Prospect.1 is over. Thankfully I managed to see a few exhibits, but not nearly as many as I would have liked. I had a friend visiting from LA and a friend of hers had sent her passes and a map. Kinda of strange since it's free but I think things like that may have made the numbers seem low. I never bothered to go "check in" and get counted. We had a map but it was hard to follow, I think they were really pushing for people to take the shuttle.


The big ark was all it was touted to be. There was something pleasing about it's simplicity. It's on the corner of Caffin and N. Miro in the Lower 9th Ward. I wonder how long it will stay?



This was a neat building, an old hardware store that still had a bunch of old stuff around. The artists kept the items and arranged them. These two pictures are the lower floor. The building space was neat - the "art" was slices from a concrete slab, flipped around so you could see the underside where the cement flowed to fill the voids. It was interesting but didn't hold my attention all that long.

The upstairs was really cool. An artist painted swamp mural in all the rooms.





Here you can see some of the items from the hardware store I mentioned. Here the artist arranged some on the mantle.

The date on this calendar is February 1924! 85 years old.

The spot for an exhibit is marked on the map but it isn't labeled as to what exhibit it is. The above I'm not sure where this was, maybe the Tekrema Center for the arts. One other site we visited, but didn't take photos, is the 19 center for the arts, a lovely little gallery in a shotgun double. One side was photographs, the other had a collage on the walls, like stuff being blown around in the wind. Both exhibits were worth the stop.

The plants can freeze. Too cold to go outside. Not too cold the clean the house and blog!

When my friend Dorie can to visit earlier this month, I took her on the disaster tour and we ended in the Lower 9th Ward. Brad Pitt's Pink Project houses were still up. I think the coolest part for me was the observation deck. Nice idea Brad. (click to see my photos) Dorie was sort of a wreck after the tour and the pink houses were a nice diversion. Dinner at Ignatius with beers served "camp street style" were the perfect remedy to lift our spirits after the tour.

My last tour was last year around Jazz Fest. It's mind blowing how many houses have been torn down. That's the current sign of progress here. Everyday it seems I'm driving down a street and there's an empty lot where once a house stood.

JazzFest starts this Friday! One of my favorite things about New Orleans. I am a little miffed that ticket prices went up again and the big name jazz artist are absent this year, I guess it's to make room for more big name pop/rock and even country stars. But all the local greats are represented, except for Aaron Neville who still has not come back since Katrina. Next week I'll be taking a friend from out of town on the tour of destruction and will probably have pictures to show. I'm trying to remember that last time I drove the tour... Was it really last July when these pictures were taken? I also want to try and find Fats Domino's house. You may remember he had to rescued by helicopter when his 9th ward house flooded after the federal levees broke. And speaking of levees, Levees.org is a local group formed to investigate the levee failures after Katrina. Now that the Corps of Engineers have claimed responsibility, and has said levees in 28 other states are also compromised, the organization is expanding their scope nation-wide. And to debunk another Katrina myth, a recent study shows that most of New Orleans IS above sea level.

But now for a really important news flash...New Orleans is back to 100% the number of restaurants Pre-Katrina! This doesn't include fast food or chains. Food is such a part of the local culture. And one of the local icons, Camellia Grill, finally reopened this week with people waiting in line to get in. Food critic Tom Fitzmorris writes about this and have been tracking restaurants as they reopen after the storm. The growing Latin American population inspired the T-P to feature restaurants that sell Central and South American cuisine, including the post-Katrina taco trucks, in this Spring's Dining Guide.

Which brings me back full circle to JazzFest... not only amazing music, also incredible food and art. To me it's heaven on earth.