Events › Urban Conservancy Events

January 21, 2005 | 9:00 PM
The Dragon’s Den, New Orleans

A benefit concert for local non-profit The Urban Conservancy will be held on Thursday, January 20th at the Dragons Den in the Faubourg Marigny. Best Emerging Latin Band nominee, Saaraba, will perform. There will also be two viewings for the New Orleans premier of the short documentary film Unbroken Line of History: Faubourg Marigny at 9:30pm and 11:00pm.

In between Saaraba performances, concert goers will get to see the short film at no extra charge. Directed by Ed Melendez and Sean Gerowin, the documentary explores the streets, residences, and businesses of the Faubourg Marigny neighborhood. Artists, musicians, bohemians, and “people who like to be around other people” had been priced out of the famed French Quarter of New Orleans and many of them moved down river to the Marigny. This exodus has formed the cultural center of one of New Orleans’ most unique and successful neighborhoods.

Many of the neighborhood’s residents and admirers are interviewed, from those at the peak of success to community activists and progressive thinkers. Those interviewed include local artist James Michalopoulus, popular chef Richard “Bingo” Starr, writer Jason Wiese, urban academic Mary Gail Snyder and activist Yoni Mazuz. Each interview illuminates one facet of the Faubourg Marigny, while popular New Orleans bands Saaraba and Mexico 1910 add a musical compliment to a documentary that traces the unbroken line of history in New Orleans’ favorite “faubourg.”

The Dragons Den is located upstairs at 435 Esplanade Ave. Doors open at 9:00pm, and donations of $8 or more will be accepted at the door. The Urban Conservancy is a 501 © 3 non-profit which sponsors a number of community programs including Stay Local!, a program to support locally owned business.

Contact: Ed Melendez, 504/251-8335 Sean Gerowin, 504/669-0342