We got your weekend: Black tie, blue jeans, or bare it all

101 Runners

Friday / Shane’s shout out : 6th annual “101 Days ’til Mardi Gras” with 101 Runners — featuring War Chief Juan of the Golden Commanches and June Yamagishi with Russel Batiste & Cornell Williams. Maple Leaf Bar, 10:30 PM.

Oak Street will be jumpin’ all weekend in honor of Sunday’s Po Boy Festival (one of my personal favorite fall fests), and the party kicks off on Friday with a special countdown to Mardi Gras. Reminding us it’s never too early to get in the Carnival Spirit, 101 Runners will be laying down their joyous “Mardi Gras Indian Funk” until late in the night at the Maple Leaf. June Yamagishi, the incredible guitarist formerly of Papa Grows Funk, will be sitting in for what promises to be a great start to a delicious weekend.

Friday / Books, brewskis, beans : Books plus booze? Yes, please. Maybe this is why we didn’t like our high school reading list. From 5 – 10 PM, the Beaurgard-Keyes House (1113 Chartes) hosts a French Quarter Book and Booze Crawl. Teams compete as they race through the Quarter for over two hours — solving clues, answering trivia, and competing challenges, all of which pertain to local literature. Local authors will be on hand to answer questions and direct you throughout the crawl. Each stop will offer craft beers, as well as specialty coffee drinks. The team with the most correct answers will win a “Tennessee Williams prize.” Crawl starts and ends at the Beaurgard-Keyes House. Advance tickets (starting at $20 per person) only.

A fake Marc Jacobs ad in issue 1 of Momma Tried

Saturday / Bearing it all at Parse : New ‘disruptive content’ magazine Momma Tried (you can read our interview with its publishers here) is hosting a shindig at Parse Gallery (134 Carondelet), from 8 PM – 12 AM, to celebrate their launch. Check out a sneak peak of issue 2 and wrack the brains of its creators, as you enjoy music from DJ Ronnie Doll, a bar by Slow and Low and Pabst, and a mysteriously unqualified ‘edible installation’ (I’m intrigued…). The event is free and open to the public.

Dress code is “black tie appreciated, nudity encouraged, come as you are.” Not sure how serious they are about the second option, but you might want to arrive somewhat covered; it could get awkward if you show up nude and find you’re the only one materializing (or rather, exposing) the joke.

Sunday / Blue jeans at the Cathedral : No need to get fancy for the St. Louis Cathedral. At 6 PM, the Cathedral hosts a free screening of the rare 1928 silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc, which is based upon the actual transcripts of Joan of Arc’s trial. A soundtrack to the film will be improvised music by organist Samuel Ligeon, a 2012-13 Young Artistst-in-Residence at the Cathedral.

Awadigin Pratt

Sunday / Black tie at the Ritz: Ah, an apparel/venue duo that makes sense. At 5 PM, The Music Arts Society of New Orleans hosts their annual black tie music affair, Nocturne XI. The event will showcase the talents of award-winning concert pianist and conductor, Awadagin Pratt. The event will begin with a champagne reception, then move into a recital by Pratt, and conclude with a dinner at the Ritz. Tickets are $200 per guest.

Chelsea Lee is associate editor of NolaVie. Email comments to her at chelsea@nolavie.com.