Unwrapping holiday stress
GETTY IMAGES
The holidayseason and all itstrappings may upend pets’ routines,and that causes stress. Fido andFluffymay feel it,just like youdo. Here’s howto help.
With just days to go until Christmas, holiday stress is piling up. The trafficisterrifible, the clockisticking on last-minute gifts, and it can behard to juggle theeveryday obligations of work and family with theadded demands of the season. All this holiday hustle andbustlecan affect the pets, too.
Traci Howerton
Our pets know when we areanxious,and this may cause themto become stressed
Dogs andcats are creatures of habit. Keepingtheir routinesas normal as possiblethis time of the year can help alleviate anxiety.
Touchy situations
Pets may become on edgewhenthe decorations go up and the house gets rearranged or filled with gifts. For thosewho travelfor the holidays, the suitcases beingpacked will signal that something outside of thenormal. The biggest cause of anxiety forpets during the holidays, however,iswhenthere is more activity in the home, especially havingmorevisitors than usual. Idon’tblame them. This makes me anxious, too!
To help reduce some of this holiday stress —at least for the pets —create asafe and quietspace for them to retreat to when visitors come over Stranger danger
Dogs can become anxiousand nervous with strangers in their homes. If apet is not used to kids and youhave guests withsmall children, a dog may become uncomfortable. (Cats usually know when it’stime to escapethe crowds and will depart toaquiet space on their own.)
Keeping the pets away from the partyalso lessens the opportunityfor the dog or cat to consume something that could be harmful. Guests may not have petsand, therefore, maynot know theunsafetable foods. The last thingwewant to do is take atrip to the emergency vetduring the holidays. This is also the season foranincreaseinthe number of lost pets. Doors are openingconstantly; people are coming in andout;and pets may try to escape. This can happen just because apet wanders out an opened door,orbecause they are stressed and in flight mode,causing them to want to get out of an uncomfortable situation. And, with all the activity and distractions, there may be adelay before we realize Fluffy is missing.
What to do
Taking the right precautions and keeping routinesasnormal as possible will help reduce pet stress thisholiday season.The rest of us areon our own!
One way to reducehuman holiday stress is to volunteer at an animal shelter andspend time with furry friends. Please consider giving afew hoursofyour time. Volunteers are hardtocome by right nowdue to travel, holidayfestivities,
Dec. 25 (it’sboth ChristmasDay and the beginning of Hanukkah) is just aweek away,and celebrations andspecial events arehappening at full speed.Get outand do something special nowifyou don’t want to be aScrooge. Amorefull list of holidayeventsis on Page 2G.
1. CELEBRATION IN THE OAKS: The holiday lights festival has driving and walkingtours through Jan. 3, starting weeknights at 6p.m and Fridayand Saturdaynights at 5p.m Dasher Passes allowthose on driving tours to skip the line,and combined rates for walking and driving tours are available. Driving toursstart at $7 for bikes and $20 for cars.Walkingtours startat$20. CelebrationInTheOaks.com
2. KENNERCHRISTMAS VILLAGE: Heritage Park will be lit forthe holidaynightlythrough Dec. 31, 5:30 p.m.to8:30 p.m.Visitors to the park, 2015 Fourth St. in Kenner, can viewthe festival displays and shop local vendors on weekends;children canplay in the sudsy “snow” that will blanket the
park.Aholiday-themed musical laserlight showplays in the Kenner Planetarium & Megadome Cinemaacross thestreet on Thursdays, Dec. 7, 14, 21 and 28 at 7p.m. www.visitjeffersonparish.com.
3. CATHEDRAL CONCERTS: French Quarter Festivals Inc. will host aseries of free holiday concerts at St. Louis Cathedral,615 Pere
Antoine AlleyinNew Orleans. On Dec. 18, Yusa &Mahmoud Chouki 6p.m. to 7p.m.; Dec. 22, the Cathedral Choir,5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. fqfi.org/holidays
4. CHRISTMAS IN LAFRENIERE PARK: The light displaycontinuesthrough Dec. 30 at the park, 3000 DownsBlvd. in Metairie. Displays include alighted60-foot sea serpent in the lagoon. Snow DayisDec. 14. Admission pervehicle is $10 in advance or $15 at the gate;credit and debit cards only Hours are SundaytoThursday, 5:30 p.m. to 9p.m.; Fridayand Saturday, 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. lafrenierepark.org
5. HANUKKAHCELEBRATION: The event will takeplace Dec. 19, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at the NewOrleans JewishCommunity Center, 5342 St.CharlesAve.Itwill feature The HebrewHammers, alocal brass/funk band playing.Free; reservations required throughEventbrite.www.nojcc.org.
STAFFPHOTOSBYDAVID GRUNFELD
PROVIDED PHOTO
Lilo is a2-year-old hound mix whoisdeaf. She’salso smartand playful, and picksup on signs quickly. She is great with other dogs and cats.For more info, email adopt@ animalrescueneworleans.org
PETS
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and college students goinghome forthe break Youcan make the holidays alittle brighter for ashelter animal, andthe shelter staff would love to have some help. ARNO hasvolunteeropportunities available 365days ayear,includingChristmas Day Wishing you and yours ajoyousand stress-free holidayseason!
Events DEC. 28: Petsmart’sHomefor theHolidays adoption event takes place fromnoon to 4p.m.at6851 VeteransBlvd., Metairie. Meet adoptable puppies and dogs from ARNO. All approved adopterswill receive acouponbook from Petsmart.For more info, email adopt@animalrescueneworleans.org.
Traci D. Howerton is the volunteer manager for Animal Rescue New Orleans (ARNO), anonprofit, volunteerbased, no-kill shelter.For more informationonARNO,visit www animalrescueneworleans.org.
COMMUNITYEVENTS
THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS: The family-friendly event and fundraiser benefiting the Greater New Orleans Therapeutic Riding Center will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. through Dec. 26 (except Christmas Day) at Destrehan Plantation,13034 River Road in Destrehan. Activities includegames, Christmascaroling and aquarter-mile walking tour through 5acres of oaktrees with light displays. Ticketsare $5, with children 4and under free. gnotrc org. COMMUNITY HANUKKAH CELEBRATION: The celebration will takeplace Dec. 19, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at theNew OrleansJewish CommunityCenter, 5342St. Charles Ave. in New Orleans. The event will featureThe Hebrew Hammers, alocal brass/funkband playing lively Hanukkah songs and more. Dining includes latkes, traditional sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts) andalight vegetariandinner. Free, but reservations arerequired through Eventbrite. www.nojcc.org.
JINGLE ON THE BOULEVARD PARADE: The event will start at noon Dec. 21 in New Orleans East. The parade will line up on Crowder Boulevard and Morrison Road, traveldown Crowder to Hayne Boulevard,to Read Boulevardand on to LakeForest Boulevard, disbanding at Lake Forest Plaza. www.jingleontheboulevard.com.
THEATER “IT’SAWONDERFUL LIFE Y’ALL”: Ricky Graham’s original takeonthe JimmyStewart classic holiday film is filled with New Orleans characters. It will run through Dec. 22at Rivertown Theaters for thePerformingArts, 325 Minor St. in Kenner. Eveningshows begin at 7:30 p.m.; matinees at 2p.m. Tickets start at $41. www.rivertowntheaters.com.
FOOD ANDDRINK
HOLIDAY HIGH TEA: LongueVue
House&Gardens will hostthe event Dec. 22,2-5 p.m., with tea, lightbites, cocktails, afashion show. Tickets start at $35. longuevue.com.
EVENTS
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6. NOLA CHRISTMASFEST: Tickets are on sale for the indoor Christmas festival, scheduled for Dec. 20-30 at theNew Orleans Ernest N. Morial ConventionCenter,900 Convention Center Blvd.The event includes live music, visits with Santa, an ice-skating rink, ice bocce, rides and more.Tickets startat$25. Hours most days are 3:30 p.m. to 9p.m. nolachristmasfest.
com.
7. CAROLING IN JACKSON SQUARE: Patio Planters of the Vieux Carre continuesthe 78-year-old tradition of community carol singing on Dec. 22, 7 p.m. to 8p.m., in JacksonSquare, 701Decatur St. in NewOrleans. Complimentarysongbooks and candles will be distributed. patioplanters.net.
8.CHRISTMAS EVE BONFIRES: Visitors to the leveebonfires along River Roadthat guide Papa Noël through
bayoucountryare encouraged to be in place by 6p.m.for the 7p.m. lighting The epicenter of bonfire building is St. James Parish, with the bulk of the bonfires in Gramercy,Lutcher and Paulina, but St. John the Baptist and Ascension parishes are also home to some of the structures. Local tour companies offer packages that include the bonfires. explorebonfirecountry. com.
9. HANUKKAH WONDERLAND: Goldring-Woldenberg Jewish Community Campus, 4141 W. Esplanade Ave. in Metairie, hosts a Chanukah event Dec. 22, 11 a.m.to 4p.m.The dayofactivities for kids and families will include aHanukkah VR experience, Hit Lit menorah challenge, dreidel bounce house, make-yourownmenorah, cookie-decorating, crafts and aChanukah theater.There will be food for sale and aHanukkah gift shop.Tickets are $10 per child. Jewishlouisiana.com/wonderland.
MOREFOR THEHOLIDAYS
CULTUREAND CONCERTS
CATHEDRAL CONCERTS: French Quarter Festivals, Inc. will host a seriesof free holiday concerts at St. Louis Cathedral, 615 Pere Antoine Alley in New Orleans. Yusa &Mahmoud Chouki willprovide global sounds from 6p.m. to 7p.m. Dec. 18. The St. Louis Cathedral Christmas Concert, featuring the Cathedral Choir, will befrom5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Dec. 22.The New Year’s Eveopen-airconcert near Jackson Squarefeaturing liveperformances by Tank and the Bangas, Bonerama and DJ RQ Away starts at 9p.m. Dec. 31. All concertsare free. fqfi.org/ holidays.
THE VICTORYBELLESRING IN THE SEASON: The National WWII Museum’s singing group, backed by the Victory Six band,will present holidayharmoniesintheir 2024 revue, running Dec. 11-23. Afternoon matineesat2 p.m. and evening performances at 7p.m.; luncheon performances 11:45 a.m. to 2p.m. All shows areatBB’s Stage Door Canteen, 945 Magazine St. in New Orleans. Tickets start at $22. www
nationalww2museum.org.
THE SKIVVIES: The musical duo performs their classic Christmas tunes, comedic mashups and nostalgic medleysintheir underwear in shows on Dec. 17-18, 7:30 p.m., at Le Petit ThéâtreDuVieux Carré, 616 St. Peter in New Orleans. Tickets start at $27. www.lepetittheatre.com.
“COME TO BETHLEHEM”: The Daughters of St. Paul Choir will present contemporary and traditional carols in aconcert on Dec. 18, 6:30-8:30 p.m., at Jesuit High School auditorium, 4133 Banks St. in New Orleans. Tickets are$35, free for children 12 and under. give.pauline. org.
CAROLING WITH CASME: Ogden Museum of SouthernArt will host the event featuring holidaycarols performed by Casmé; acash bar featuring aholidaycrafted cocktail, amini holidaymarket pop-up; holidayart crafts for kids and more Tickets are$15 adults, $7 children, free for museum members. ogdenmuseum.org. LPO HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR: The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra,
under the direction of conductor Matthew Kraemer, will present a concert of traditional tunes, holiday movie songs and asingalong on Dec. 19, 7:30-9:30 p.m at the Orpheum Theater, 129 Roosevelt Way in New Orleans. Tickets start at $13. lpomusic.com.
WINTERREISE: Lyrica Baroque’s concert featuring rarely heardLatin American works spanning morethan three centuries will be performed Dec. 19, 7p.m at Christ Church Cathedral, 2919 St Charles Ave. in New Orleans. Free; suggested donation is $25.lyricabaroque.com.
“THE NUTCRACKER”: Jefferson Ballet Theatre, along with guest artists from Ballet West, will perform the 1892 Tchaikovsky ballet on Dec. 21-22, 2p.m., at Jefferson Performing Arts Center, 6400 Airline Drivein Metairie. Tickets start at $25. www jpas.org.
CHRISTMAS CAROLING ON HANCOCK STREET: Young Audience Charter Schools students will lead the singing on Dec. 20, 6-8 p.m at the Hancock Street median at Stumpf BoulevardinGretna. Bring lawn chairs.
HOME FORTHE HOLIDAYS: The New Orleans Center for CreativeArts’ 20th anniversary concert will take place Dec. 21 at House of Blues New Orleans, 225 Decatur St. in New Orleans. The lineup features Irma Thomas, Rebirth Brass Band, Kermit Ruffins, John Boutte and more. Proceeds support the NOCCAFoundation’s Daniel Price Memorial Fund for Aspiring Artists. Tickets start at $79.50 via LiveNation. Patrons tickets start at $170, with gold- and silver-level patrons invited to a patron party,6:30-8 p.m.noccafoundation.org.
TOURS FRENCH QUARTER HOLIDAY HOME TOUR: Tickets areonsale for the self-guided tour of French Quarter homes decorated for the holidays which will run Dec. 22, noon-4 p.m. Tickets canbepurchased online or dayofatThe Cabildo, 701 Chartres St. in New Orleans. Tickets are$35.
patioplanters.net.
CREOLE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY HOME TOUR: Friends of the Cabildo will sponsor atour of historic Vieux Carreproperties adorned in traditional Creole Christmas finery befitting the time and style of each historic residence on Dec. 27-29, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Historic houses include Beauregard-Keyes House, Gallier House, Hermann-Grima House,1850 House, Historic New Orleans Collection and Spring Fiesta. Tickets start at $40 on Eventbrite. www.friendsofthecabildo.org. FAITH-BASED LIVING NATIVITY: St. Joseph Catholic Church, 610 Sixth St. in Gretna, will host aliving nativity on Dec. 22 at 6p.m. in front of the Christmas tree on Huey P. Long Avenue median at Sixth Street in Gretna. Bring lawn chairs. stjosephgretna.com. CHRISTMAS EVE CANDLELIGHT SERVICE: First Baptist Church New Orleans, 5290 Canal Blvd., will hold aevening of hymns, scripturereadings and Christmas messages on Dec. 24, 6p.m.
Roger Migliaccio, 6, ice skates with Elise Thompson during last year’sNOLA ChristmasFest at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in NewOrleans. The event runs this year from Dec.20toDec. 30.
PHOTO BY GRANT THERKILDSEN
The holiday season is filled with opportunities to buy things, but at the Jefferson Parish Library,there are two opportunities to hold onto your cash and make some old-fashioned swaps instead. First up, patrons who have acloset full of jigsaw puzzles they’ve already worked on have away to snag new puzzles at no cost. The solution is to exchange their puzzles at the East Bank Regional Library,4747 W. Napoleon Ave. Atable of used puzzles is located in the hallway by the study rooms. Staff members estimate that hundreds of puzzles have already been swapped out in afew months by patrons using the honor system.
Parish Library Simply loginwith your library card andstart learning aboutthe EBSCOhost program,which offers avariety of proprietaryfull-text databases and popular databases from leading information providers. Here are just afew of thefree EBSCO e-resources available.
Biographyreferences: EBSCO’s comprehensive collection of more than 450,000 fulltext biographies include the complete full-text runof Biography Today andBiography Magazine, as well as thousandsofnarrative biographies that arenot available in other databases.
like, as everyone walks at their own pace.
On Dec. 30, the last plant swap of the year occurs from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Terrytown Library 680 Heritage Ave. Patrons can bring cuttings or fullsized plants to trade with others. Indoor and outdoor plants are welcome.
NEW RESEARCH TOOL: Whatever you are researching, there’sadatabase for you, and you can find what you need through the Jefferson
AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOODS
COMMUNITYEVENTS
DECEMBER PRAYER WALK:
The morning of reflection connection,exercise and fellowship will be held Dec. 28, 9-10 a.m., at 1Collins Diboll Circle in NewOrleans.Free; reservations can be made through Eventbrite.
FUNDRAISERS/GALAS
SUSTAINABLE FASHION SHOW
&GALA: ricRACK will host the fundraiser on Dec. 19, 6-8:30 p.m., at Press Street Station, 600 Homer Plessy WayinNew Orleans. Proceeds support ricRACK’s outreach programs, dedicated to keepingtextilesout of landfills and promoting sustainable sewing practices. The fashion show willinclude designs from teens who sourced 100% of materials from ricRACK’s thrift shop The afterparty,atJAMNOLA, 2832 Royal St., will featureentertainment by localartists. Tickets, available through Eventbrite, start at $50. www ricracknola.com.
CONCERTFOR ASHEVILLE: New Orleans Jewish CommunityCenter, 5342 St. Charles Ave., will host abenefit on Dec. 21, 7p.m., for the Asheville musicians and community affected by Hurricane Helene.Liveperformances will be by Asheville’smusicians. Tickets start at $20through Eventbrite. www.nojcc.org.
CLASSES
PEOPLE PROGRAM NOLA: Registration is open for classes forseniors. The spring semesterrunsJan. 21-May15ontwo campuses, 2240 LakeshoreDriveinNew Orleans and 6201 Stratford Place in Algiers. Theclass fee is $200 for unlimited in-person course enrollment; the online-only class fee is $150. peopleprogram.org.
AARP SMARTDRIVER CLASS: Registrations arebeing accepted for the four-hour class to be presented Dec.18, 5-9 p.m., at the Ochsner/Elmwood Fitness Center in the Elmwood Shopping Center, 1200 S. Clearview Parkway in Harahan. This class is open to all drivers 50 and older. Completion will earn a certificate that mayqualify for acar insurance discount $20 for AARP members;$25 for nonmembers. Registerby calling (504) 828-3962, 10 a.m.4p.m. weekdays
WALKING TOUR GUIDE CLASS: Applications arebeing accepted for the 2025 Friends of the Cabildo Walking Tour Guide Class. Classes start March 10, 2025. Almost 100 hours of class time across one month provideanoverview of New Orleans history architectureand culture. The walking tour guide class is offered one time peryear at the Cabildo, 701Chartres St in New Orleans. friendsofthecabildo.org.
Business searching interface: This providesaneasy way to browse and search for country economic data, companyprofiles, industry information and market research in the EBSCO databases.
Consumer health: It offers convenient access toeasily understandable healthand medical information from EBSCO. Search andbrowse medicalencyclopedias, popularreference books, and magazinearticles.
Legalinformation: Findonline full-text from EBSCO for
manyofthe top consumer legal reference books. It contains more than 310 full-text publications and thousands of legal forms. Many of thefull-legal reference books are provided through Nolo, thenation’s oldest provider of legal information for consumers and small businesses.
Literaryreference: Find information from major respected reference words, books and literary journals, as well as original content from EBSCO Information Services.
WWII DISCUSSION GROUP:
Capt. Rick Jacobs will talk about theBattle of theBulge at 7p.m. Jan. 2 at the East BankRegional Library,4747 W. Napoleon Ave., Metairie. The Battle of theBulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Frontduring World WarII, and it took place from Dec. 16, 1944 to Jan. 25, 1945. It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region between Belgium
andLuxembourg.
SWAMP STROLL: Join the Wetland Walkers on Monday evenings at 5p.m., at the Lafitte Library,4917 City Park Drive. Those ages 12 and up walkthe 1.2-mile Wetland Trace, aboardwalk trail through acypress swamp located behind the library and neighboring Barataria Museum
Remember to wearcomfortable clothes and shoes and bring your own bug spray and water.This social exercise can be as intense or as laid back as you would
CLOUDLIBRARY: The Jefferson Parish Library now offers cloudLibrary to patrons. CloudLibrary is a platform that offers access to awide variety of digital content. Nearly 500 libraries in 20 countries rely on cloudLibrary to provide access to arich collection of digital content including millions of ebooks and audio books as wellastens of thousands of magazines, digital newspapers, digital comics, and streaming media services in morethan 50 languages. Libraries makethese collections available to their communities through cloudLibrary’smobile app, while aweb portal makes it easy forlibrary staffto manage their subscriptions. Patrons can check out 20 itemsper month for21 days.
HOLIDAY CLOSURE: All Jefferson Parish Libraries will be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday,Dec. 24 and 25, and Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, in recognition of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
ChrisSmith is manager of adultprogramming at the Jefferson Parish Public Library
SCHOOLS
St.Charles schoolsname district students of theyear
Staff report
St. Charles Parish Public Schools recentlynamed their three district winners in the Student of the Year competition at aceremony in theDr. Rodney R. Lafon
Performing Arts Center
The studentwinnersare Brynlee Perez of Norco Elementary School, Layla Perkins of J.B. Martin Middle School and Saniya Abbas of Destrehan High School. They will move on to competeinthe regional contest in 2025.
School-level winners for 2024-25 were Julia England,Ethel Schoeffner Elementary School; Benjamin White,Lakewood Elementary School; Eliana Halder, Luling Elementary School; Claire Bueche, R.J. Vial Elementary School; Lily Taylor,St. Rose ElementarySchool; Jessa Barnhill, Hahnville High School; Meredith Bordelon, Albert
PROVIDEDPHOTO
St. Charles Parish Public Schools’ district Students of the Year are, from left,Brynlee Perez, Layla Perkins and Saniya Abbas.
Cammon Middle School; Silas Pourciau, Harry Hurst Middle School; and Remy Zeringue, R.K. Smith Middle School.
Each student was recognized with aplaqueand the parish-level winners also received star awards. To be selected as astu-
dent of the year,astudent must earn acumulative 3.1 grade-pointaverage and be in grade 5, 8or12. All competitorsmust compile aportfolio,write a biographical sketchand be interviewed by aStudent Achievement Selection Committee.
PHOTO
Eco Cubs members, from left,sophomores Harper Foreman,Sidney Leaumont and Grace Oertling help organize the club’sbiannual aluminum can drive.
MountCarmelstudentshold twocommunity projects
Mount Carmel Academy students recently participated intwo major service projects. MCA homerooms, clubs, teams andorganizations recently filled 137 BoxesofJoy withtoys and giftsfor anationwide Christmas gift program sponsored by
Cross Catholic Outreach. The boxes will be sent to children in developing countries such as Guatemala, Malawi and the Dominican Republic. MCA’s Eco Cubs recycled 2,360 pounds of aluminum during their bi-annual candrive.
Staff report
Delgado Community College celebrated the grand openingofthe Gayleand TomBenson Athletic Complex with aribbon-cutting ceremony on Nov.13atthe City Park campus. Gayle Benson, Delgado Chancellor Larissa LittletonSteib, Athletics Director and head baseballcoach Joe Scheuermann joined community members, stateand city
elected officials and board members for the event.
The project was kicked off by a$1million donation from the Gayle and Tom Benson Charitable Foundation, as well as contributions from donors through the Tradition Campaign for Delgado Athletics.
The 6,000 square-foot athletic facility includes a locker room,amainevent space that doubles as astudy hall for all three sports; a
training room,developed in partnership withOchsner Andrews Sports Medicine, for Delgado’snearly 100 student-athletes; and an administrative suite. The first junior college program in the state, the Delgado athletics program has six appearances for baseball in the NJCAA Division IWorld Series(1985, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2023) and numerous conference and regional titles.
Delgado celebrates Gayle and TomBenson Athletic Complex
Delgado Chancellor Larissa LittletonSteib,left, with Gayle Benson at the ribboncutting ceremony.
PROVIDED PHOTOS
The Gayle and TomBenson AthleticComplex at Delgado Community Collegeofficially opened Nov. 13.
PROVIDED
Hands-on holidays
From making snow slime to light-up cards, thereare events forkidsofall ages
BY JANE LEGROS Contributing writer
Get in the holiday spirit at the New Orleans Public Library,whichishosting events for kids of all ages at locations across the city all month.
Winter craft: Teens are invited to flex their creative muscles with acozy wintercraft at Smith Library’sTeen Drop-In event onDec. 18. Stop by between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. to decorate ceramic mugs and make their own hot cocoa spoons for holiday gifts —orjust for fun. The library is at 6301 Canal Blvd.
Snow slime: Snow might not be in the forecast here anytime soon, but on Dec. 19, children craving wintery weather can get their fix by making snow slime at Norman Mayer Library from 4p.m. to 5p.m. This STEM-driven program is designedfor children between the ages of 6and 12. The library is at 3001 Gentilly Blvd. Circuits program: Also on Dec. 19, slimeadverse kids can learn about science, technology,and engineering at Mid-City Library’sPaper Circuits program. Stop by at 4140 Canal St. between 4and 5p.m. to learn how to use circuits to create an original light-up holiday card.
Solstice celebration: Children ages 6-12 and their families can celebrate the Winter Solstice at that Main Library,219 Loyola Ave., on Dec. 21 with author and artistIda Aronson. Attendees will learnavariety of storytelling mediums and have the opportunity to tell their own stories Drawing on their own artistic history of writing for graphic novels, visual art, theater-making, and storytelling, Aronson will share how storytelling plays into their own life and beyond.
The program will be followed by afree companion Winter Solstice event for the one-year anniversary of the earthwork architectural structure on the Lafitte Greenway,“Nanih Bvlbancha.”
It is an Indigenous earthwork supported by Prospect’sArtists of Public Memory Commission, community organizing and outreach, the New Orleans Recreation Department Commission, and Friends of Lafitte Greenway.The design for the project was assembled by the following Indigenous scholars, multimedia artists and activists: Dr.Tammy Greer, Ida Aronson,Monique Verdin, Jenna Mae, and Ozone 504.
ONLINE CRAFTING CLASSROOM: Featuring thousands of video tutorials for all types of crafts, DIY projects, gift-wrapping ideas, and more, Creativebug is awonderful tool for any occasion. Basic subscriptions to this online crafting classroom cost about $8 amonth, but once again, with your trusty library card, you get unlimited access for free.
HOLIDAY MENU,MUSIC AND MOVIES : Planning yourholiday menu? The libraryisa great placetostart. In addition to the countless cookbooks in the library’slending collection, cardholders can access new recipes in popular food publications like Bon Appetit, Good Housekeeping, Food &Wine, and more on Flipster,adigital newsstand featuring full issues of dozens of magazines, newspapers, and journals.
To get your holiday music fix, check out Freegal, amusic streaming service that library cardholders can accessfor free. With avast collection of playlists,albums, and more, it’sagreat way to listentoyour favorite tunes.
Searching for afree waytowatch holiday movies? The library alsohas those, with both physical DVDlending and two free streaming services –Kanopyand hoopla, where cardholders can access yuletide classics and contemporary holiday movies all from the comfortoftheir own homes.
PROVIDED PHOTO Kids can learnhow to createcircuitstobuild alight-up holidaycard on Dec. 19 at the MidCity LibraryinNew Orleans. DELGADO COMMUNITY COLLEGE: Delgado, Louisiana’s oldest and largest community college, washonored by the New Orleans City Council, which proclaimed Dec. 5 Delgado Day. The called the collegea “gem of our community” and recognized Chancellor Larissa Littleton-Steib for her leadership and commitment.
Plus, if you’re traveling for the holidays, the library’sextensive e-book and audiobook collections on Libby and hoopla are agreat way to stay entertainedonyour flight or road trip. Visit e-resources.nolalibrary.org to learn more about all the library’sgreatdigital services and how you can get connected to thousands of hours of free entertainment anytime, anywhere, with your New Orleans Public Library card.
Jane LeGros is the director of marketing and communications for theNew Orleans Public Library
and
The third annual Children’sHospital New Orleans Holiday Parade in New Orleans rolled Dec. 7.
STAFF PHOTOS
BY DAVID GRUNFELD
Larissa Littleton-Steib center,chancellor of Delgado Community College, is shown with, at left, Lee Giorgio Jr., Delgado Foundation board chairman, and Wayne Fontana, board member.Steib
Delgado were recognized on Delgado Daybythe NewOrleans City Council.
Elenian Clubhonors debutantes and ladiesinwaiting
The Elenian Club celebrated
in December.Pictured at the
and back row, Faith Peperone, chair of ladies in waiting; Peyton Marie Adam, Stella Dazet
Elenian Club president. Not pictured areAnna
and Emerson Chetta,
Hook,lineand sinker
The fishing should wasgood at the Joe BrownPark in New Orleans East. Thepond was restocked in mid-Novemberwith catfish and more, and fishers were there waitingfor tastyresults.
PHOTOSBYMATTHEW PERSCHALL
Chad Gansar casts aline and hopes for acatch.
Bug Rosales baits his hook.
Chad Gansar stands on the dock at JoeBrown Park fishing
Catfish slide down atube intoapond during arestocking
