Festing Up • So, you finally lost that five pounds you gained eating your way through Mardi Gras, St. Patrick’s Day and St. Joseph’s Day. Say goodbye to all that, because the month of April brings festivals for which overeating is considered the norm. No, it won’t matter how much you dance because you’ll end up sampling something from every food booth. Trust us.
• April 21-23. French Quarter Festival, New Orleans, 522-5730
• April 26-30. Festival International de Louisiane, Lafayette, (337) 232-8086
• April 28-May 7. New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, New Orleans, Information, 522-4786; Tickets: 522-5555
And some lagniappe:
• April 22-23. Angola Prison Rodeo, Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, (225) 655-2030
• April 24-30. Zurich Classic of New Orleans golf tournament, English Turn, 342-3000
• April 28. Zoo-To-Do for Kids, Audubon Zoo, 861-6160
• May 5. Chase Zoo-To-Do, Audubon Zoo, 861-6160
Setting the Pace
The 29th annual Crescent City Classic puts its best foot forward April 15, when runners and walkers from around the world compete in this 10K race. Guest starter is Bill Rogers, four-time winner of the Boston Marathon and the New York City Marathon. Runners set off at 8:30 a.m. from Jackson Square, and the race winds its way through the city, ending in Tad Gormley Stadium in City Park, where beer, food and a band presented by the House of Blues await. Information,www.CCC10K.com.
In Focus
In the early 1950s, photographer Jack Robinson chronicled New Orleans’ artistic community in vivid black-and-white photographs. The Newcomb Art Gallery will bring this lost era to the present day through the exhibit “Capturing Southern Bohemia: Jack Robinson’s New Orleans Photographs,” April 6-May 28. Robinson’s photographs center around the now-shuttered Dixie’s Bar of Music, considered one of the first gay bars in the city, and New Orleans artists and writers. Newcomb Art Gallery, Newcomb College campus, 865-5328.
A New Direction
From the time of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 until 1810, the population of New Orleans doubled, in large part due to an influx of immigrants from St. Domingue (Haiti). A mixture of white, free blacks and slaves, these newcomers brought new traditions with them, which affected the city’s cultural identity. “Common Routes: St. Domingue-Louisiana,” on exhibit until June 30 at the Historic New Orleans Collection (533 Royal St.), explores this Diaspora through 150 objects lent by private lenders and institutions from around the world. Spanish “tropical” armor, a book of poetry published by an African American, Native American artifacts, architectural plans, and images and documents illustrate the story of the St. Domingue immigrants and their descendents. The Historic New Orleans Collection, 533 Royal St., 598-7171, www.hnoc.org.