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“For Today:” A Conversation With Poet Carolyn Hembree
The award-winning poet talks about her new book, a vivid and evocative collection that explores the power of memory and the complex web of family ties.
– by Skye Jackson
Mardi Gras Day 2024: Lower Quarter style
Personally, our favorite Mardi Gras perspective takes place in the lower French Quarter and Marigny neighborhoods, the location of our journal’s office. on Mardi Gras day, the entire lower Quarter becomes a wildly spinning kaleidoscope of color and good cheer. The better and more inventive the costume, the higher one’s status for the day.
- photos by Ellis Anderson
Dames de Perlage: Dame Fine Second Line 2024
On Lundi Gras, FQJ went behind the scenes in a historic French Quarter hideaway to hang with dozens of Dames getting ready for their annual day-long jaunt through the neighborhood.
- photos by Ellis Anderson
Andrew LaMar Hopkins: Mobile, New Orleans – and now, Savannah
A painter who has won national acclaim for his work that evolved in New Orleans moves to another legendary Southern city - but for how long is anyone’s guess.
-by Bogdan Mynka
Carl Mack’s Mardi Gras Museum of Costumes and Culture
A xylophone player who visited New Orleans 40 years ago has become the impresario of Carnival costuming and founder of the Mardi Gras Museum – now in a new spacious location on North Rampart Street.
– by Dean Shapiro
Mystic Krewe of Barkus Parade 2024
Barkus met Barbie this year with a “Pawsitively Pink” theme for the 2024 parade, which rambled through the French Quarter on what turned out to be absolutely the Best Day.
- photos by Andrew Simoneaux
Krewe of Cork Parade 2024
Demonstrating exceptional stamina, the Krewe of Cork celebrates the world of wine, starting with a three-hour wine luncheon, then spreading all that good cheer through the streets of the French Quarter.
- photos by Ellis Anderson
Ser Maurye Aycock: Krewe of Cork's First Lady Lieutenant
King Patrick Van Hoorebeek's bacchanalian Krewe of Cork rolls into 2024 granting knighthood to their first female lieutenant in the organization's history.
-By Kim Ranjbar
Krewe du Vieux Parade 2024
Krewe du Vieux’s creativity elevates satire to a no-holds-barred art form – which is why their annual parade is one of the city’s most popular Mardi Gras traditions.
- photos by Scott Saltzman
Bohème Parade 2024
Bohème is a relative newcomer to the Mardi Gras parade scene, but this year - only their fifth time marching – the absinthe-minded krewe danced its way into the “Don’t Miss” category of Carnival festivities.
- photos by Melanie Cole
Meeting in the Middle: A New Literary Event on the Mississippi Coast
The Mississippi coast plays host to authors from across the state and from nearby New Orleans, as the HOMEGROWN Writers’ Exchange creates a new literary nexus.
Chewbacchus Parade 2024
Although the theme of this year’s Chewbacchus parade was “Nothing to See Here,” our album with 80+ photographs proves differently.
- photos by Ellis Anderson
The Vieux Carre Courier: Guarding the Gates of the Neighborhood
In the early 1970s, a fearless editor for a feisty French Quarter newspaper defends the historic neighborhood, taking inspiration from past preservation battles - both won and lost.
– by Bethany Ewald Bultman
The Vibrant Life and Designs of San Nicholas
The unpublished memoir of San Nicholas reveals the tortured childhood he overcame to become a renowned Carnival costume designer.
– by Frank Perez
Joan of Arc Parade 2024
The Joan of Arc Project celebrates Joan’s January 6th birthday each year with a medieval procession marching merrily through the French Quarter. This year was the krewe’s own birthday - its Sweet Sixteenth. Happily, Joan’s birthday also coincides with Twelfth Night, the official beginning of the Mardi Gras season.
- photos by Ellis Anderson
Armstrong Park’s Unexpected Attraction: The Antique Rose Garden
This park adjacent to the French Quarter is home to the legendary Congo Square and statues of New Orleans’ jazz greats, but a rarely noticed antique rose garden provides an unexpected delight.
– by Ellis Anderson
Bridging Artistry and Advocacy: Julia Holt, Esquire
A lifelong musician, this New Orleans native turned her performance career toward advocacy in the arts by specializing in entertainment law.
– by Kim Ranjbar
Patio Planters Holiday Home Tour 2023
The venerable Patio Planters garden club uses proceeds from this annual home tour to help fund the beloved Jackson Square caroling event. This year, seven French Quarter houses, dating back to 1818, decked their halls to welcome visitors.
– photos by Melanie Cole
A Labor of Love: Caroling in Jackson Square
A mid-century gardening club’s seasonal gathering has become one of New Orleans’ favorite holiday traditions, now hosting thousands of carolers each year.
– by Dean M. Shapiro
Spring Fiesta Holiday Home Tour 2023
Five fabulous French Quarter and Marigny homes welcomed visitors on December 2nd as part of the annual Spring Fiesta Holiday Home and Patio tour.
- photos by Ellis Anderson