Free Cultural Events

I am always amazed by how many free cultural events we have in my little town of 8500. Next week is amazing! I am sharing in hopes that you seek and find similar events wherever you live.

Tuesday: Julius Caesar. Free dress rehearsal. At my school.
Wednesday: Bonerama plays at the Trailhead downtown.
Thursday: Nothing, thank heavens.
Friday: Sunset at the Landing Concert.
Saturday: Louisiana Philharmonic concert followed by Spring for Art, a downtown art walk, with music, food, and art.
Sunday: concert at local church, featuring Michael Gurt, an amazing pianist. The concert is followed by a food and wine reception.

Except for the Tuesday event, all events are within a short walk of my house, another bonus.

Any exciting cultural events in your town?

Living like the Wealthy and Influential

I love to read a column in the New York Times that details the weekend activities of the wealthy and influential. To wit: Paul LeClerc, head of the New York Public Library. Yes, Mr LeClerc and his spouse (head of a foundation) have the sheen of wealth, influence, and culture, and no doubt live in an unattainable apartment in New York City; nevertheless, we can emulate their weekend activities.

Yes: he cooks from Marcella Hazan (ME TOO); he bakes (Mr. FS does that); he watches Netflix movies (WE DO THAT TOO); he moseys around a bookstore (DITTO); he reads (WEll, YEAH). Other luminaries I've read about take walks. You won't see me and Mr FS dressed up in formal wear at various functions attracting the powerful, but still . .

Yesterday, Mr. FS and I endured our 12-hour at work day. Sadly, we were away from Miss Em, who is home on break. She emailed us with an account of her day: going to a downtown coffee shop, where she got started on a paper. Then she did something M. LeClerc et femme (he has a doctorate in French lit!) probably don't do: headed to our wonderful Goodwill where she scored a blouse by Elie Tahari.

If you want to live like the influential Mr. LeClerc, you can get a Marcella Hazan book too. He recommends the pasta with cauliflower.

Worried About Rising Food Costs: Go to a Parade and Make Colcannon

Miss Em came home yesterday and the first thing she said was "I want to go to the St Patrick's Day Parade." Mardi Gras may be over, but we have another parade.

And guess what? You don't get beads and (if you're lucky) plastic spears, footballs, and underwear, you get cabbage! potatoes! carrots!

Luckily, Miss Em is not only tall, but has red hair, courtesy of Revlon. The marchers always ask her if she's Irish. Of course she says yes. I anticipate enough for colcannon, favorite dish. It's cheap, even if you have to buy the ingredients.

Ingredients

* 1 pound cabbage
* 1 pound potatoes
* 2 leeks
* 1 cup milk
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 pinch ground mace
* 1/2 cup butter

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, boil cabbage until tender; remove and chop or blend well. Set aside and keep warm. Boil potatoes until tender. Remove from heat and drain.
2. Chop leeks, green parts as well as white, and simmer them in just enough milk to cover, until they are soft.
3. Season and mash potatoes well. Stir in cooked leeks and milk. Blend in the kale or cabbage and heat until the whole is a pale green fluff. Make a well in the center and pour in the melted butter. Mix well.


As it happens, the parade route is near Buffalo Exchange. So Miss Em and I will wander in with a bag or two and try our luck. I figure getting a cabbage is luck enough; anything more is lagniappe.

Erin go bragh!

Do you have a favorite cabbage dish?

Frugal Fun in New Orleans

People--myself among them--are always moaning about how expensive it is to have fun. I just got a lengthy email from Frugal Son, detailing his weekend in New Orleans celebrating his friend Reggie's birthday.

He drove with his friend Harrison. They stopped at Central Grocery in the French Quarter for a famous muffuletta.

Last time I had one--or actually a third of one--I almost passed out from the ingestion of oil and salt. They are so good. Luckily, Frugal Son and his friend are young men with powerful metabolisms, so they could split one and continue on with their day. Cost $14.00 or $7.00/each.

Then, on to the party. The group gathered at the New Orleans Fairgrounds for some horse races. Entrance is free. Frugal Son noted that "men in suits and women in fancy hats" could pay $7.00 to watch from the grandstand. Frugal Son placed 3 bets and ended up losing $8.00.

Cost of day so far is $15.00.

Then a large group went to the Mona Lisa, an Italian restaurant which has been around for a long time (since 1987, so a bit older than the birthday girl). I don't know how much Frugal Son spent, but I guess that with dessert and (I hope) treating the birthday girl, the meal came to $25.00 or so.

Total of $40.00. Then the group continued with their festivities . . .

That's a lot of fun for $40.00.

Happy Birthday, Reggie, and congratulations on getting in to Boston University Law School.

My First Groupon! And a Good Gift Idea: Museum Membership

One of my colleagues who is kind of a shopaholic told me about Groupons (group coupons, but you probably know that). As someone seeking the attainment of TRUE--as opposed to FALSE--frugality, I tend to shy away from advice offered by indebted people who discuss how they "saved" $1000 on children's clothing (while spending how much?).

But I joined anyway, just to check things out. Groupons offers deals by your locality--hence, restaurants, massage therapists, and so on, will offer a discounted price IF (and only IF, as my math teacher used to say) a certain number are sold.

So far, I have deleted all offers without opening the email. But today came an offer for an inexpensive membership to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. We've been meaning to do this anyway. In addition to its exhibits, the Ogden hosts Ogden After-Hours on Thursdays, with musical performances.

The membership should help us in our quest to get out and about more.

To tell you the truth, museum memberships are always worth the cost. Whether art museums (I have been a member of MOMA, Chicago Art Institute, and others) or children's museums or anything, the membership makes you go more. That's a good thing. Even if you don't go--shame on you!--you are supporting a cultural institution.

What a great gift too!

Are you a museum-o-phile?

Poetry and Manly Meatballs

Last night, Mr FS and I went to a reading of Auden at the home of a former colleague. We were so excited! Our "going out" life is picking up.

The hostess's house was beautiful, full of old rugs and other neat things. Her father was a famous Proust scholar, originally from Germany, so she had many things that evoked that older European culture.

But the food! Amid all the cheeses was a plate of meatballs on bread. I said, "Are those MANLY MEATBALLS?" The hostess was shocked that I knew. We both had the same cookbook, which described the recipe. I'd always meant to make them. The meatballs are manly as opposed to froufrou appetizers. According to the lore surrounding them, manly meatballs are guaranteed to disappear. Indeed, they did.

So, if you're doing some entertaining, try these MANLY MEATBALLS. It's fun just to say the name. The recipe below is copied from this site. Both my hostess and I found the recipe in Best American Recipes 1999. You can get that book for a mere penny (plus shipping) on Amazon.


Alan Richman is the esteemed and always witty food writer for Gentleman's Quarterly magazine, but I take the blame for calling these his "manly" meatballs. He made them for a birthday party of our mutual friend Alexis Bespaloff, the well-known wine writer. As he was passing them on a platter, taking full responsibility for their simplicity and strong flavor, he explained that he made them because when he heard the menu planned by Alex's wife he felt there might be too much "sissy food" -- you know, pasta and salads.

They are not, of course, anything like any recipe you've ever seen for Swedish meatballs, but to my mind they make an even better stand-in. Baking them on bread slices -- which, by the way, do not burn or get too hard, even though it seems as if they would -- makes them perfect finger food.
1 pound ground chuck (not leaner beef)

3 scallions, finely minced (use most of the green)

4 tablespoons dark soy sauce (or regular soy sauce, if that's all you have)

1 firmly packed teaspoon brown sugar (a rounded teaspoon, if using regular soy sauce)

1 baguette or ficelle (a small diameter French bread), about 20 inches long, sliced about 1/2-inch thick (if the bread has a large diameter, cut the slices in half, just a bit bigger than the meatballs)

In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients, except bread. With your hands, mix and knead thoroughly until the meat is a fine paste.

Make balls the size of smallish walnuts.

Place baguette slices on a baking sheet and place one meatball on each.

Bake for 7 to 9 minutes in a preheated 450-degree oven until done to taste (Richman says "until just cooked through." I like them still rare.).

Serve hot.


Do you have any favorite foods for entertaining? Or poetry to read aloud?

Frugal Entertainment: Tim Laughlin and Tom McDermott

These are the musicians we heard on Saturday, at an elegant home out in the country. The house was large, so there were more people than usual. Total cost: $12.50 per person plus a dish for the pot luck. I am grateful to be on the email list. I can't believe I can attend such events.

Tim Laughlin on clarinet.

Tom McDermott on piano.

More Free Food for Grown Ups: Fear and Trembling

Another free food event. Is this a karmic event? There are rumors flying about mass layoffs. I'm not talking about it any more.

Last night, Mr. FS and I walked down to the pretty old church where we heard a free concert. We've been attending these monthly concerts for years. Last night we heard the New Leviathan Oriental Fox Trot Orchestra.

After the concert there is a reception with wine and a smallish buffet. Most of the attendees are in their late-60s and up. Many come from a very upscale retirement and assisted living community. I must say that the attendees are big eaters!

I noticed last year that the food was getting more abundant and better. I think that a a large group of women from the church now work in the kitchen; it's something of a social event. Last night, at the first concert of the season, the food was great, so good that we didn't have to eat dinner at home.

I tried to stick to the healthy stuff: gazpacho, a great barley and lentil salad with pine nuts, and fruit salad were the highlights. I avoided the pimiento cheese spreads.

Perhaps the forces of karma were saying to me: Don't worry about the bad stuff that might befall higher education in your state. You can always go to free concerts. You will always have a healthy and delicious meal once a month.

Free Food Opportunities for Grown Ups

I am trying to get my Frugal Son to write about Free Food Opportunities for the college student. Free Food is an intrinsic part of college life. Oh, for the wonderful teachers who invited the class over for a buffet! My college had, and for all I know still has, people called Scroungers, who sat by the place we bussed our dishes, and would pick out the goodies. Some of these people were probably the scions of prominent families. They were incredibly picky.

The other day I was the recipient of Free Food for Grown Ups. Tons of stuff was uneaten at the pot luck buffet where I scored my egg salad triumph. Most people just left their leftovers. Of course, none of my egg salad remained.

DON'T THROW IT OUT! While some of the people cleaning looked at the leftovers with horror, I and a few other frugal and/or ecological types offered to give the leftovers a good home.

I brought home about 1/2 pound of sliced cheese, a lot of cream cheese, some tuna salad (already ate that), and a giant bag of spinach salad, no dressing. Oh yeah, and some capers.

What should I make?

Do you give leftovers a home?

Fun, Frugal or Not: Request for Information

A request, Dear Readers. Now that our dear children are away most of the year, Mr. FS and I realize just how stay-at-home we've become. Perhaps too stay-at-home.

Part of this is due to our natures (we like to read); part to our professions (as teachers we deal with people ALL the TIME; usually these people have PROBLEMS for us to solve); but part, I'm afraid, is habit.

When our children were young, we seldom had to plan: on weekends, we would go to the zoo or a museum. Their childhood coincided with the highest stress period of our jobs: in the evening, we either hung out with people we knew through our kids, or attempted to write so we might publish, lest we perish.

Last night, we walked downtown to some gallery openings as recommended by a friend. We saw a few people we knew, including the recommending friend. We saw some nice artwork. We even had some cheese and crackers.

So what I'm wondering: how often do you go "out"? What do you do?

Thanks!

Anticipate Your Needs: Frugal Theme Parties

I'm so proud of my dear daughter: she is a frugal chip off the parental block. Last week, Frugal Son and a friend went to visit Miss Em. She sent a long list of necessities, including, of course, more burritos. One item: "the pink dress with fringe."

What the heck was that? As instructed, I looked in the closet and there it was. Turns out Miss Em was invited to a 1920s theme party. Last summer, she saw the dress at H&M on a non-Mom-accompanied shopping trip: it was in the $5.00 bin! Said Miss Em, "I KNEW I would have a 1920s party this year."

She also requested a few strands of white Mardi Gras beads. These are free, but we were lucky to have plain white beads. Generally, we donate the plain beads to thrift stores (which sell them for big bucks) and keep only a few choice specimens--like our garlic beads.

For a view of the $5.00 costume, click HERE.

Sorry to say, Mr. FS and I are dreary stay-at-homes and the thought of a costume or theme party makes us break out in hives. But we are good at anticipating our needs and buying ahead. Perhaps party-goers need to construct a costume pantry.

Miss Em is becoming an expert on festive frugality. You go, girl!

Do you like theme parties?

What's Good for Weight, Mood, and Finances: A Granola Bar

Funny About Money started a new dieting blog. I'm not on a diet (too undisciplined), but I read it anyway. Recently, Funny succumbed to temptation and--starving--ate a hot dog. She was remorseful.

I have the solution! A granola bar, or similar. I tend to have meltdowns after being out and about for too long. Shopping makes me crazy (except at thrift stores). I seldom shop except when my daughter is around. She has learned to carry a granola bar and a bottle of water, so Mommy doesn't have a meltdown.

This is a family tradition. Mr. FS and I would take our little ones to the zoo or the aquarium on weekends. Then we would go to a coffee shop. After a while, the kids wanted more and more to eat. Then they would have meltdowns. Sometimes WE would have meltdowns because of a caffeine deficit.

So we learned to bring a thermos of coffee and a few snacks in the car. I suppose this practice has saved us, oh, $1,000,000.00.

Interestingly, Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women Don't Get Fat, attributes the thinness of French women, in part, to carrying the secret granola bar for emergencies. (The other part would be all the walking that Parisiennes do.)


So weight control, mood, and finances? So much from a little snack.

Do you have any similar strategies?

It's Spring: Free and Cheap Entertainment

No one was more surprised than I was when Mr. FS was offered a job in Louisiana. I said, "That sounds like a weird place." Then I was offered a job a few years later.

So twenty years later, I can cook gumbo, get all the references in articles about the HBO show Treme (oh, how I hope someone with HBO will tape it!), know about that contested term Creole, and free people of color, and stuff like that. Both my children say that they're glad to have grown up in a place with a distinct and distinctive culture.

April brings not only Jazz Fest (not cheap, but totally worth it) but a host of free or close to free musical events. Let's not even talk about the French Quarter Fest in New Orleans. Let's just look at freebies and cheepies in my little town across the lake.

Every Thursday in April: Rockin' the Rails at the Trailhead: Soul Revival, Ingrid Lucia, Paul Sanchez. Blackened Blues Band, Paula and the Pontiacs.

Then we are lucky enough to be invited to a musical evening where we all chip in for the musicians: This month we will have a Chicago singer who is also performing at Jazz Fest.

We just got an email about this concert at the Dew Drop Inn: On April 17 from 1-5 pm the Dew Drop will stage its third Tamarma mini jazz festival that continues a celebration of New Orleans based contemporary bands and groups that specialize in various forms of world music while still acknowledging roots in traditional New Orleans jazz.
The four hour concert, funded by a grant from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, will feature European and traditional New Orleans jazz from 1-2 pm by the 7-piece band The Loose Marbles; Brazilian and American jazz standards song in English and Portuguese by Sasha Masokowski joined by her father, noted guitarist and teacher Steve Masokowksi from 2-3 pm; gypsy and South American jazz underscored by New Orleans jazz by two seven string classic jazz guitarists, John Rankin and Don Vappie joined by bassist Jesse Boyd from 3-4 pm; swing dance jazz of America and Europe by the six piece New Orleans Jazz Vipers from 4-5 pm.
There will be outside food and arts and crafts vendors lining a portion of Lamarque Street for this event in addition to food provide by ladies of the next door First Free Mission Baptist Church.

Plus, the third Friday features a free concert on the Bogue Falaya River.
The third Sunday features a free concert at a local church, followed by snacks.
Plus, the LPO is playing for free some day or other.

How will I choose?

Even if you don't live in a musical paradise, I'm sure there are similar event indoors and out wherever you are. Check them out!

Holiday Freebies and Invitations: I'm So Popular

It all started last week when I went to Banana Republic to use my about-to-expire $10.00 gift card.

There, I was invited to a special holiday sale on November 5, featuring live music, catered food, and 30% off. Should I go? It might be worth it if we could get dinner out of it.

Then, in my email box, I received an invitation to Talbots this week. No mention of food or entertainment, just 20% off. It is unlikely that I will go just for a little discount.

A postcard arrived announcing that Fresh Market (kind of like Whole Foods, only smaller) is having their holiday tasting, which amounts to a whole meal. This Friday and Saturday.

Also this Saturday, my local grocery--Rouses--is having a Thanksgiving tasting.

I only avail myself of these opportunities if I can accomplish another errand or two en route.

I have never recovered from graduate student poverty. Free food opportunities are nirvana to the impoverished student. Somehow, even after more than 25 years post-school, my antennae are still on constant alert.

Basking in my new-found popularity....

Frugal Fieldwork: At Barnes and Noble

Our Frugal Friday entertainment began with a stop at an art opening. Our friend Peg had a show of pencil drawings of her trip to France at a coffee shop owned by another friend.

Then, since we had already made the arduous journey to the next town (no kidding! endless roadwork makes for an unpleasant drive), we headed to Banana Republic, where my mission was to use a $10.00 gift card that was about to expire. Mission accomplished, I went to Barnes and Noble, where Mr. FS was waiting for me. There we ran into two former students now all grown up, one of whom works as an instructor in my department.

I mentioned that Banana Republic had a 25% off special for those who used their credit card. They said they were planning to go there but did not have a credit card. I offered them the use of mine and they declined. When I suggested that they get a credit card if they wanted to buy something, they looked at me in horror: We can't get another credit card. It seemed that for them--as for others--possessing a credit card constitutes an irresistible temptation. That's why even among the frugal and newly frugal, there are two opposed credit card philosophies: Use them for everything and get the rewards vs. Cut them up and never use them again. I am lucky to be in the former category. And those in the latter category are lucky to know their weaknesses.

As we headed to our car, we ran into the husband of the artist whose show we had visited. He was going to Barnes and Noble to buy a book-on-tape for a 10 hour trip to a new vacation house in North Carolina. Again, I was struck by the differences. I would have gotten a tape at the library.

In fact, we have been listening to Dickens's Hard Times on our way to work. Truly a sentimental journey. And certainly a reminder to be thankful in the midst of hard times for so many.

Yo Yo Ma vs New Orleans Black Chorale: Frugal Choices

Not only has summer turned into autumn over the past few days, but our frugal lives have been filled with free entertainment. More on all the events at a later date.

We just got back from the monthly concert at the church down the street from us. Tonight's concert: the New Orleans Black Chorale. A wonderful concert, followed by a reception, which amounts to a free dinner.

The woman who introduced the singers mentioned that Yo Yo Ma was in town, playing with the New Orleans Philharmonic. Well, we didn't know, so we didn't have to make a choice. And a search did not tell me what the tickets cost. I wonder what we would have done.

Local concert: free, a 5 minute walk away, free dinner.
New Orleans concert: a world famous player, at least 2 hours in the car, maybe $100.00 for mediocre seats. No free dinner, obviously.

It is a measure of the frugal calculator embedded in my brain that I run the numbers even on hypothetical situations. What would you have done?

Two other factors.

We heard Ma play at Tanglewood quite a few years ago. The only spots on the lawn that were available by the time we showed up were in the blazing sun. After a valiant effort, I dozed off.

Also, the post-concert food tonight included a favorite from last year: roasted tomato soup with basil. Reader, I had two cups.

So how do you decide between two desirable events? When is money no object?

Frugal Fitness: Free

Unlike Mr. FS, I am not one who finds it easy or fun to get exercise. I really have no aptitude for sports, and spent many years in high school getting to the end of the line or choosing an outfield position to save myself from humiliation. In college, I was subject to s state requirement of several years of PE. After failing several classes (failure was triggered by missing a class), I discovered my "sport": yoga! i loved getting into position and holding it . . .sometimes till I fell asleep.

After that, I remained in decent shape by not having a car. I do love to walk! Walking all the time is why--as the book says--French Women Don't Get Fat. We do live in a nice-to-walk-in neighborhood, but it's hard not to saunter at a relatively slow pace.

My devoted readers know that 1. I have an aversion to gifts, and 2. I have gained some weight, precipitating the purchase of pants with stretchy waistbands.

Then, Mr. FS gave me a great gift. Even though he rides about 100 mile a week on the Rails to Trails path near our home (The Tammany Trace), he volunteered to walk on the Trace with me. It is not sufficiently populated for comfortable walking alone.

After a 40 minute walk for each of the past 4 days, I feel so much better!

Thank you Mr FS for giving me JUST WHAT I WANTED.

Frugal Athletes: Make Your Own Sports Drinks.

By Mr. FS

It’s summer, and the sales of various sports drinks are certain to increase dramatically. But even during the coldest days I see people toting their bottles of Powerade, Gatorade, and so forth. Are they worth it? Of course not. (As part of the research for this posting I was going to look at brands and prices at our local grocery store, but I decided it wasn’t necessary: they’re overpriced, for sure.)

Current research indicates that sports drinks aren’t even necessary except when exercising intensively for an hour or more. In most cases water is as good, or better. And in any case, what are you paying for? What adds the “power” or “sport” to these drinks? Basically two things: simple carbohydrates (often as high fructose corn syrup) and “electrolytes” (mainly potassium), and in some cases a few vitamins (which you could get for pennies in a multivitamin) or caffeine (which you could get with a nice espresso).

So if you really do need a “power” or “sport” drink, why not make one yourself? It’s couldn’t be easier. All you do is add sugar and Morton Lite salt to water (or tea), and flavor it however you want (generic unsweetened “koolaid,” etc.). Morton Lite salt (or any “lite” salt) is half sodium chloride and half potassium chloride—and so provides the potassium that’s the backbone of any so-called sports drink.

Here’s one recipe:

10 tbs sugar
¾ tsp lite salt (i.e., with half potassium chloride)
2 litres of water
Koolaid or whatever to taste

What I like about home-made sports drinks is that you can vary the amount of sugar/potassium. If it’s very hot, and I’m going on a long, hard bike ride, I cut back on the sugar, since what I want is a higher proportion of liquid to carbs. You can only absorb a limited number of calories per hour, so you don’t want more than you can burn during and shortly after the exercise. If it’s cool, I may up the sugar content, but lower the potassium, since I’m using the same amount of energy, but sweating less. I’m not sure that it really makes much difference, to tell the truth, but it’s fun to play around with, and helps—if only psychologically—to keep you in touch with your body. The best part, of course, is that this sort of sport drink costs literally pennies, and there are no bottles or cans to recycle or clutter up landfills.

By the way, there are also many great substitutes for those ludicrously over-priced ”power” bars, which are, like the sports drinks, just carbs and salt. Best is probably the humble banana (because of the potassium), or the equally humble peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but almost anything with complex carbs, a bit of sugar (simple carbs) for quick energy, and a bit of salt does just fine.

Jazzfest and Free-fest

By Mr. FS




Jazzfest (a.k.a The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival) is, in my opinion, the single most important event of the year in New Orleans, eclipsing even Mardi Gras. Jazzfest has it all—food, music, arts and crafts, parades, people o all ages dancing like crazy. Also heat and sometimes rain, although this year was an exception in both cases (highs in the low 80s; no rain to speak of).

But is it worth it? People complain mightily about the cost of tickets--$50 at the gate, ort $40 (plus $3 handling fee) if you get them early from the box office. This year was the 40th Jazzfest, and I heard a lot of festgoers reminiscing about when the tickets were $10 (or less). Of course, the first Jazzfest, which took place in Congo Square (rather than on the fairgrounds, its current venue), only had a couple of stages, while now there are 12, and on a typical day you can hear 70+ performances (theoretically, that is, although you’d spend most of your time running from stage to stage). That means that you get a lot for the price of a ticket.

For example, here’s my Thursday, April 30 itinerary. (I went by myself, so I could move quickly; it's harder to cover as much territory in a group.) I got there right when the gates opened at 11:00, and after a peep into the Gospel tent went to hear Jumpin’ Johnny Sansone in the blues tent. Then Corey Ledet and his Zydeco Band at the Fais Do Do stage, then the Honey Island Swamp Band at the Gentilly stage, then Rumba Buena at Congo Square, back to Fais Do Do for a bit of Sonny Bourg and the Bayou Blues Band, then to the Acura stage for Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes; back to Fais Do Do for the Creole Zydeco Farmers then over to the Gentilly stage for Theresa Andersson, back to Congo square for the New Birth Brass Band, then to Acura for The Meter Men (Leo, Zig, and George), then to the Jazz tent for George Wein and the Newport All-Stars featuring Howard Allen, Anat Cohen, Randy Brecker, Lew Tebackin, Jimmy Cobb, and Esperanza Spalding, then to the Gentilly stage for a bit of Emmylou Harris, then to Fais Do Do for a bit of Rosie Ledet and the Zydeco Playboys, and finally to Congo Square for Solomon Burke. I’d say that’s worth the price of admission (at $43 this works out to about $3 a performance).

However, the music to Frugal Son’s crawfish peeling instructional video (the great Dirty Dozen Brass Band) got me to thinking that one of the best aspects of Jazzfest is absolutely free. This is the street scene when the Fest lets out, and particularly the To Be Continued Brass Band, which usually plays on Gentilly just outside the gate. We first heard them a couple of years before Katrina, when the band members must have still been in junior high school, and they’ve played every year in the same spot. They even played Jazzfest last year, on the Jazz and Heritage stage.

So now that Frugal Son has shown us how to post clips, I thought I’d give you some samples of this Free-Fest. I wish the clips were better quality, but they’ll give you an idea of what it’s all about. At the end of the clip you will see a couple of kids on the opposite corner who are just starting out in the world of New Orleans brass bands--just like the To Be Continued six or seven years ago.

To Be Continued Brass Band from SLF on Vimeo.

Cheap Chic: Garbage Couture

Another post whereby Frugal Scholar mooches off her kids. This time, the mooch is via the Divine Miss Em, whose talents are numerous. Miss Em is a senior in high school. Those who have been followers for a while may recall that she goes to a wonderful state-supported magnet school, the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts. This is a residential high school, located on a college campus. It is available to all who qualify for the sum of $700.00 a year for room and board. What a gift for my children!

We received a recent email full of news about the senior class activities, including the Senior Breakfast. The theme this year was garbage. So all the girls made dresses out of garbage bags. Would I be too doting-mama to say that Miss Em won the Best Dressed Award?


There is so much here to emulate: pick a theme that will lead to frugal fun. Their prom had an India theme. So Miss Em borrowed a sari, bought some cheap Indian jewels via a website, and--being artsy--painted henna designs on many hands. This was perhaps a $20.00 prom. I read a blogpost on conscientious spending, where another proud mama noted that her daughter stuck to a $300.00 prom budget, which was a far cry from the over $1000.00 average. Well, I think we can do even better than that!

Similarly, the Senior Breakfast could have had a country club theme or such. But no--the kids thought of something creative and frugal.

So below we have an excerpt from Miss Em's email and some pics from the festivities. I have no idea what the guys wore. The pics show what I have always thought: the important thing for the girls is getting dressed up with your friends.



What is Senior Breakfast, you ask? Well let me tell you! It's an LSMSA tradition where the night before "Dead Day" (Dead Day is the day before exams start, where there's no class and dead silence because all the students are studying themselves to death) we have a late-night breakfast. As in, it starts at midnight and ends around 1AM. We are served breakfast and hang out with our classmates and we dress up in accordance with the theme. This year, the theme was trash-bag formal. You make formal attire out of trash bags, duct tape, any "trash" you can think of. Being a crafty girl, I worked super hard on my costume. I made it entirely from trash bags. It was a floor-length gown with ruching and layers. I must admit, it was very impressive by the time I was done with it. I made it ball-gown-big at the bottom by blowing up garbage bags with air, tying them off, and putting them underneath the dress. I'll attach a picture of it. I think you'll be impressed. It was also fun to spend so many hours on the dress, wear it, and then literally rip it off my body. Wheee! I also made accessories out of duct tape. Duct tape earrings and headbands and even a bracelet and a ring.

Although the pictures may have a girls gone wild vibe, let me assure you, this is a studious and accomplished bunch. Indeed, I am sure they will all do well in college, and, thereafter, will rule the world.