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When the Courtroom Cheered: A Mid-Century Miscarriage of Justice
New Orleans’ acceptance of the LGBT+ community has radically changed since 1958 – as illustrated by the tragic murder of Fernando Rios.
– by Frank Perez
A Gay Couple’s Notable Influence on the French Quarter
Rip and Marsha Naquin-Delain – founders of Ambush Magazine – both died in 2017, yet the annual Southern Decadence celebration proves their legacy is very much alive.
-By Frank Perez
The First Mermaid Parade
On September 2nd, Krewe Du Fool – which puts on the annual April Fools parade – branched out this year with a new Mermaid-themed parade along the Mississippi.
- photos by Ellis Anderson
Satchmo Summerfest 2023
A favorite part of the annual Satchmo Summerfest is the Jazz Mass at St. Augustine Church in the Tremé, followed by a second-line parade through the Tremé and Quarter to the New Orleans Jazz Museum which hosts the festival.
- photos by Melanie Cole
On the Origin of Jackson Square Artists: “They were a Rowdy Bunch”
A move to establish a French Quarter Bohemian colony in 1920 eventually led to the Jackson Square fence becoming one of the world’s most beloved art galleries.
– by Michael Warner
Secret Garden Tour of the Vieux Carré 2023
On May 27 , five French Quarter home owners opened the gates to their lush and lovely hidden courtyards as part of Patio Planters annual Secret Gardens tour.
-photos by Melanie Cole and Ellis Anderson
Ferris LeBlanc and the Up Stairs Lounge Fire 50 Years Later
Fifty years after the most horrific and deadliest fire in New Orleans history, the family of victim Ferris LeBlanc is still seeking answers.
—by Frank Perez
Everything Under the Sun: The Quorum Club
A haven for free-thinkers in the mid-60s, the Esplanade Avenue coffee house broke racial barriers of the day – and paid a price.
— By Mary Rickard
St. Joseph Day’s Parade 2023
The annual St. Joseph’s parade marched a convoluted path through the French Quarter on Saturday evening, a long trail of floats, marching clubs and gentlemen in tuxedos offering paper flowers, plastic roses and commemorative garters – for a kiss.
- photos by Ellis Anderson
Poet on the Levee: Walt Whitman’s New Orleans
In this new book, amble through 1850s New Orleans with an itinerant journalist who would become one of the country’s most beloved poets.
— John S. Sledge
What’s in a Name? Bulbancha and Mobilian Jargon
Louisiana’s tri-millennial Native history and culture is reflected in this name, part of a common indigenous language used for trading throughout the lower Mississippi region.
— by Frank Perez
The 2020 Up Stairs Lounge Fire Memorial Service
On the 47th anniversary of an arson fire that killed 32 LGBT+ people in the French Quarter, the weather reflected the mood of the mourners.
– photography by Andrew Simoneaux
"Lafitte the Pirate" Turns 90
In 1930, French Quarter resident Lyle Saxon cooked up a savory gumbo of fact and fiction that's become a New Orleans classic.
- by John Sledge
Dixie's, Yuga and Gay Carnival
Dixie's, Yuga and Gay Carnival: The first gay Mardi Gras pioneers powered through many challenges - including a police raid on the fifth annual Krewe of Yuga ball, where nearly 100 men were arrested.
- by Frank Perez
Faulkner House Books: The Next Chapter – A Conversation with Joe DeSalvo
Faulkner House Books: The Next Chapter – A Conversation with Joe DeSalvo: The carefully considered passing of the torch at this legendary French Quarter bookstore insures the literary light will continue to burn.
- by Scott Naugle
- photos by Ellis Anderson
Queer Eye For Preservation
Meet a few of the far-sighted men who blocked the wrecking ball's path through the Quarter in the early 1900s.
- by Frank Perez