Wednesday, August 16/Field near the Pan Am Stadium: Ladies, it is time to get rolling. On bikes. Join the ladies of New Orleans Cyclocross for skills practice on Wednesday nights. If you missed a week, fret not. They will be going over and recapping skills every week so you will not feel left behind. For this week (Week 2), you are looking at dismounts, remounts, carrying/shouldering. Bring your bike (cx or mtb are best, but a touring or road bike will work for practice if that’s whatcha got), water, and lights (in case). The bike fun begins at 6:00 PM and goes until 8:00 PM. For a full schedule of workshops, check out their event page here.
Thursday, August 17/New Orleans Lakefront Airport (6001 Stars and Stripes Blvd): If you flooded, saw photos of the flooding in the last weekends, or are just worried about flooding then you will want to head to the lakefront airport on Thursday. Senator JP Morrell is convening a town hall meeting for agencies to brief the public on state hurricane preparedness and the status of local flood control structures. The meeting will begin at 5:30 PM and go until 7:30 PM. For more details about this meeting, you can check out the event page here.
Thursday, August 17/Dogfish Reading Series (2448 N. Villere): Dogfish will be hosting two performers before moving into their open mic on Thursday night. First up is Daiquiri Jones, a local artist who will be combining live music and spoken word to create a distinct storytelling performance. Daiquiri attended NOCCA’s Creative Writing program where he was introduced to magical realist and surreal techniques, which he will be bringing your way on Thursday night. A Scribe Called Quess? is a poet, educator, actor, playwright, and activist. He is a 2-time national slam poetry championship title winner and founding member of Team SNO (Slam New Orleans), New Orleans’ three-time national championship title winning slam poetry team. The performances begin at 7:00 PM. It is free, open to the public and you can find out full details about this event and future Dogfish readings here.
Saturday, August 19/First Presbyterian Church New Orleans (5401 S. Claiborne Ave): If you are not in the mood to hear about pumps, flooding, and hurricanes, but you are interested in the state of our New Orleans political system, then come out to hear mayoral candidates share their vision for the future of New Orleans: the young people! The forum will focus on issues that are important to youth today, including criminal justice reform, education, and quality transportation. Council member LaToya Cantrell, Judge Michael Bagneris, Troy Henry,Hashim Walters, Ed Bruski for Mayor, Matt Hill, BYRON COLE for Mayor and Brandon Dorrington have confirmed their participation in the forum. The event begins at 10:00 AM and goes until 1:00 PM. For full details, check out their event page here.
Saturday, August 19/More Fun Comics (8200 Oak Street): Say it with us…Midsummer Mardi Gras. We are halfway there, which means it is time to have a celebration. Chewbacchus joins up with the Krewe of OAK for its annual Mid-Summer Mardi Gras parade. The meet-up will be happening at More Fun Comics where you can pick up wristbands and hang out, until the parade rolls with the Krewe at 7:30 PM. The Browncoat Brass will provide music and there will be Bar2D2 for libations. It’s not Mardi Gras yet, but it’s getting close ya’ll. For full details and directions for the parade, check out their event page here.
Big Chem-EZ: How can small Louisiana communities access clean drinking water after a hurricane?
When I went to visit the Pointe-au-Chien tribe after Hurricane Ida with my Service Learning class, I heard that one of the biggest challenges in the aftermath of the hurricane was finding enough drinking water, so in this article, I explore water purification methods: 1) when they are necessary, 2) how they work, and 3) if they really make your water safe to drink.
Big Chem-EZ: Why is southeastern Louisiana heavily impacted by storms?
This article explores the positive and negative impacts of the engineering industry on Louisiana, including how it is impacted by storms. The author also suggests a call to action to support Louisiana coastal restoration. Big Chem-EZ discusses how finding the best course of action can be challenging, and introduces various proposed solutions to wetland loss and environmental impacts on Louisiana industries.
