Miss Ginger's JazzFest Report

Miss Ginger is home from the JazzFest, and has SOOO much catching up to do, since she was out of pocket with a broken computer! She missed blogging about the dearly departed Bea Arthur, and it seems like kind of old news at this point. Perhaps a tribute later.
JazzFest weekend was awesome! When Bubba John got into town we downed a coupla dozen chargrilled oysters at Drago's, then headed to the casino for some gambling. After while (and some $$$) later, it was decided a trip into the Quarter would be in order, so we walked up Decatur to Molly's at the Market. Molly's is a great locals "dive" near the French Market, and believe it or not Miss Ginger stayed up till 4am quaffing brews and chatting with the locals! And, in the back bar at Molly's, Wu holds court, and holds the bar down pretty much 24/7, or so I'm told! That's a long shift for any bartender, so Mr. Wu has been known to catnap between customers!

We met a real sweet girl there named Heather, and enjoyed talking to her until the wee hours!

The next morning, we walked down to the Jackson Brewery to catch the shuttle to JazzFest.

Because the Fairgrounds is in the midst of a residential neighborhood, there's not much parking. I couldn't find a crowd estimate, but Miss Ginger guesses there were at least 100,000 people there!

Lots of people drag folding chairs and coolers with them and set up a sort of "camp" near their favorite stage (there were 10 this year!), but Bubba John and I just decided to wander. You can hear great music all over the fest, and wandering and people watching are as much fun as listening! So we wandered from beer stand to beer stand, drinking booze, watching the crowds, and just enjoying being together!

And then there's the food! And what food! You'd expect to find crawfish pie and gumbo, and there was plenty more cajun favorites. There's a town in the middle of Louisiana called Natchitoches (say NAK-a-tush) that happens to be where "Steel Magnolias" was filmed. But long before Shelby wooed Jackson, they were making little fried meat pies that made the little town famous! EVERYONE from Natchitoches will tell you their mommas/grandmas/aunts meat pies are the best, and they are probably all right! Miss Ginger scarfed down several, and decided to pass on the food at the next booth- it just didn't seem like it would hold up in the infernal New Orleans heat!

After those spicy meat pies Miss Ginger needed a tall drink of water!

After noshing, we decided we needed to sit for a while, and we found a tent with a brass band and a "second line".

If you've ever been to New Orleans, you know that Dixieland Jazz is the soundtrack of the city. You hear it in the airport when you step off the plane, on the car radio in the taxi cab, and on the hotel Muzak when you check in. It's what gives the city it's rhythm and soul, and New Orleans just wouldn't be New Orleans without it. Miss Ginger got a little bit teary eyed when the lead trumpeteer introduced his bandmates, and told how long each had been playing. 10, 15, 35, 70 years! The oldest of them, 86 years old, had been playing since he was 16!!

There were lots of tourists and locals "second lining", as the dance is now called, but none did it as well as The Lady Jetsetters Marching Club! These ladies are smooth!

So, who's up for planning a "SnapFest" at JazzFest next year? We'll get all the GingerSnaps together and REALLY show them how to second line!