The Iron Rail is moving to a new location in the very near future. We have closed the doors for good at the 503 Barracks location.
Tag Archives: New Orleans
2014 French Quarter Festival Poster by artist Varion Laurent
(February 5, 2014) – French Quarter Festivals, Inc. unveils two 2014 French Quarter Festival Posters by artists Varion Laurent and Simon Hardeveld. Each year, the festival’s Merchandise Committee selects paintings that portray the fun, festive atmosphere of French Quarter Festival that both locals and tourists will identify with. Consideration is given only to local artists. To keep the festival free and open to the public, French Quarter Festival relies heavily on merchandise and poster sales, sponsorships, and beverage sales to generate its operating budget. Visit http://www.fqfi.org/shop to purchase the limited edition 2014 French Quarter Festival posters and other official festival merchandise.
Varion Laurent
For the 2014 poster, artist Varion Laurent, a lifelong resident of New Orleans, pays homage to Grammy award-winning Dr. John, who returns this year to French Quarter Festival for the first time since 1987. In this striking painting, bold colors capture the energy of the French Quarter, a perfect backdrop for Dr. John’s charismatic persona.
In 1995, Varion graduated from St. Augustine High School. On a whim, his parents encouraged him to submit his portfolio to Xavier University’s Art Department, and it was here at Xavier where he was first formally trained as an artist. After Hurricane Katrina destroyed his entire body of artwork, it took Varion nearly two years to emotionally recover and return to art. Since his decision to dive back into painting, Varion has garnered a ground swell of support. He was commissioned by the St. Augustine High School Alumni Association to create a portrait of NBA player, coach Avery Johnson; commissioned by the Gentilly neighborhood association to produce the first three posters for the annual Gentilly Festival; commissioned as the official poster artist for the 2013 Old Algiers River Festival; and in 2010, was selected by French Quarter Festivals, Inc. as the artist to produce the poster for the 10th Anniversary Satchmo SummerFest.
Editions:
2,000 Artist-signed & numbered prints, $45
350 Artist Proofs & numbered prints, $65
Poster Size 20″ x 28″
Painting Size 36″ x 48″
Dreamie Weenies
Listen, I like poor boys and muffalettas. You’ll find me in line at Johnny’s and at Central Grocery often, patiently waiting behind visitors who are nervously practicing saying muffaletta or ordering it dressed without feeling foolish.
But every once in a while, you just want a quick American treat done in a New Orleans way. That’s when I head to North Rampart to get a hot dog at the place next door to Mary’s Hardware’s new location between Orleans and Saint Ann. The owners of Dreamie Weenies are cool guys who take the dog and its surrounding environment seriously. I almost always get a Genchili dog (which I think should be called a GentillyChili) with polish sausage and then only add mustard and ketchup (you get your choice of type of dog and added condiments) as needed. The Genchili comes with their own “creole mix” and homemade chili which add just enough spice and residual flavor to make you want to slow down after each bite to savor.
What works against these guys is that people think of the hot dog as the crappy thing you see in the roller at the gas station or the burnt thing to the side of the grill at your neighborhood bbq, but these are made as meals and should be treated that way. I ain’t no slip of a girl that gets filled up from a latte; I eat food like my Polish and Greek and Cajun peops did before me and even I cannot always finish my Genchili in one setting. So the 8 bucks spent there feeds tummies well, the lovely inside feeds the eye and ears (music is local and lively) and the caring and onsite owners with their homemade ingredients feed the New Orleans soul.
So don’t be a snob- go get a dog done right.
WAKING UP IN DREAMLAND~the new Little Queenie CD by Leigh “Little Queenie” Harris — Kickstarter
When I moved to the French Quarter as a teenager, I was instantly immersed in a music scene that represented the very best live music available in the U.S. Some of those names included (among many others) Germaine Bazzle, Irma Thomas, Dr. John, The Nevilles, The Meters, The Radiators, The Cold, James Booker and my favorite, Little Queenie and the Percolators. Little Queenie herself (Leigh Harris) remains the type of performer that gives it all and does it with enormous style. Her musicians are always the best at what they do and her respect for them and the songs themselves is so evident that you know you can relax and enjoy the show ‘cuz you are in good hands.
Since the levee breaks of 2005, Leigh has physically left her city of New Orleans to find some peace and stability in North Carolina, but her roots and her heart remain in New Orleans, as evinced by her new project seen below. I recommend that you kick some cash to our Leigh, for your own good in the long run. You’ll receive the new album, maybe an old one and some other goodies from our brilliant Little Queenie.
WAKING UP IN DREAMLAND~the new Little Queenie CD by Leigh “Little Queenie” Harris — Kickstarter.
Little Queenie and the Percolators (Circa 1980s)
The morning comes
Even in the gentrified French Quarter – so different from my first years here – I still think of this stanza from T.S. Eliot when I am in the Quarter in the morning:
French Quarter block by block 
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