Southern Breeze 2007 Holiday Issue

Stroll through the festive French Quarter (opposite, top), join the carolers in Jackson Square (opposite, bottom), take a Christmas carriage ride (left), marvel at the vintage decor of Houmas House Plantation (right), and be mesmerized by the millions of lights of Celebration in the Oaks at City Park (below)! What can’t you do in New Orleans for the holidays? OPPOSITE PAGE: CAROLERS IMAGE COURTESY OF NEW ORLEANS ONLINE/TOBY ARMSTRONG. THIS PAGE: HOUMAS HOUSE IMAGES COURTESY OF HOUMAS HOUSE. with vintage decorations including owner Kevin Kelly’s antique doll and toy collection. The door and front windows are draped with garland made from fresh magnolia branches and the spiraling staircase, a favorite of Hollywood producers, is entwined with period puppets, fir garland, and ribbons. While most cities shut down on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, New Orleans fires it up with bonfires on the Mississippi River levee along Audubon Park to light the way for Papa Noel. Cruise down the Mississippi on the steamboat Natchez for a Christmas Eve buffet and jazz trio or catch the “blues queen of New Orleans” herself, Marva Wright, at her big show at Tipitina’s Uptown on Napoleon Street on Christmas Day. The New Orleans Saints, loved by fans across the Gulf Coast, will have three home games during December while the Hornets buzz back with a full season in the New Orleans Arena. The Fairgrounds celebrates its 136th season running from Thanksgiving to March. The Bayou Classic kicks things off on November 24 followed by the New Orleans Bowl December 21, both in the Superdome. And the most sacred of all college football traditions, The Sugar Bowl, takes place there on New Years Day. So this year my Christmas list will have the usual white Christmas with some new sporting requests: LSU back home for the BCS Championship and the Saints march all the way to the Super Bowl in Glendale, Arizona. What’s that, “When hell freezes over?” Well it did snow on Christmas Day in New Orleans, so anything’s possible! Deb begins every Christmas season on her birthday in mid-November playing Aaron Neville’s “Soulful Christmas.” plan your n’awlins festivities DECORATIONS: Celebration in the Oaks: Two million lights and figures grace City Park’s ancient oak grove with a driving and walking tour plus miniature train rides. www.celebrationintheoaks.com, 504-483-9415 Houmas House Plantation, www.houmashouse.com, 225-473-9380 PRC Holiday Home Tour, www.prcno.org/utilities/calendar/1009, 504-636-3059 EVENTS: Gray Line Tours to Audubon levee bonfires, Celebration in the Oaks, and Houmas House Plantation, www.graylineneworleans.com, 800-535-7786 For more holiday information, visit: www.fqfi.com www.neworleansonline.com www.offbeat.com CUISINE: World-renowned New Orleans chefs share their favorite recipes in free cooking demonstrations at Canal Place, 504-522-5730. Reveillon—special holiday four-course dinner menus at a discounted price. List of participating restaurants and menus at www.fqfi.com. Holiday 2007 39 http://www.celebrationintheoaks.com http://www.houmashouse.com http://www.prcno.org/utilities/calendar/1009, http://www.graylineneworleans.com http://www.fqfi.com http://www.neworleansonline.com http://www.offbeat.com http://www.fqfi.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Southern Breeze 2007 Holiday Issue

Editor's Letter Contributor Gumbo Words & Notes Coastal Calendar Storefronts Sweet Dreams Art of Living Fixtures Our Backyard Make Yourself at Home Beach Bam! A Big Easy Christmas Upwardly Mobile Can't Drive Old Dixie Down Rock On! The Play's the Thing Cheers Dish Chef's Table Let's Eat Reader Services Last Bite

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