Now Playing

Loading streams...

WWNO People

Susan Larson
Susan Larson
Host of The Reading Life
Fred Kasten
Fred Kasten
Announcer & Producer
Eve Troeh
Eve Troeh
News Director
Eileen Fleming
Eileen Fleming
News Reporter
Ryan Bordenave
Ryan Bordenave
Underwriting Specialist

Features

Pages

Features
4:23 pm
Mon February 11, 2013

High School Marching Bands Lay Down The Beat Of Mardi Gras

Credit Keith O'Brien for NPR
The McDonogh 35 High School band marches in a parade to usher in the Carnival Season.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By Keith O'Brien

Originally published on Sun February 10, 2013 8:18 am

In less than an hour, the McDonogh 35 High School marching band — including the flag girls, the dance team, the majorettes, the color guard and the actual band — needs to be on the parade route five miles away. It's the peak of Carnival season in New Orleans, and high school marching bands form the backbeat of Mardi Gras.

Read more
Features
8:54 pm
Sun February 10, 2013

Marching Bands Battle Before Parades Roll

Next imagePrevious image
Credit Eugenia Uhl
Justing Smothers is one of 17 trumpet players in Warren Easton's marching band.
Credit Eugenia Uhl
Warren Easton's bass drums
Credit Eugenia Uhl
Credit Eugenia Uhl
Credit Eugenia Uhl
McDonogh 35's drum major
Credit Eugenia Uhl
Share
E-mail
Comments
By

High school marching bands have two main seasons: football and Carnival. But unlike football season, where bands briefly entertain sports fans during half time shows, Carnival season is a marathon of long songs, marching, and discipline. It’s also a time when the musicians, not the athletes, compete.

Eve Abrams visited two of New Orleans’ rival high school marching bands: MacDonough 35 and Warren Easton.

Read more
The Superdome
1:31 pm
Sun February 3, 2013

The Superdome Through the Years

Next imagePrevious image
Credit Curtis and Davis Office Records / Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries
Frank Lotz Miller's 1970 architectural model of what would become the Superdome.
Credit Curtis and Davis Office Records / Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries
Nathaniel C. Curtis, Jr.'s Superdome sketch, from 1975.
Credit Superdome, New Orleans Image Files / Louisiana Research Collection, Tulane University
Inside the construction.
Credit Superdome file, Ephemera Collection / Louisiana Research Collection, Tulane University
Concept aerial drawing of the Superdome.
Credit Superdome, New Orleans Image Files / Louisiana Research Collection, Tulane University
The building begins to take shape.
Credit Superdome file, Ephemera Collection / Louisiana Research Collection, Tulane University
Superdome promotional drawing.
Credit Superdome, New Orleans Image Files / Louisiana Research Collection, Tulane University
Finished.
Credit Superdome, New Orleans Image Files / Louisiana Research Collection, Tulane University
Basic facts on the Superdome.
Credit Louisiana Research Collection, Tulane University
Facts About the Lousiana Superdome, from the Louisiana Superdome Newsletter, Nov. 15, 1973.
Credit Louisiana Research Collection, Tulane University
Thousands View Dome Dedication. The Louisiana Superdome Newsletter, Aug. 15, 1975.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By

The Superdome began as a public referendum in 1966, and shines today as New Orleans gets ready to celebrate Super Bowl XLVII.

Built atop the bulldozed Back o' Town neighborhood, the Superdome is the site of ecstasy and tragedy, of countless celebrations and memories, historical agonies and post-K clichés. The Dome is a temple to our Saints and our city, and — love it or hate it — you can't ignore it.

Read more
Fresh Air Weekend
8:03 am
Sat February 2, 2013

Fresh Air Weekend: Spacey, Fincher And Macy

Credit Patrick Harbron / Netflix
Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright star in the new Netflix original series House of Cards, which premieres Feb. 1.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By editor

Originally published on Sat February 2, 2013 9:53 am

Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week:

Read more

Pages