New Orleans: A Bowl of Distinction

The Fortier Festival raises funds to continue the ongoing maintenance and beautification done by Bobby Wozniak for over 15 years.   Bob McGuire, David Armond, and Bobby Wozniak along with the many neighborhood volunteers and businesses made this third annual fund raiser a success.   The music in the film is by Walter “Wolfman” Washington and the Roadmasters who graciously agreed to play at the Fortier Fest.

 Party

March 29th

Fortier Park

Esplanade at Mystery Street

4  pm

This four minute film shows the great time had by all at the 4 mile post. The party sponsored by Swirl Wines included a DJ and lots of wonderful product from Swirl Wines which was all gone in short order.

Saturday March 22, 8:00am

Swirl Wines on Ponce de Leon Street is a proud sponsor of this year’s Crescent City Classic, and is asking for your help in making our neighborhood THE place to watch the CCC!

There will be great music by a local DJ, free Bellini’s, Rossini’sand iced tea for the spectators and the best water stop on the routefor the runners. And to make things even more fun, Swirl Wines ownerBeth Ribblett has been chosen as the official race starter who will readythe 15,000 runners and fire the gun to start the race!

We’ll be setting up on both sides of Esplanade by the Fortier Park and Canseco’s Marketfor the event starting around 8am with the front runners flying by around 8:45!

So come out and see some of the most elite runners in the world and show your support for one of the nation’s 25 top 10K races!

http://www.bestofneworleans.com/dispatch/current/blake.php 

New Orleans Know-It-All                                                        March 18, 2008

Hey Blake,

I have a bit of information about Olive Stallings. Can you tell me more?

Charlie London

Dear Charlie, I’ll tell the readers the information you have, then I will tell everyone a little more. Olive Andrews Stallings is known as the ‘Mother of Playgrounds in New Orleans.” In 1906, she established the first play center, the Poydras Playground, at her own expense and continued to maintain it for two years. When the Playgrounds Commission was established in 1911, she served as its first president ” a post she held until her death in 1940. When Stallings died, she left one-fourth of her estate ” $150,000 ” to the playgrounds system, which was soon to become the New Orleans Recreation Department. This remarkable woman was born in New Orleans on June 22, 1866. She was educated at the Holy Angels Academy and soon became active in various civic and philanthropic movements. Stallings was founder and first president of the New Orleans Outdoor Art and Improvement Association, which sponsored the tree-planting commission later known as the parkway commission. She is best known, however, for her work in promoting public playgrounds. It was in 1906 that Stallings attended the first recreational congress. Held in Pittsburgh, this first congress grew into the National Recreation Association. It was upon her return to New Orleans that she founded the first playground. Others were soon to follow: the Cleveland playground in 1909, the St. Roch Playground in 1910, and the Taylor Playground in 1911. That same year, Stallings was made president of the playground community service commission, a group created by the New Orleans City Council. For her efforts, Stallings was awarded The Times-Picayune Loving Cup in 1929. The Loving Cup is given out annually to a citizen who has rendered great service to the city the preceding year. She also received a loving cup from the New Orleans Progressive Civic Association in 1932. Stallings continued to work on behalf of the city’s children. By 1938, two years before her death, $1 million had already been spent on a total of 18 playgrounds and six swimming pools, and children visited the playgrounds more than a million times annually. Never seeming to tire, Stallings was a member of the first zoning board of New Orleans and founder of the first Girl Scouts organization in the city.   It’s hard to name an organization, civic or religious, to which Stallings did not contribute her time, talent and money. Stallings Playground at 1600 Gentilly Blvd. was built in 1938, and on Jan. 18, 2008, hundreds of people gathered to give the eponymous playground a new beginning. Folks from organizations such as the Faubourg St. John Neighborhood Association (FSJNA); KaBOOM, a national nonprofit devoted to creating a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America; the New Orleans Recreation Department and the New Orleans’ Hornets came out on a rainy, cold day to help. The FSJNA raised the $14,000 needed for a concrete pad for the new playground structure, and Whitney Bank contributed $25,000 for the rubber surfacing. Grants came from the Keep Louisiana Beautiful Foundation ($11,000), Home Depot ($3,000) and the Greater New Orleans Foundation ($1,000). The largest contribution came from NBA Cares, the National Basketball Association’s philanthropic division, which paid for most of the $100,000 project. If readers would like to see a short video of the restoration of Stallings Playground, you can go to www.katrinafilm.wordpress.com/2008/01/21/olive-stallings-playground-renewal-2/. I think you will be impressed with this group of volunteers who worked with FSJNA President Kathryn Parker and project supervisor Kenneth Briscoe to remake this old playground in just one day. Even better, take your children to the playground to see for yourself. I believe Olive Stallings would be very, very proud. Question for Blake? Email blresponse@gambitweekly.com or mail to 3923 Bienville St., 70119.

Scheduled to open in 2009, the New Orleans Food Cooperative’s mission is to provide healthy, affordable groceries while supporting local and regional food production.

http://nolafoodcoop.org

Alcee Fortier was the son of Florent Fortier, my wife’s (Kathy Fortier) 3x-great grandfather.  It makes them first cousins 4 times removed. Her dad left New Orleans in grade school, but we returned shortly after Katrina.  So, our children are the 11th consecutive generation of New Orleanians through their mom’s Fortier side.