March is arguably New Orleans’ best month. Lately it has also been the most picked on. Though there is stiff competition from February and April, March is the culturally richest month, especially toward the middle when St. Patrick’s and…
At first glance the French breakfast dish pain perdu doesn’t have much to recommend it, especially if you only speak English. The word “pain” is not what one would be looking for in a breakfast selection, and the English name…
March 19, 2020 and I craved a cannoli. Actually, I crave a cannoli anytime, but on this afternoon the desire was heightened because the day was the Feast of St. Joseph, patron saint of the Sicilians. There would be a…
Glen Pitre’s first film “Belizaire: the Cajun” (1986) starring Armand Assante was backed by Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute. Pitre would go on to have more successes, including “The Scoundrel’s Wife” (2002) starring Tatum O’Neal. Roger Ebert, the late film critic…
Last week, on Ash Wednesday, we had lunch at Venezia’s on North Carrollton Ave. I was fortunate to be seated in such a way that I could see through the front window across the restaurant. Somewhere between the fettucine…
Hardly anyone knows it, but the Louisiana-based Sazerac Company has become one of the top liquor brand distributors in the country. Plus, it operates the amazing new Sazerac House museum in New Orleans. Rhiannon Enlil, a historian for the museum,…
Errol and Rich discuss a few of the top moments in Carnival history - from the 1600s to COVID Carnival 2021. Stay tuned to the end for a new type of Carnival music.
There are some old traditions in Carnival. There are also some traditions thought to be ancient, but really are not. One of the latter is “Lundi Gras.” While the practice of Rex arriving by boat on the day before…
Lundi Gras 1999 had extra excitement to it, at least for those gathered at Riverwalk near the stage at Spanish Plaza where Rex, King of Carnival, and his entourage would soon be arriving. What was different that year was…
\Where a bridge crosses the Mississippi River, connecting St. Francisville on one side and New Roads on the other, is a little like crossing the English Channel. There is the French culture on the New Roads side and a touch…
Take a trip down the Pussyfooter's parade route with Laura Cayouette, actress and long-time member of the dance krewe. We'll dance our way through the importance of the female dance krewes, how they "party with a purpose" and some…
Krewe du Vieux has been making merry in New Orleans for many years. This year, they have adapted to COVID in typically tasteless fashion.
Sometimes hard times, such as this year’s Carnival, inspire positive genius. Making its way along the internet is a brilliant parody of “Masquerade,” the stirring song from “Phantom of the Opera.” The parody absorbs the melody; plays with the…
Besides sending many of its best overseas, Louisiana played important roles in World War II including ship manufacturing, training and housing German POWs. Dwight Eisenhower even spent times here overseeing maneuvers. Louisiana is still part of the World War II…
In this two-part episode, we discuss the history and current state of LGBTQ+ Mardi Gras in New Orleans. First, Roberts Batson and Errol Laborde discuss the founding of gay Carnival balls in the city and some of the struggles the…
From the woman who claims to be the first flasher for Mardi Gras beads to Pagan times and practices, this episode we discuss the risqué side of Carnival.
This weekend would have been the march of the Krewe du Vieux. The rowdy krewe’s theme brilliantly matched the world of COVID:“We’ve got no taste.” No group maximizes tasteless as much as KduV. For all of us who do…
For those who write regularly about Carnival, the quote to the right is both a source of beauty and frustration. The beauty comes from author Perry Young’s butterfly of winter metaphor and his skillful use of language (“tattered, scattered, fragments…
On the morning after Mardi Gras, the streets in the Quarter, particularly those closest to Canal Street, have a crunch to them. City workers with shovels and brooms are busy pushing the debris left from the day before into piles.…
Spoiler alert!! The answer to the above question is that they are both among this year’s class of Louisianians of the Year. The two – Zydeco buff Herman Fuselier and teacher Nathalie Roy – are part of the nine selected…
In episode 4, Rich and Errol interview Bo Dollis Jr. of The Wild Magnolias Mardi Gras Indians Tribe. We chat about the history of Mardi Gras Indians, the impact of The Wild Magnolias and Bo Dollis Sr. in music and…
*This article originally published as Laborde's editor's note in the January/February 2021 issue of Louisiana Life Magazine Let us pause a moment to consider midnight trains: Winston Hall is a Shreveport musician, song writer and music history buff.…
In this episode, Rich acts as "Mardi Gras Beyond The Beads" musical director, and with Errol explores the music behind the greatest free show on Earth.
So far this season, finding good news about Carnival has been about as easy as trying to catch a Zulu coconut in a crowd, but every so often circumstances take a fortunate bounce in our direction. Challenging situations sometimes…
In this episode, Errol Laborde and Rich Collins take a look at how the coronavirus has impacted Carnival in 2021 and what this means for the future of Carnival in New Orleans.
They’re not all Cajuns nor are there any admirals in the bunch, but they have certainly experienced battles on the water and on the land. Rob Gaudet, the founder of the Cajun Navy, joins Louisiana Life executive editor Errol Laborde…
It will be a different Carnival this year, not just in New Orleans but the world, as people are forced to wear different types of masks. Still, the traditions survive, if only in memory. Carnival expert Errol Laborde, with interviewer…
Joe Biden once spoke at UNO. I know because I was there. As I recall he spoke in the University Center's auditorium. The room was maybe half full, which was not bad considering that all that Biden was at…
Cajuns are often associated with seafood, especially the crawfish, but in the prairie areas of south Louisiana, Cajuns are pork eater. Dixie Poche, author of the book the “Cajun Pig,” joins Errol Laborde, executive editor of Louisiana Life magazine, along…
I suspect that this is going to be a good year for king cake sales, BUT there is also going to be a major crisis over the allocation of responsibility: In other words, who gets the baby now? To…
Errol Laborde holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of New Orleans. He also serves as executive editor of New Orleans Magazine and Louisiana Life magazine.
Errol is also a producer and a regular panelist on Informed Sources, a weekly news discussion program broadcast on public television station WYES-TV, Channel 12. Errol is a three-time winner of the Alex Waller Award, the highest award given in print journalism by the Press Club of New Orleans. He also received the National and City Regional Magazine Association Award for Best Column for his New Orleans Magazine column, beating out 76 city magazines across the country. In 2013, Errol received the award for the "Best News Affiliated Blog," awarded by the Press Club of New Orleans.
Errol’s most recent books are Krewe: The Early Carnival from Comus to Zulu and Marched the Day God: A History of the Rex Organization. In his free time he enjoys playing tennis and traveling with his wife, Peggy, to anywhere they can get away to, but some of his favorite spots are the Caribbean and historic locations around Louisiana. You can reach Errol at (504) 830-7235 or errol@myneworleans.com.
