News + Notes

The 2021 Virtual Crescent City ClassicAs much as New Orleans runners hoped the 2021 Crescent City Classic would once again be an in-person event, the organizers decided the safest option would be to host a virtual event from April 1-5. 

Participants can complete 6.2 miles of their choosing. It can be outdoors or on a treadmill in their own homes. Suggested courses include a route along the Kenner Lakefront, a Lakeview jaunt down Canal Boulevard to Lake Pontchartrain and West End, a Westbank levee loop, a Tammany Trace course, and courses in City Park and Audubon Park. Runners will need to submit their times through the Race Joy app. They will be able to see their results alongside other competitors online.

All entrants will receive a commemorative bib, T-shirt, and a medal. Runners can celebrate after completing the event with a Buy One/Get One Free coupon from Raising Cane’s.

The organizers have emphasized that they do not want people forming running groups to run any of the courses, shifting the event to virtual in order to discourage large crowds gathering together. 

For more information on registration, visit ccc10k.com.


 

TRY THIS

Baldwin & Co.

For New Orleanians who like browsing for and buying books in person instead of online, visit the new bookstore Baldwin & Co. at 1030 Elysian Fields Ave. Books of all genres, including regional titles, will be available, as will a selection of coffee, tea, and fresh pastries. BaldwinAndCoBooks.com.

Development of Drugs and Vaccines: Lessons from World War II

The National World War II Museum is hosting an online zoom seminar titled “Development of Drugs and Vaccines: Lessons from World War II” on March 11 from noon-1. It’s suitable for all ages and will discuss how scientific advances in WWII led to penicillin treatments and flu vaccines. NationalWW2Museum.org

 


 

Blank Book

“The House Uptown”

Ava, a 14-year-old grieving her mother’s death, travels to New Orleans to stay with her grandmother, Lane, a fixture in the local arts scene. Lane and Ava are mostly strangers to each other at first, and the girl’s arrival unsettles Lane. Ava’s strong resemblance to her mother forces Lane to face painful, difficult memories from her past and how she failed her daughter.

Bestselling author Jonathan Lethem praised “The House Uptown” with “Melissa Ginsburg’s page-turner is a devastatingly simple trap: characters so beguiling you settle in for a charming coming-of-age fable before realizing the spring is snapping shut on an inexorable and satisfying calamity. The theme is the-past-isn’t-dead-it-isn’t-even-past, but painted not with Faulkner’s heavy hand so much as with the crisp ingenuity of Ross Macdonald.” 

“The House Uptown” will be available at local bookstores on March 16.


LISTEN TO THIS

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Soundtrack

New Orleans’ own Branford Marsalis composed the score to the Netflix film “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Director George C. Wolfe said of Marsalis’ work, “Branford’s arrangements capture not only the cultural and regional DNA in Ma Rainey’s songs, but the wit and rage embedded in every note, shout, and moan.”


Joe W. Brown Park

March and April are two great months to be outside in New Orleans. For those who live in the eastern half of the city or for those elsewhere who want to make a day trip, check out Joe W. Brown Park at 5601 Read Blvd. in eastern New Orleans.

There is a walking path and play areas for the kids. There are some COVID-19 restrictions, but you can still play tennis, swim or do water aerobics in the indoor pool, go canoeing or fishing, and try your hand at archery with a reservation. Visit nordc.org/calendar to make reservations. Dogs are welcome, but must be kept on a leash at all times. Monday-Friday hours are 7 a.m. – 9 p.m. Weekend hours are 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.

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