Memorial Day weekend in New Orleans

I decided to try out my friend Brent's church yesterday, St, Charles Avenue Presbyterian. It dates to the 1930s, not super old, but it has a really nice Austin pipe organ and lots of beautiful stained glass. I found a seat, and a few minutes later, actor John Goodman sat down in the pew in front of me. He lives nearby, but must not be a regular because the other parishoners seemed surprised and "delighted" by his arrival. Rumor has it he attends AA meetings near where I'm living on Magazine Street.

An "equal opportunity worshiper", I stopped in at Trinity Episcopal in the evening for a lively, patriotic concert by the New Orleans Navy Band. They played Sousa marches, patriotic songs, and an Armed Forces Medley of the various military service branch songs (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines...) They asked the verterans in the audience to stand when their branch's song was played. Chokes me up every year... men and women from age 20 to 90 stood and then sat, and everyone clapped. To close out the concert, the full brass section of the band played a raucous version of  "St. Louis Blues March" as a New Orleans crowd pleaser. EXcellent! The church hosts a free, public concert every Sunday at 5PM featuring a variety of music and instruments including accordians, sax, piano, ragtime, blues, jazz and classical and more.
 

After the concert, I was invited to the "young adults" barbecue on the lawn. (No, I wasn't the oldest one there.) I met a lot of friendly locals, including a girl who grew up in my home town, Chattanooga, and another who recently moved here from Raleigh. The guys were fun too. Professions included an accountant, a preservationist, a nurse, a public defender, a seminary student and more. Well rounded, articulate, beer-drinking crowd. They meet 2-3 times a month for drinks, golf, cookouts, etc. The coolers were brimming with local beers, and I tried my first Tin Roof, brewed in Baton Rouge...


All in all, it was a great Memorial Day weekend in New Orleans!