Running in Red
Not too long after White Linen Night, revelers paint the town red for the annual Red Dress Run, which draws red dress-clad droves for day drinking and little actual running through the French Quarter. Cowboy Mouth and Dash Rip Rock perform at this year’s installment of the New Orleans Hash House Harriers’ (NOH3) event on Aug. 10. NOH3 members have the option of participating in a Lingerie Run the night before and Hangover Run the day after (the website has details on becoming a member). Registration includes free beer, food and giveaways. Information, NolaRedDress.com
Films En Francais
For those feeling the ennui of a summer movie season rife with action movies and other brainless blockbusters, the New Orleans Film Society offers something a bit more refined in its annual French Film Festival, held Aug. 2-8. This year’s fest includes a mini retrospective of the early films of Jacques Demy, an obscure filmmaker whose The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (which will be shown in the retrospective) launched Catherine Deneuve. The festival screens two films from the The Weinstein Company that won’t be released until the fall – Haute Cuisine and Populaire – as well as Renoir, a biopic of the French impressionist painter. Information, NewOrleansFilmSociety.org
Swedish Pop
Sweden has a long history of producing irresistible pop music, from ABBA in the 1970s to Robyn more recently. The latest Swedes to resonate with American pop fans is Icona Pop, a pair of best friends who make music seemingly tailored for girls’ nights. Their pulsing break-up anthem “I Love It,” which was featured on the HBO series “Girls,” contains such defiant missives as “I threw your s--- into a bag and pushed it down the stairs / I crashed my car into a bridge / I don’t care / I love it.” K. Flay and Sirah open at the House of Blues on Aug. 20. Information, HouseOfBlues.com
Dog Days of Summer
City Bark’s Jackie Shreves, left, and Sue Guarisco
New Orleans’ first full-fledged dog park, NOLA City Bark, a veritable canine heaven located behind City Park’s Popp Foundation, hosts its 101 Donations fundraiser at the new Arbor Room across from the dog park on Aug. 24. The Mexican fiesta-themed event features live music, food, margaritas and more. Jackie Shreves, NOLA City Bark’s board vice president who’s chairing the event with Sue Guarisco, discusses the park.
How did you envision NOLA City Bark before opening it? Our goal was always to become the gold standard of dog parks … not just a fence in a grassy area. We wanted it to reflect New Orleans so that when people visited they would remember the dog park in New Orleans, and they do. As someone remarked to me, this is doggy nirvana. Our mission has always been to be a part of the larger dog community.
What will the fundraiser’s proceeds benefit? City Park receives no operating funds from the city or the state, so entities in the park need to be self-supporting. Our annual permit fee supports the day-to-day operations, but there isn’t enough left over to make improvements or large repairs.
There is a tremendous amount of wear and tear at the dog park because of the high usage. One of the biggest reasons that dog parks fail is lack of maintenance. We are determined that won’t happen at our park.
How did you get involved in NOLA City Bark? I’m on the board of the LA/SPCA as well as a City Park commissioner. Prior to Hurricane Katrina, the LA/SPCA was going to build an adoption center and a dog park in City Park. With the shelter and the park flooded, those plans were no longer possible. As the city began to rebuild, returning residents who had visited dog parks in other cities talked about why New Orleans did not have a dog park. I had also visited dog parks in New York where my daughter lives, so when an email circulated about the possibility of building one I answered it … that was in August 2007, and I’m still here. What’s great about the dog park is it allows me to work on behalf of my passions, animals and parks.
For more information about the park and 101 Donations, visit NolaCityBark.org.
Through Sept. 15. “Rashaad Newsome: King of Arms”; New Orleans Museum of Art. Information, noma.org
Aug. 3. Whitney White Linen Night; Warehouse/Arts District. Information, cacno.org
Aug. 1-4. Satchmo Summerfest; Old U.S. Mint. Information, fqfi.org
Aug. 1-4. New Orleans Antiques Forum; Historic New Orleans Collection. Information, hnoc.org
Aug. 1-4. Tulane Summer Lyric presents Kiss Me Kate; Tulane’s Dixon Hall. Information, SummerLyric.Tulane.edu
Aug. 7. Melvins 30th Anniversary Tour featuring Honky; One Eyed Jacks. Information, OneEyedJacks.net
Aug. 9 & 16. New Orleans Saints pre-season games. Information, NewOrleansSaints.com
Aug. 10. Dirty Linen Night; French Quarter. Information, ArtsCouncilOf-NewOrleans.org
Aug. 10. Bryan Adams in concert; Mahalia Jackson Theater. Information, MahaliaJacksonTheater.com
Aug. 16. Dr. John & the Nite Trippers and Gravy in concert; Tipitina’s. Information, Tipitinas.com
Aug. 17. New Orleans Daiquiri Festival; 527 Elysian Fields Ave. Information, NewOrleansDaiquiriFestival.com
Aug. 28-Sept. 2. Southern Decadence; downtown. Information, SouthernDecadence.net
Aug. 31. Krewe of OAK Mid-Summer Mardi Gras; Oak Street/Riverbend. Information, MapleLeafBar.com
