Wednesday, January 17/Williams Research Center (410 Chartres): Dianne Honoré, founder of the Black Storyville Baby Dolls, will present a lecture on the history and culture of the New Orleans Baby Dolls tradition at THNOC on Wednesday, January 17. Honoré’s group continues a masking tradition started in about 1912 in Black Storyville, an unofficial area just outside of the city’s infamous, legal red-light district. Her presentation will include on-site examples of Baby Dolls costumes. Admission is free, the lecture begins at 6:00 PM, and you can find out full information here.
Friday, January 19/Republic Nola (828 S. Peters): It is time to go delux with lights. Krewe De LUX is hosting Fete De LUX : Black ICE. Fete De LUX 2018 theme Black ICE reboots non-existent memories of apocalyptic indulgence through the lens of lasers, tech-noir, and ultraviolet light. The annual Fete De LUX is a vibrant Mardi Gras Ball open to all prepared to reflect and relish in one another’s light. Mirrored, tech-noir costumes highly encouraged, and it all starts at 9:00 PM. Tickets are $10 online or $15 at the door. Get shinny!
Saturday, January 20/Orpheum Theater (129 Roosevelt Way): Dinosaurs are going to collide with classical music in the screening of Jurassic Park accompanied by the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. The LPO will be performing the original score while movie goers what Laura Dern and Sam Neil don fantastic outfits and really accurate facial expressions. The screenings are at 2:30 (1/20), 7:30 (1/20) and 2:30 (1/20). Admission is $20+ (with special discounts), which you can find here.
Sunday, January 21/New Orleans Airlift (4557 N. Rampart Street): The costumes are coming, and that means you better be hot gluing, sewing, and stitching something together for this carnival season. If you aren’t, don’t fear quite yet. The Music Box is having their Music Box Market: Mardi Gras Edition, and that means you can make all of your costume dreams come true where they’ll have over 40 vendors specializing in an array of costume finery. The market begins at 12:00 PM and goes until 5:00 PM. For full details, check out their event here.
Sunday, January 21/Embodyment Salon and Spa (3701 Magazine Street): Now that you have your costume ready, it is time to tackle the other imperative element of Carnival–the make-up. Professional make-up artist Midori is hosting a Mardi Gras make-up workshop. Learn to create dramatic, colorful, sparkly looks for Mardi Gras parties, parades and costumes. The hands-on class is for students of any level. Midori will focus on how to create bold, big eyes and colorful shapes, dramatic line work and false lash application. The prices vary according to individuals versus groups, so check out the event page to register.
Tuesday, January 23/Newcomb Art Museum: Would you like to adopt a fruit tree, free of charge, as part of the Endless Orchard project with the artists Fallen Fruit? Did you answer yes? Then lucky you because Pelican Bomb, A Studio in the Woods, and Newcomb Art Museum are partnering to bring artists Fallen Fruit to host a fruit tree adoption at Tulane. This is just one part of a larger project that includes planting a network of public fruit trees along the Bayou Bienvenue Wetland Triangle, throughout the Lower 9th Ward, and Pontchartrain Park in Gentilly. The tree adoption begins at 4:00 PM and goes until 6:00 PM, and you can find out full details here.
NOLAbeings Multimedia artist Claire Bangser created NOLAbeings as a portrait-based story project that marries... 
Voodoo in New Orleans: Reviving history: New Orleans fortune telling This article takes a deep dive into the history of Voodoo in New Orleans, its hybridization with Catholicism, and its present-day place in the city's culture. The author visits fortune-tellers in the French Quarter, using their guidance as a tool for introspection rather than a deterministic predictor of the future. Through her experiences in New Orleans, the author feels a mystical connection to both the past and the future. 