Saturday, my last full day in New Orleans!  Tom and I are preparing to set out for the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.  This time he WIMPS OUT!  This has nothing to do with rocket science.  Geez... it's like he has better things to do with his life than let me drag him all over the place.  Well, this is no great hardship for me.  I figure that without him, I'll be free to wiggle my way through the crowds and get closer to the performers!!!

So... here's how the day goes...

First stop, the information boards...

the maps...

...the schedules

After consulting the schedules, I started trekking through the crowd to the first stage I wanted to see.   I walked right into a "parade" of the "Comanche Hunters and Golden Blades Mardi Gras Indians"... 

Feast your eyes on THIS!!!

It had been a long time since I'd had to weave my way through a really large crowd, but fortunately, all my old Mardi Gras parade skills came back to me (like riding a bike, I guess) and I was able to see several great artists this day...   Marva Wright, Earl King, the Wild Magnolias, Beausoleil, Pete Fountain... 

But the biggest thrill I had was getting up close for the entire Allen Toussaint show!

One of the geniuses of New Orleans music since the 1950s, Toussaint wrote such classics as "Mother-In-Law," and "Lipstick Traces," and as a pianist and producer, helped to craft the New Orleans sound of the 1960s. The 1970s found Toussaint's skills in demand nationally, as he produced recordings and wrote arrangements for artists such as Robert Palmer, Little Feat, and Patti LaBelle, and composed tunes such as "Lady Marmalade" and "Southern Nights." He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

Now... what's wrong with this picture??

and this one, taken 15 minutes later???

Finally, I leave you with an existential image from the 1999 Jazz fest. 

No explanations now...

Just let the aesthetic moment wash over you!

  AT TOM'S PLACE      LUNCH WITH SISSI      LUNCH WITH ALTHEA

A DAY IN THE FRENCH QUARTER     DITTY DOES JAZZ FEST

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