We’ve got your weekend: Tis the season to be insanely busy

“Flawless” by Michael Alford, which will be on exhibit at The Second Story Gallery starting Saturday, December 9. (Photo: Michael Alford)

Friday, December 7/Heritage Park (1701 Bayou Lane):  It’s time to tour the tiny. In this world of “go bigger,” we in Louisiana are thinking smaller. Tiny houses, vintage campers, tear drops, school bus conversions, gypsy wagons and other styles of tiny structures will be available to view and tour on Friday. You can see, imagine, and even somewhat experience what it would be like to live in a space that is not often described as “spacious.” Tickets will cost you $15 (in advance), which gets you a tour of the tiny houses and interactions with tiny house celebrities and nationally- recognized leaders from the tiny house community. Friday is free admission for school groups from 9:00 AM-12:00 PM and free for everyone between 5:00 PM and 8:00 PM. Saturday and Sunday will feature live music, workshops, a Children’s Village with activities sponsored by Slidell Memorial Hospital and Ochsner Health System, a Holiday Art Market and more. 

Friday, December 7/Ashé Power House (1731 Baronne Street): Have you always wanted to quilt like a busy bee? Well, this quilting workshop that is coming to Ashe Power House goes deeper than that. The Quilts of Gee’s Bend are quilts created by a group of women and their ancestors who live or have lived in the isolated African-American hamlet of Gee’s Bend, Alabama along the Alabama River. The Quilts of Gee’s Bend are considered to be unique, and one of the most important African-American visual and cultural contributions to the history of art within the United States. All of this will not only be discussed, but there will also be a workshop so you can hone your own quilting skills this weekend. Registration for the workshop is $300, and covers the three full days and lunch (you can register here). In conjunction with the workshop there will be a local quilt exhibit, November 17 through December 9, curated by the Beecher Quilt Group, also at the Ashe Power House.

Friday, December 7/Old No. 77 Hotel (535 Tchoupitoulas Street): As the Tricentennial year starts to come to a close there are some great ways to look back, and one of them is with the 300 portraits for 300 years. Where Y’Art partnered with Nola Media Group, producers of Nola.com and The Times-Picayune to create portraits of 300 individuals that have shaped New Orleans over the past 300 years. The show features a selection of the original portraits, and a full digital gallery of the entire collection will also be on view. The show opens at 5:30 PM and goes until 8:00 PM. This will be the first time the collection will be shown to the public, so take the present moment to see who in the past has helped shape our future. 

Friday, December 7/Neutral Ground (5110 Danneel Street): We love when we find new local bands, and we have another one for you. Will and the Foxhounds will be playing a soulful, funky set at The Neutral Ground at 9:00 PM on Friday. That means it will also be an intimate concert, so you could be graced with not only eye contact but maybe even a smile from the fantastic singer Nicole Young. And did we mention there isn’t a cover? Cause there isn’t a cover. Great bands, caffeine, and no cover, that is how we like to roll. With that said, always tip musicians generously because they are one of the culture bearers of our city. For full details on the event, you can check them out here. 

Saturday, December 8/826 New Orleans Youth Writing Center (1750 St. Bernard Avenue): The grand opening of The Haunting Supply Company is here. No, this is not a post for Halloween but there is a holiday market this weekend that will benefit the youth writing program 826 New Orleans. There will be local crafts, treats, gifts, and more. For full information, you can check out their website here. At the same location you can also make holiday ornaments with Whole Village Art Therapy. Give an $8 donation and they will provide the knowledge and supplies to make your very own unique ornament. The 826 market begins at 12:00 PM, and the Whole Village Art Therapy ornament making is at from 1:00 PM until 5:00 PM. Double the fun in one place!

Saturday, December 8/ Girod Street: Some of the best events are the ones that don’t have an “exact” address. That is the case with the 15th annual Christmas Past Festival. This event will take place on Girod Street near Lake Pontchartrain in Old Mandeville and will feature more than 100 artists and craftsmen from across the Greater New Orleans area. This year’s festival theme “Christmas Past Classics” will give nod to classic holiday films including The Grinch, Santa Clause, A Christmas Carol, Elf and Polar Express. There will also be a Children’s Village, a food court, photos with Santa and other Christmas characters, and live music from Box Office Giants and The Messy Cookers Jazz Trio. Admission to the event is free, and it all starts at 10:00 AM (going until 3:00 PM). 

Saturday, December 8/Second Story Gallery (2372 St. Claude): We know that the holidays are all around us, but we also know that art is always around us, so there are gallery shows opening up all over the city in December. The Second Story Gallery is emphasizing local art and artists with their exhibit: “second line.” This exhibit includes  Michael Alford: Chronicles: Any Given Day in the Big Easy and Charles Lovell: New Orleans Second Line Legacy. The opening on Saturday begins at 6:00 PM and goes until 9:30 PM, as part of PhotoNOLA 2018, continuing through Jan. 5,
2019. The exhibit is free and open to the public. 

Sunday, December 9/New Orleans Jazz Museum (400 Esplanade Avenue): Clarinetist Evan Christopher will premiere his Faubourg Variations, A Chamber Music America “New Jazz Works” commission on Sunday at 2:00 PM. This Chamber Music America New Jazz Works commission will also feature David Torkanowsky (piano), Brian Seeger (guitar), Roland Guerin (bass), Herlin Riley (drums) and guest trumpeter Jon-Erik Kellso. Clarinet Road was one of nine grantees in the 2018 cycle and the first New Orleans-based recipient in the award’s history, which is funded through the generosity of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The Faubourg Variations will follow a simple hymn through the streets and diverse neighborhoods of a 300-year-old city whose cultural lifeblood has always been music and dance. Tickets are $21, and you can purchase them here.