We’ve got your weekend: Masks and glitter and lectures and more

Wednesday, January 24/Duncan Plaza (1201 Perdido Street): Time to get your Mardi Gras mask made, and thanks to the Arts Council New Orleans, in partnership with the Downtown Development District, you can also enjoy a pre-Carnival happy hour to help you kickoff your Carnival season. They will be holding the happy hour at Duncan Plaza (across from City Hall), and it will include complimentary drinks, music, games, and a mask making workshop led by members of Krewe des Fleurs , a costume and performance collaborative formed in 2014. It all begins at 5:00 PM, and you can find out full details here. 

Thursday, January 25/New Orleans Airlift (4557 N. Rampart Street): Do you feel like you need to get a bit more intense for Carnival this year? Well, sculptor/installation artist and costumer Laura McMillian will lead a three-part workshop in envisioning and creating a transcendental Mardi Gras costume for this Carnival season, inspired by the history of costume across cultures and ages. The dates for the workshop are: Thursday January 25, Monday January 29 and Weds. January 31. The workshops run from 6:00 PM until 9:00 PM, and tickets can be purchased here. For full details of what will be covered and discussed in the workshops, check out their event page. 

Thursday, January 25/Dogfish New Orleans (2448 N Villere): Dogfish is back with their reading series and poet Elizabeth Gross and author Brad Richard will be reading from various works on Thursday evening. Elizabeth Gross is  a poet/translator/teacher/karaoke enthusiast from New Orleans, and if you haven’t heard her read, get out there because she puts together thoughts with words you never could think of, and she does it beautifully! The reading begins at 7:00 PM, and you can find out full details here. 

Friday, January 26/Potion (733 Bourbon Street): The establishment and theme of the event come together this Friday when Owen Ever of the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum discusses vampirism vs. yellow fever in 1800’s New Orleans. If vampirism and yellow fever weren’t enough for you for a lecture, then Owen will also be discussing the crafting of New Orleans cocktails during that time period. It will be a lesson in history sipping that begins at 6:00 PM. Reservations are encouraged, and you can find out details for registration here. 

Friday, January 26/Glitter Box (1109 Royal Street): Every year the word “glitter” gets deeper and deeper engrained into everyday conversations with New Orleanians, and if you love the glitter but aren’t sure how to apply the glitter, then head over to Glitter Box on Friday. They will be hosting a Glitter Bar Pop-Up with Elektra Cosmetics, so you can try the glitter on for size and see what makes you glow! The pop-up will be from 2:00 PM until 6:00 PM. 

Saturday, January 27-Sunday, January 28/Contemporary Arts Center (900 Camp Street): The Contemporary Arts Center and Junebug Productions have paired up to bring you the New York-based dance company Urban Bush Women in a two-week engagement featuring workshops, community events and parties, along with performances of their latest dance-theater piece, Hair and Other Stories. The piece, Hair and Other Stories, is storytelling that weaves contemporary dance, music and text, to New Orleans, as part of its 13 city U.S. tour, to premiere the “audience-engaged” version, which brings the audience closer to the show and its characters. Saturday’s shows are at 7:30 PM and 9:30 PM, and Sunday’s show will be at 3:00 PM and 4:30 PM. Tickets are $35 (general admission), and you can purchase them here.  

Sunday, January 28-Monday, January 29/Convention Center: For the first time in its 66-year history, Helen Brett Enterprises will offer the general public its first ever chance to attend the New Orleans Gift and Jewelry Show at the New Orleans Convention Center. For the past 66 years, the show has been open to documented business owners. This month’s show at the New Orleans Convention Center Hall J will open to the public for two days: Sunday, January 28 and Monday, January 29. For a preview and information about Helen Brett, you can check out her site here.