Highway 61 Revisited*

The week flew by quickly, and all of the sudden it was 4th of July. It was weird to think that I had reached my half-way point in the summer. I remember sitting down with Marc our first week of work and saying, "After 4th of July, we'll start wrapping things up and leave Ashe something to work for next summer." After Allie convinced us that the 2 day stay in Mississippi would be worth the 5-hour drive, Marc, Tim, Liz, Leah and I decided we would go to the Robertson mid-summer get together after all. But before we could head off to the land of cornfields, we had a lot of work to get done back in New Orleans.

Marc and I worked with the Ashe website during the week, meeting with board member Lloyd Dennis and communications exec Viola Johnson. We handed in our work, and Lloyd (also webmaster) was very excited with it. The website is updated so check it out!
On Friday we somehow managed to get relieved of our shifts at Essence Festival (it's not as cool as it sounds. We would have had to run a booth at the entrance for ours, sans music). Instead, Tim, Nick, Marc and I had a 4th of July adventure and took a scenic drive down St. Bernard Hwy. We made stops at a Blackcat Fireworks stand, St. Bernard State Park, Family Dollar Store, the Battle of New Orleans, and someone's private home. We got a cooler and packed up lunch and way too much snacks and celebrated America's birthday (we said, "America!" about a million times). Our first stop was the site of the Battle of New Orleans. The site looks a little artificial but it was the perfect place to visit on America's Independence Day--a pointless battle fought only because of pride. We climbed Jackson's memorial and trespassed and walked around a dock. We waved at the Natchez steam boat and headed to our next stop. We then stopped by the Family Dollar stoor, where we bought Mondo and waterguns. We drove around and saw a sign for Fireworks, and drove to the Blackcat Fireworks stand where we spent $50. We lit all of them at a random lot next to a cop. We then ate lunch at St. Bernard State park (which is filled with bunnies!!) and then tried to go swimming in the pool, but it was already closed. We bought more fireworks and then headed home, all of us in desperate need of a shower. We were a little late to drive over to the French Quarter (it was closed off by the time we got home), so we watched the fireworks from our porch. We went to sleep early because we had a very busy day ahead of us.

I woke up at 4:45am Saturday morning. Marc and I had to go in to Ashe and help set up for the annual MAAFA. This celebration is in memory of all of the victims that died from the Slave Trade. It starts at 6am at Congo Square followed by a joyful march to the Mississippi River. Here we threw carnations into the River in memory of the victims and people's ancestors. The celebration was beautiful and eye-opening. We stopped by a hotel that used to be a nation's top slave exchange, and it gave me chills. The celebration finished off with a spoken word and songs by Maquela from Mother Tongue and Zion Trinity. We walked back to Congo Square and headed to the OC Haley Summer Festival. We bought a huge bbq burger before heading back home to pack and shower. We headed out to Mississippi by 2:30pm.





*yeah, Bob Dylan!

From Mississippi & Atlanta to Tipitina's & Jambalaya

This post is a little late but much has happened since the weekend of July 27th so here it goes:
The Mississippi kids plus Lex and Alex (Atlanta) came over to New Orleans for a pre-Mississippi Robbie Reunion. Allie and Robyn and both Dans arrived Thursday night. They explored the city Friday while we worked until 4pm. Friday night was one of my favorite nights this entire summer. Some of us went to Preservation Hall while others (like me) were a little too late and missed the show. We met up at Liz's house and then cabbed it to Tipitina's. We fit 8 people in one cab (kudos to the cab driver). Tipitina's is a really cool music venue on the corner of Napoleon and Tchoupitoulas (try pronouncing that). Tipitina's mission is to restore Louisiana's music community and preserve the state's unique musical cultures. Saturday night featured funk music by Johnny Vidacovich Birthday with Robert Walter and other special guest (check out video at end of post!). The place was filled with people our age (which rarely happens) and everyone was just jammin' out. We met up with the rest of the Mississippi kids and we pretty much took over the middle of the dance floor. That night was the first time I had people since spring semester, so it was a good reunion.

Saturday we woke up early to pay Liz a visit and buy groceries for our Jambalaya Night at the Farmer's Market. I tasted the best milk in the world at the Farmer's Market, and Liz took us around all of the stands and introduced us to her friends (like the milkman and the flowerman). Dan and Allie bought avocado popsicles and Ken bought a huge watermelon for $3! All of the food is locally grown. After the Farmer's Market we went back home to drop everything off. David and Tim saw a sign that read, "All-City Tug-o-War" so we decided it'd be worth checking out. We walked to the Camp Street park and saw about 15 people hanging out by a keg...so we left. It probably picked up and was a lot of fun but we had cooking to do. We drove over to the French Quarter and saw the Ashe Drum Circle at the House of Blues. I told mama Carol (Carol Bebelle, Ashe Director) that I would bring friends to the performance, but she didn't realize I would bring 20 people. The Drum Cirlce was amazing--you can't help but to dance around on your chair to the beat. The Drum Circle was lead by Baba Lutha (Luther Gray, Ashe Exec.) and Ashe co-workers, as well as kids as young as 6 years-old from the community. The best part is that everyone contributes to the music, even the kid who knocked out his teeth with the drumstick (he was my favorite). Ken, Lex and I got up and danced on stage with the drummers and the dancers. We liked it so much that we've decided to join the Drum Circle at Duke and UNC in the fall. That night we hosted a "Jambalaya Night" at our house. David, Tim and I chopped up the

vegetables and had everything ready to cook when people starting coming in at 6:30pm. David (aka chef DJ Darkness) was the main chef, and he cooked enough jambalaya for 22 people. We all sat around our living room, on chairs, pillows and the floor. We also sliced up the watermelon from the Farmer's Market and baked some garlic bread. We had a lot of fun and it was nice to have everyone from New Orleans together in one house plus Robbies from Mississippi and Atlanta. That night some of us went out to Frenchmen while others stayed back.

Sunday we woke up early again and headed to Commander's Palace. This famous restaurant offers live jazz music along with some of the best food in New Orleans. We went for the Sunday Brunch and the food was amazing. They served creme brulee on a regular dish with the New Orleans symbol as decoration. During our brunch, Chris managed to knock over his plate and glass so all of the waiters rushed over ("This wouldn't happen to me in Mc Donald's). We headed back home to catch the Euro Cup final (woo Spain!) and everyone started packing. Most people left by 5pm. Overall, it was one of my favorite weekends. On Sunday I was convinced to visit them in Mississippi the next weekend.