January 31: Antenna: Signals at 6:30 p.m.

Image for Antenna:Signals #4 (Image by: Valerie Corradetti)

Wednesday, January 25/ Little Gem Saloon (445 S. Rampart St.): New Orleans is known for loving the beautiful, the supposedly “dirty,” the outcasts, and everything in-between. We look back fondly on the days of Storyville, and we are still celebrating that time now. Don’t miss the last Wednesday of the January series commemorating the centenary of Storyville’s closing. Special guest, Matt Lemmler joins for contemporary renderings of century-old classics and originals. The concert will be from 7:00 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. and the tickets are $10, which you can purchase here. For more information about the event, you can check out the event page.

Thursday, January 26/Treo (3835 Tulane Ave.): Mardi Gras season is upon us, and krewes have been working all year long to get ready. That also means service and philanthropic work for the krewes, and the Krewe de Lune will have this year’s Lunar Lagniappe at TREO, to benefit the ACLU of Louisiana. There will be raffle prizes from generous local donors, drink specials, and small bites from Tana at Treo. Like any good krewe, there will be live music from Water Seed and dance performances fromThe Star-Steppin’ Cosmonaughties, Nola Cherry Bombs, Camel Toe Lady Steppers and The Organ Grinders. Tickets are $12 when purchased in advance and $15 at the door. The event runs from 7:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m., and you can find out more details here.

Friday, January 27/The Convention Center (900 Convention Center Blvd): The Convention Center will be transformed into a home and garden showroom come this Friday. It will have the latest home design and improvement trends, products and techniques, and more than 200 experts will be ready to help eager creatives start renewing, refreshing, and restoring their homes. Here is the line-up for the day:

• HGTV’s Yard Crashers and Vacation House for Free host, Matt Blashaw.
• PBS’ Emmy Award-winning This Old House host Kevin O’Connor.
• HGTV’s New Orleans-based Big Easy Reno host Holly Baker. The show’s new episode is making its debut on Jan. 28 so this is perfect timing!

Tickets range from $6.50 to $9.00, and they can be purchased here. For more information on the event, you can check out the details here.

Friday, January 27/Superdome (1500 Sugar Bowl Dr.): When I got the press release for Monster Jam, I had no idea what it was. I did some research and see that it involves vehicles with GIANT tires. I’m assuming these crush things. What I do know about, though, is outreach, and Monster Jam and Son of a Saint will host an exclusive event for fatherless boys and their mentors treating them to a special preview of Monster Jam to see the larger-than-life trucks rev up before the big show. Attendees will get the opportunity to meet-and-greet with megastars and champions of Monster Jam giving them lifetime memories. The public is invited to purchase tickets for this exclusive event with all proceeds benefiting Son of a Saint. The event runs from 4:00-5:30 p.m. Also, if you want to see vehicles crush each other, this year they have the 2016 World Finals Racing Champion, Morgan Kane, and a female driver, Brianna Mohan, so that should make it even more interesting. Ticket prices for the Monster Jam range according to seats, and you can purchase those here. That show begins at 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, January 28/Calliope Puppets Studio (623 Vallette St): Shoes! Compacts! Purses! Coconuts! Homemade throws! You bring it and professional artist and volunteers will help you decorate it. This is a workshop to make Mardi Gras throws while raising funds to support Whole Village Art Therapy, Inc. They will have tons of supplies, but you need to provide your own base items to decorate – such as shoes, coconuts, magnets, bandoliers, etc. Not only is this event about creativity, but it is also about charity. Whole Village Art Therapy is a non-profit organization that provides high quality, community based art therapy services regardless of ability to pay or other systemic barriers to mental health services. The tickets for the event are $50, and you can purchase them here. The event runs from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.

Saturday, January 26-28/5700 Magazine Street: Pottery, poetry, woodwork, and community are coming together on Saturday for Vessels of Resistance. This is a collaborative exhibit featuring work by local potters and woodworkers. The show will be open to the public January 26-28th from 11:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. at 5700 Magazine Street, with an interactive closing reception on Saturday, January 28th. This show was curated with the belief that handmade objects are grounding tools and therefore support our ability to sustain engaged citizenship. The event strives to create space for different community ‘bubbles’ to intersect and hear one another. Resources linking migrants to legal and other support will be provided and welcomed. Avenues to support migrants and refugees and connect communities within our community will be provided and welcomed. You can learn more about the exhibit and event here.

Tuesday, January 31/The Pharmacy Museum (514 Chartres St): We don’t often extend our weekend round-up into Tuesday, but Signals #4: Terraformation: Working the Elements as Creative Practice is taking place, and this is worth the extension. Featuring Jenny Ellerbe, Mama Sula Janet Evans, Dr. Gary King, MaPo Kinnord, Kristina Kay Robinson, Elizabeth Seleen, jackie sumell, and Lorna Williams, this is sure to be a night as mind blowing and eye-opening as the previous Antenna: Signal live arts magazine. For real, if you have not been to one of these yet, do it this Tuesday. They are a showcase of talent talking about talented works while being surrounded by talented thinkers. The event will explore variations on a theme through a spread of presentations and performances exploring: archaeology as People’s History; magic revolutionary gardening in a small Louisiana village; “terraforming” as science fiction or future science?; archaic indigenous earthworks in Poverty Point, LA; ceramic architecture in Ghana; and Solitary Gardens’ approach to gardening as radical practice to help the public imagine a landscape without prisons. I mean, come on. Tickets are $10 (free for Signal subscribers), and you can learn more about the artists and their work on the event page.