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It's Fruitcake Weather
Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory possesses the power to make even contemporary readers summon up their own most-cherished holiday recollections.
-by Rheta Grimsley Johnson
Harry's on Sunny Chartres Street
A bright December afternoon, a nail-biting match-up, and a tile on the barroom floor is marking more than a mere memory.
-by Layth Sihan
-photos by Ellis Anderson
The Music Woman on the Steamboat Natchez
Few get to meet the woman who plays the most unusual - and loudest - instrument in New Orleans. French Quarter Journal goes behind the scenes and up top of the Natchez to watch Debbie Fagnano in action.
- story by Rheta Grimsley Johnson
- photos by Ellis Anderson
Going to Pots in New Orleans
Floyd McLamb: a sharecropper's child from North Carolina turned high-powered French Quarter businessman reflects on the "high cotton" days in the neighborhood.
-by Andrew Cominelli
She Had a Song to Sing
Beloved by her "Dawlin' New Orleans," Leigh Harris was renowned for both her powerhouse talent and her life affirming spirit.
- by Dar Wolnik
- photos by Kerry Maloney, Tom Redfield and the estate of Leigh Harris
Cosimo's Champions
Catching the Saints' game at a classic neighborhood bar in the French Quarter with new friends, mystery shots and a dog named Sweet Potato.
- by Layth Sihan
- photos by Reda Wigle
Something About Gina Forsyth
With a wicked sense of humor, stellar instrumental skills and a voice that stirs listeners, this singer-songwriter hits all the heart notes.
- by Rheta Grimsley Johnson
Up From the Ashes: Rebuilding the Cabildo
Fire is the mortal enemy of the city's oldest neighborhood, but in the case of the 1988 Cabildo inferno, dedicated preservationists prevailed in the end.
- by Michael Warner
The Bay St. Louis Booker
​On November 8, 1983 - 36 years ago this week - legendary New Orleans pianist James Booker passed on. While his legacy grows even stronger in the city, recent interviews with Bay St. Louis family members give details about Booker's early life on the Mississippi coast - and explain why "the Bay" became one of his touchstones.
- by Edward Gibson
Craig Tracy's Body of Work
The French Quarter artist ushered body painting into the realm of fine art while maintaining his artistic freedom, but there's more to come.
- by Grace Wilson
This Time They Won
The brainchild of performance artist Dread Scott, a two-day reenactment of the 1811 slave rebellion culminates in a march through the French Quarter - and a contemporary victory in Armstrong Park.
- by Rheta Grimsley Johnson
- photos by Ellis Anderson
Café Cour: A Taste For History
Café Cour offers courtyard dining and a creative menu that draws from Louisiana's rich culinary history, delighting locals and visitors alike.
-by Reda Wigle
Voodoofest on Rue Dumaine and the Spirited Woman Behind It
On Halloween in the Quarter, the original VOODOOFEST celebrates its 21st year with drumming, dancing and a ceremony to honor the Ancestors. Meet the Voodoo Priestess who started it all.
- by Rheta Grimsley Johnson
- photos by Ellis Anderson and courtesy Brandi C. Kelley
Kerry Maloney's French Quarter
I wanted to show folks a very typical day in the quarter. Here's what I saw outside my door Monday, September 30.
– by Kerry Maloney
King Toffa IX Visits the Vieux Carré
West African monarch, His Majesty King Toffa IX, visits the French Quarter as part of a United States tour.
- by Ellis Anderson
Voodoofest on Rue Dumaine and the Spirited Woman Behind It
For more than two decades, the original VOODOOFEST in the Quarter celebrates Halloween with drumming, dancing and a ceremony to honor the Ancestors. Meet the Voodoo Priestess who started it all.
- by Rheta Grimsley Johnson
It's All Good for Hotel Al
After working 60 years at the French Quarter's famed Hotel Monteleone, Al Barras has become an institution - and the subject of an award-winning documentary.
- by Kirsten Reneau
- photos by Ellis Anderson and courtesy Full Armor Productions
Of the Libations and Love of Lady New Orleans
Meet our FQJ "Libations" columnist who believes that with the right amount of respect, humility and luck, Lady New Orleans will embrace a visitor as one of her own.
- by Adam Tusin
- photos by Kerry Maloney and Ellis Anderson
The 67th Annual Red Mass
The annual Red Mass was held Monday morning, October 7, at St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square, offering up prayers for those in the legal profession - judges, attorneys, law school professors and students.
According the the Louisiana State Bar Association, the tradition "is celebrated all over the world, including Rome, Paris and London. The practice dates back hundreds of years and typically serves as the opening of the judicial year."
- photography by Kerry Maloney
Alquimie New Orleans: More Studio Than Boutique
For 23 years, textile artist Kate Beck has shown her extraordinary clothing designs at Jazz Fest. Now she has a year-round showcase on Royal Street where she's conjuring up more luscious wearable art.
- by Grace Wilson
- photos by Ellis Anderson