2003 one at a co-op in Harvard Square, where hundreds of people descended on the store claiming to be shopping for a greeting card for "Bill." Larger scale flash mobs then began to arise, like ones by the group Improv Everywhere, whose stunts include getting more than 200 people to "freeze" in place at New York's Grand Central Station.
After a lull in popularity, a 2010 YouTube clip of a massive dance number to "Do Re Mi" from The Sound of Music in a Belgium train station started the Dance Flash Mob trend (as far as YouTube fads go, it's the pre-lip dub). And, just like with your favorite book, once Oprah endorses it, it's officially The New Thing: on the first show of her talk show's final season, audience members of an outdoor Black Eyed Peas concert suddenly erupted into a choreographed dance during the song "I Gotta Feeling". (I should note that in posting a link to that video, I am in no way endorsing that song or that band.)
Now fried chicken purveyor Popeyes is jumping on the bandwagon by hosting a dance flash mob of their own tomorrow (Saturday) at 2 p.m. (check-in starts at 1 p.m.) on the 300 block of Bourbon Street, between Conti and Bienville Streets, to promote their new "Louisiana Leaux" menu. The song they chose is — of course, because it'll never die — "Halftime (Stand Up and Get Crunk)" and if you wanna learn the moves and participate, watch the video below. I would not recommend eating any of Popeyes menu items before doing the dance.
Listen: Gambit's free music Friday
Posted by Alex Woodward on Fri, Jun 24, 2011 at 11:19 AM
Remember when C.C. Adcock and Florence Welch teamed up for a Buddy Holly tribute? Here's the whole album, with tracks by Welch, Paul McCartney, My Morning Jacket, Patti Smith, Lou Reed and several others. Adcock produced Welch's cover of Holly's "Not Fade Away" (find the New Orleans-shot video here).
Tomorrow night at 8 p.m., gorgeous folk-pop quintet Giant Cloud says farewell at Tipitina's, with Generationals, Empress Hotel and Au Ras Au Ras. The Park the Van records showcase is Giant Cloud's presumably last. (Find more show and ticket info over at Gambit.) Download the tracks "Fingernails" and "Old Soul" via Park the Van. Here's the single-shot live video for "Bright Lights":
Here's the Kickstarter fundraising page for Tess Brunet's Au Ras Au Ras, which is prepping a debut LP Stochasticity. Meanwhile, stream the track "When the Night Arrives."
Also tomorrow, 7 p.m. at 3 Ring Circus' The Big Top Gallery: "Mic Check 1-2 1-2" hosted by LUCKyLOU, the N.O. rap fixture whose latest track and video "That Ninja Cold" is catching frequent buzz. The show also has rowdy barroom-blues rockers Felix — download some of their songs here.
Also also tomorrow, at 10 p.m., MyNameIsJohnMichael and Kopecky Family Band are at One Eyed Jacks. Download the Tennessee country-folk-pop outfit's EP Embraces for free here, and stream the album Of Epic Proportions here. Bonus: Watch the band's 18-minute NPR Tiny Desk concert here.
Download "New Girl," the latest bounce track from New Orleans rapper Teflon.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Le Petit sale price $3 million, says board president
Posted by Kevin Allman and Will Coviello on Thu, Jun 23, 2011 at 5:32 PM
The backstage drama over the fate of Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre roiled on this week as the theater’s support guild obtained a temporary order halting the sale of 60 percent of the building by the Le Petit board of governors to restaurateur Dickie Brennan. The hearing, scheduled for June 23 in the courtroom of Judge Kern Reese, has been postponed.
Until now, the amount of the sale hasn’t been publicly disclosed, but Cassie Steck Worley, head of Le Petit’s board of governors, told Gambit this afternoon the deal was for $3 million — 60 percent of $5 million, a value based on two appraisals of the building since Hurricane Katrina. (A 2011 appraisal in relation to the Brennan deal was not made, she said.) The building has a $700,000 mortgage, held by Capitol One bank, and needs an estimated $1 million in repairs.
Worley estimated the theater’s current monthly expenses to be $5,000 for the note, $2,000-$4,000 for utilities and $1,500-$2,000 for insurance. She estimates total operating costs for the building to be $20,000 per month, and says the Brennan deal is the “best solution” because it not only addresses immediate and long-term monetary issues, but allows the board to continue to own the theater and stage productions there.
Worley said the board is not looking at any more offers.
Meanwhile, on June 21, the guild held a rally at the Columns Hotel, which was attended by subscribers, supporters and several prominent members of the New Orleans theater community, including actors Becky Allen, Heidi Junius and Vatican Lokey. At the rally, organizers displayed a petition they said had been signed by 1,650 people in the community opposed to the deal. In the audience was a prominent sign reading “LE PETIT FILET?” — a poke at the proposed restaurant-theater combo. District C Councilmember Kristin Gisleson Palmer, in whose district Le Petit stands, attended in what she said was “a listening capacity.”
At the rally, guild members complained they had called a meeting of the full board, in accordance with the theater’s bylaws, but nothing had been done. (Nowhere in the bylaws is a deadline for such a meeting to be held once requested; Worley told Gambit the board was waiting until July, when board member Bryan Batt returns from a trip to Australia.) Nor was the guild satisfied with City Council president and board member Jackie Clarkson’s assurance at a press conference two weeks ago that the board struck “the best deal possible.” (Clarkson is a licensed Realtor.) “What is this, a Ray Nagin deal?,” said Allen at the rally. “We don’t want ‘Dickie’s on the Square.’”
Le Petit’s next season of shows is set to begin in fall 2012.
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