Another reason to love my neighborhood: This Saturday Laurel Street Music will present two free concerts. Herlin Riley & Erica Falls perform from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m., followed by Trumpet Mafia from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. Both concerts will be on the porch at 6072 Laurel St. (right next to Patois restaurant, just blocks from Audubon Park). Though the concerts are free, attendees are encouraged to bring either cash for the tip jar or to tip the musicians via an app. Details will be available at the concert. Come with chairs, ice chests, snacks, children and friendly pets.
Garden torn up by Hurricane Ida? On Saturday at 9 a.m., The New Orleans Botanical Garden in City Park is resuming its Weekly Plant Sales at Pelican Greenhouse. The sale will run until 1 p.m. A wide variety of plants including annuals, perennials, roses, gingers, edibles, succulents, and native plants will be available for sale. Many of the available sale plants are propagated from cuttings, seeds and divisions of plants growing in the Botanical Garden.
Guests are encouraged to bring a wagon and arrive early for best selection. Masks covering the mouth and nose are required per a directive of the City of New Orleans for entry into Pelican Greenhouse. Capacity is limited to 30 people at a time. All plant sales support the operations of the Botanical Garden.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about my neighbors Kat McCann & Ann Faraldo and their generous efforts to raise funds for ARNO (Animal Rescue New Orleans), a no-kill animal shelter. In addition to the original menu of scrumptious goodies that Kat and Ann continue to offer, they recently launched a new Halloween-oriented baking campaign on ARNO’s behalf featuring “Halloweenie cakes and cupcakes.”
“With the Pandemic, more parents are choosing to have a Halloween party, instead of Trick or Treating,” Kat said. “Many parents have asked if we can make cakes or cupcakes for their kid’s parties. We heard you, and we are now taking orders for our Halloweenie cakes and cupcakes.”
Cakes are $20, and cupcakes are $15 per dozen. All proceeds will benefit ARNO, an organization dear to Kat because each of her four black cats was adopted through the organization. There are four different 7-inch round cake designs: Jack-o’-lantern, Mummy, Monster, and Ghost. Cupcakes are offered in Halloween Orange, or Freaky Green, with a chocolate candy on top.
Cake flavors are Chocolate or Yellow cake, but Kat and Ann will take special requests.
Have a great weekend, everyone. Things are coming back to life (again) so get out and enjoy it while you can.
