Greek Fest 2011

There is no shortage of festivals in New Orleans: French Quarter Festival, New Orleans Seafood Festival, Oktoberfest, Treme Creole Gumbo Festival, Voodoo Fest, and of course, Mardi Gras. There is always something to celebrate in this city.  Last weekend, my boyfriend and I went to Bayou Boogaloo, a smaller, less expensive version of Jazzfest.  I would have posted a separate blog, some of the crafts were pretty neat.  I, however, not only forgot to bring my camera but I also came down with a slight case of heatstroke after about an hour at the festival.  Thus, my memories are a bit on the fuzzy side.

Not to worry, though. If you miss documenting one festival, chances are there is another one right around the corner.  Case in point: Greek Fest.

One of the primary draws of the festival is the food.  I tried the fried calamari, the 'feta fries' (basically fries topped with feta), and the baklava sundae.  My boyfriend had the Greek dinner plate complete with tiropita, spanakopita, pastitsio, meatballs, and a Greek salad with dolma (stuffed grape leaves).  My boyfriend's brother tried the souvlaki.

As far as the crafts are concerned, the selection was pretty small.  There are some good finds though; my boyfriend's sister picked out a lovely pair of earrings for me as a birthday gift. 

Jazzfest 2011

 

It's that time of year again: the end of school and finals, the start of summer vacation, and, for those based in New Orleans, Jazzfest. Although I have lived in this city for the last 6 years or so, this was only my second time attending the music festival.  Last year, my dad came down and we attended Jazzfest for the sole purpose of seeing Simon and Garfunkel reunite.  Therefore, we missed many of the lovely attractions: the crafts, the lesser known jazz groups, and the food. Oh the glorious food! So when he came to visit this year we went back to the festival with the intention of correcting these horrific oversights. 

 

 The crafts did not disappoint. I was fully expecting a handful of booths relegated to a dark, muddy corner of the festival grounds. But while crafts obviously weren't the primary focus of the event (the name, Jazzfest, kind of tips you off on that one), they were a pretty substantial component.

I particularly appreciated the Contemporary Craft booths. Several of the exhibits were intriguing, others were simply breathtaking. After this weekend my list of potential projects has gotten significantly longer.  I particularly want to attempt to recreate the 'steampunk birds' depicted above and the dragonflies shown below.