Friends of the Cabildo Calendar of Events
Friends of the Cabildo Annual Symposium
6th Annual Friends of the Cabildo Symposium | December 6-7
Friday | 6 p.m. | Keynote Speaker John Barry and Welcome Reception | Cabildo
Saturday | 9:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. | Jones Walker Conference Room | 201 St. Charles Ave. | 52nd Floor | Tickets $60 FOC/LMF Members | $75 General Admission
The Mississippi River: A River of Commerce, Controversy and Control
The Mississippi River was formed over 4,000 years ago, but over the last 300 years the river has provided the New World and the United States with levels of commerce that rivals the Nile and the Amazon rivers. Despite it being the trading hub of over 10 states, that hasn’t kept the river from producing controversy and catastrophes. The river was born as a naturally flowing body of water and over the last 100 years that harnessing of the river has provided unprecedented levels of trade and destruction. The Friends of the Cabildo Symposium will investigate the river, specifically, the time periods of the 19th and 20th century and its impact on New Orleans and southern Louisiana. The talks will also look at the environmental impacts of the harnessing of the river in the early 20th century and where the river will be in the 21st century and beyond.
Keynote: John Barry | Author of Rising Tide | 6 p.m. | Cabildo
Full Day Symposium | Saturday | December 7th | 9:45 a.m.
9:00 a.m. | Registration
9:45 a.m. | TorbjörnTörnqvist | Tulane University |The Lower Mississippi River: Past, Present, and Future
11:00 a.m. | Dr. Craig Colten | LSU | The Social History of Mud in the Muddy Mississippi River
12:00 p.m. | Lunch on Your Own
1:00 p.m. | John Magill | Formerly HNOC | The Vieux Carre and its Mississippi River
2:00 p.m. | River Pilots Panel Discussion
3:00 p.m. | Aron Chang | Blue House/Civic Studio | Six Drawings for the 21st Century
FOC Concert Series 2019-2020
Tickets: $20 Members | $25 General Admission (Landreth Concert is $25/$35) All Concerts at 7pm | Doors 6:30 p.m. | 150 total seats each show
New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old U.S. Mint | 400 Esplanade Avenue
Guaranteed Front Row Tickets ($200) | All Shows Package $100 Members, $135 GA
Performance Schedule
November 22 | Tommy McClain & CC Adcock Swamp Pop Songbook
December 19 | 101st Prof. Longhair Birthday Concert w/John “Papa” Gros
January 31 | The Iguanas
March 27 | Sonny Landreth ($25/$35 Tickets)
April 17 | Cedric Watson
Located at the New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old U.S. Mint’s 3rd Floor Performance Space, the 150-person venue hosts some of the most intimate concerts in the City of New Orleans and with some of the best musicians around. For the 2019-2020 season, the Friends will host concerts featuring Rock, Jazz, Folk, Blues and Zydeco. Tickets are always limited for these shows so don’t miss out on these exciting concerts as these musicians are recorded for the Louisiana State Museum Archives.
FOC Film Series 2019-2020
Tickets: $10 Members | $15 General Admission (5:30 p.m. & 7 p.m. Showings) Limited 100 Seats/Screening
New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old U.S. Mint | 400 Esplanade Avenue
7 p.m. showing has 20-30 minute interview after screening | All Screening Package | $50
Film Schedule
January 21 | Big Charity: Death of America’s Oldest Hospital
March 17 | Buck Jumping
April 22 | 1970 Jazz Fest Films
The 2019-2020 Friends of the Cabildo Film Series highlights the rich cultural history of New Orleans and southern Louisiana. Topics include Second Lines, Jazz Fest, James Booker, Leroy Jones, Preservation Hall and tragedies such as Charity Hospital. The six-film series has a 5:30 and 7 p.m. every screening and always has an educational talk after the 7 p.m. Tickets are limited so purchase today.
Creole Christmas Home Tour
Tickets: $20 Members | $25 General Admission
December 27-29 | 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. | 1850 House Museum Store (523 St. Ann Street)
Day of the Tour Tickets (504) 524-9118 | Final Tickets Sold at 3 p.m.
Take a festive stroll through the French Quarter with Friends of the Cabildo and visit five historic houses dressed in Creole Christmas decorations, followed by the Creole Christmas story and refreshments. Self-guided tours begin at the 1850 House Museum Store.
Neighborhood & Cultural Tours
Tours must be purchased ahead of time. Tours that do not have pre-purchased tickets, may be canceled. Day of tickets can be purchased below for the tour.
Lafayette Square & Warehouse District Tour
Saturday (9AM): November 9th
Tickets: $20 Members | $25 General Admission | 2.5-Hour Tour
Departure Point: Lafayette Square (Henry Clay Statute, Gallier Hall is across the street at 545 St. Charles)
Walking along the busy concrete sidewalks of the Central Business District today, it is difficult to imagine that the streets now shaded by skyscrapers were originally part of Belair, the plantation of city founder Bienville—part of his 1719 land grant which stretched to the present-day Jefferson Parish line. The Friends of the Cabildo Lafayette Square & Warehouse District walking tour reveals the history behind the present day commercial district, from the plantation beginnings through the explosive American growth during the peak years from 1830–1860, to the present day. Marvel at historic buildings on Lafayette Square, St. Charles Avenue, Julia Street, Lee Circle, and more! This tour provides a historic backdrop for a new appreciation of the American Sector.
Garden District Tour
Saturdays (9:30 AM): November 9th, 23rd
Tickets: $20 Members | $25 General Admission
Departure Point: 1452 Jackson Ave. (riverside corner at Prytania St.)
Most residents and visitors alike know of the Garden District as a stunning neighborhood full of Greek Revival and Italianate architecture, bounded by Jackson, St. Charles, and Louisiana avenues, and Magazine Street. But do you know who established the Garden District? What part did the NO & Carrollton Railroad play? Why do we always hear tour guides reference “Lafayette” and “Livaudais?” Discover the answers to those questions and more when exploring the Garden District with the Friends of the Cabildo. As we unveil the Garden District’s incredible architecture, and the influence of culture, climate, political events, and famous figures on the area, you will see these grand residences as more than just beautiful houses; they are the enduring statements of mid-nineteenth century Americans in New Orleans.
Battle of New Orleans Tour
Saturdays (11AM): November 9th
Tickets: $20 Members | $25 General Admission | 2.5 Hour Tour
Departure Point: 1850 House Museum Store (523 St. Ann Street)
The Battle of New Orleans was a defining event in America’s national identity. The Friends of the Caildo Battle of New Orleans tour offers a fascinating look at the battle away from the battlefield, from lost locations of forts that protected the city, to Jackson’s headquarters, to events in the French Quarter related to the unfolding battle. First developed for the Bicentennial of the Battle of New Orleans, the tour continues to draw historians, locals, and guests for a unique perspective on this turning point in American history.
Irish Channel Tour
Saturdays (10AM): November 16th, January 18 (2020)
Tickets: $20 Members | $25 General Admission
Departure Point: Sophie B. Wright Park (Intersection of Magazine & St. Andrews Street)
Most New Orleanians have enjoyed a sloppy roast beef poboy at a legendary Irish bar off Magazine Street, or caught cabbages, potatoes and carrots at the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. But not everyone has stopped to consider the history of the immigrant populations who lived and worked near the docks along the Mississippi River, their culture and traditions forming the foundation of the area we now know as the Irish Channel. The Friends of the Cabildo’s Irish Channel Tour explores this diverse home of working class immigrants, natives and free people of color. From famous churches to Irish bars, unique architecture, famous historic figures and notable festivals, the Irish Channel Tour reveals the many facets of this neighborhood beloved by locals and visitors alike.
Esplanade Ridge Tour
Saturday: November 16th (10 a.m. Tours)
Tickets: $20 Members | $25 General Admission
Departure Point: Pagoda Cafe (1403 N. Dorgenois St.)
Discover the Creole splendor of Esplanade Ridge! This is a unique tour of geographic history and architectural highlights. Esplanade Avenue was designed in the French style of grand boulevards as a garden suburb for the wealthy Creoles escaping the “old city”. It was extended block by block from Fort St. Charles at the Mississippi River to modern day City Park despite objections from Bayou Road landowners whose houses were often in the way. Esplanade grew to intersect colonial and pre-colonial Native American pathways that are still present in the tangled street grids of today. Come enjoy these beautiful tree-lined streets and learn about a neighborhood that broke the mold for the development of the city and now serves as one of the most celebrated areas of the city.
Treme Cultural Tour
Tuesday: November 12th, Saturday: November 30th | 10 a.m.
Tickets: $20 Members | $25 General Admission | 2.5-Hour Tour
Departure Point: Treme Coffeehouse (1501 St. Philip Street)
This walking tour of Treme provides a rich, detailed perspective on one of the city’s oldest and most storied neighborhoods. Originally known as “back of town,” the old Creole feel of Treme makes it easy to imagine the early 1800s multicultural community formed by immigrants, free people of color, and refugees from Saint-Domingue. An important center of the city’s African-American and Creole culture, Treme is the cherished home of fourth and fifth generation residents who strive to maintain the area’s cultural and social traditions. We will trace the origin and development of Treme through the amazing nineteenth century architecture (including Creole cottages, townhouses, and shotgun houses), geography, and urban influences dating from the subdivision of this land by Claude Treme in the 1790s to the present day.
Creole Neighborhoods (Marigny) Tour
Monday: November 11th | 10 a.m.
Tickets: $20 Members | $25 General Admission | 2.5-Hour Tour
Departure Point: New Orleans Jazz Museum (Esplanade Avenue Entrance Gates)
Faubourg Marigny was one of the City’s earliest suburbs, located immediately downriver from the Vieux Carré on land subdivided from the plantation of Bernard Marigny de Mandeville, one of New Orleans most colorful historical figures. Today, the Marigny is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a city-designated historic district, due to its preservation of Creole cottages and many ornamented shotgun dwellings.
Initially, Esplanade Avenue was designated by the French as a commons. In later years, both the French and Spanish built fortifications there. After the Louisiana Purchase, grand townhouses and mansions were built on this European style boulevard.
Second Thursday Lecture Series
New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old U.S. Mint, 400 Esplanade Ave.
November 14 (6PM): – Dr. Laura Kelley “Indigenous Challenges to Iberian Claims: Native Sovereignty in Spanish Louisiana”
Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, contact 504.523.3939.
Yoga at the Cabildo
Designed for all levels of practice, for travelers and residents alike, Yoga at the Cabildo is set in a light-filled gallery of one of the city’s most beautiful and historic buildings. Due to exhibit construction at the Cabildo all classes will be at the Presbytere (751 Chartres Street). The building opposite side of the cathedral from the Cabildo.
Tuesday, Thursdays, Saturdays
8:30am to 9:30am at the Presbytere
$15 Donation (includes admission to Cabildo Museum) $10 FOC/LMF members
Mats are provided
