Did You Know?

The Saint Charles streetcar in New Orleans and the San Francisco cable cars are the nation's only mobile national monuments?

New Orleans is Friendly and Warm and Caring

Wow! That’s all I can say about my morning today. So many things are running through my head I don’t know where to begin. I met such interesting people today that challenged my mind, challenged my heart and made me think about the wonderful country we live in. I met people in New Orleans that are totally amazing individuals and have made me reflect on my life’s choices.

Wait until you come out here, you’ll feel the same way by the warmth you’re greeted with and how thankful the citizens of New Orleans are to have the convention industry come back in full force.

The People

The first person I met was a cab driver that took such pride in being a citizen of the U.S. I needed to meet the Director of Volunteers for Habitat at a project site and I was advised it was about a ten minute drive out of the quarter. My driver was a little unsure of the address and asked if I minded if he used his GPS system. Note to self: get a GPS system so I can find my way out of brown paper bag.

This gentleman moved to the US 40 years ago from Bosnia. For awhile he lived in Cumberland, Maryland, not that far from where I am. He spoke about the love he has for this country and the opportunities it offers.

He’s so proud his two kids graduated from College and told them that you can be anything you want or don’t want to be when you live in the US. He even said if you want to be stupid you can be that too and you will be if you don’t embrace our culture and take advantage of the splendor and beauty this country has to offer. I told him my sister spent several months in Bosnia doing work and how beautiful she thought his homeland was. He was beaming and excited to hear that I knew something about his homeland. We live in a global community yet we so often forget that.

He told me he was here during Katrina but he lives in Metairie, LA so he wasn’t as affected. I told him where I was going and he talked about what fine works Habitat does and how proud he is to live in a country where citizens take care of their own.

Because he was taking me outside of the downtown area and it would be difficult to get a taxi back, he gave me his number to call him when I was finished. I did and tomorrow when I’m ready to go to the airport, I’m going to call him again. I want to learn more from him about his country and the land he calls home from his eyes. It makes me truly appreciate all we have here even though there are times when we don’t realize it.

Melissa was waiting for me among these brightly painted homes that were cute and “homey” and in the middle of some dilapidated, broken looking homes that were overgrown and abandoned – I was in the ninth ward – infamous for having people standing on roofs waiting to be rescued. Many of the homes still had the red painted markings from rescue workers following Katrina that indicated if they found people or pets or both.

But this neighborhood was coming back to life. It is known as musician’s village – an area that Harry Connick Jr. and Brad Pitt financially supported the rebuild of several homes – a place where 70% of the neighborhood is made up of local musicians – the lifeblood of New Orleans. But now they had Melissa, an incredible individual who has dedicated her life to helping others.

She was in her last year of graduate school at Loyola University working on her masters in comparative religions and then she evacuated because of Katrina. When she returned to school, she decided to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. It began to open her eyes to a whole new world. When the position of Director of Volunteers opened, she applied, got it and the rest is history.

The Effort

As Melissa told me, none of this was supposed to happen. She had a ten year life plan and this didn’t fall into that plan at all. She explained that many of the families who live in Habitat homes are first time home owners. They don’t give these homes away, they help families buy them by helping them get mortgages, teach them how to maintain them, how to budget and basically how to take care of themselves. These families are also required to give back 350 hours of volunteer time – sweat equity – to the program.

Melissa greeted the volunteers by name and boy did they love her. Her passion for this is contagious. She is proud of what she is doing and so excited to share her experiences with everyone.

She told me how Habitat is set up – did you know that none of the land is donated? Habitat has a real estate department that researches abandoned land and property that is in foreclosure. It was started in 1976 and have built or rehabbed more than 250,000 homes.

They rely on volunteers to do much of the work and have also set up networks of companies that are licensed electricians and plumbers to do this type of work. Habitat partners with groups such as AmeriCorps to provide project management at each site.

It’s an amazing opportunity to give back to the city in which you live as well as around the country.

PACE GIVES BACK

PACE is thrilled to partner with Habitat and hopes to get at least 50 volunteers to work on a project while we’re in New Orleans. Three years after Katrina, there are still areas that remind the rest of the State and our Country how we need to band together and support the efforts of this organization.

I know that when I attend the Professional Convention Management Associations annual meeting in New Orleans, one month before PACE, I’m going to participate in the Habitat program PCMA has set up – I think I’ll even look closer to home to do something.

Getting Ready For PACE 2009

And We’re Off
The day after Labor Day always kicks off the busiest time in our preparations for PACE. What some people don’t know is that many of the plans for the convention have been years in the making. Following each convention, we’ve kept the hotels in New Orleans informed of our room pick ups to make sure we have blocked enough rooms and to also make sure that we can meet our room block. We also follow up with the convention center to make sure we have enough meeting rooms reserved because for the most part, it’s a guessing game. The number of programs changes, companies request meeting space for sales meetings and committees want to meet to discuss new initiatives.

But, once we launch the website after Labor Day, it’s time to get serious. The education committees are busy confirming the speakers, exhibit sales begin to increase and I concentrate on the logistics.

I’m here in New Orleans laying the groundwork for February and the city is ready for us. As a matter of fact, exactly one month before we’re here for PACE, I’ll be here for the annual meeting for meeting planners that I attend. So you know that New Orleans must be open for business if they’re hosting thousands of meeting professionals and hospitality industry executives.

My taxi arrived at 4:45 am for a 6:00 am flight out of Dulles Airport in the Washington, DC area. Why so early? I had a full day of meetings scheduled before our general service contractor and audiovisual provider join me on Wednesday afternoon for a day of going through meeting rooms and the exhibit hall to determine exactly where things were going.

I flew through Atlanta and my flights were on time and the skies were blue. I met a very nice person who sat next to me from DC to Atlanta. She had been attending a meeting in DC for entrepreneurs and she was heading back to Jacksonville to celebrate with her daughter who just passed the Florida Bar exam.

The trip to Atlanta to New Orleans gave me an opportunity to speak to someone who lived in Fort Meade in Maryland and was going to New Orleans for some software training.

Air Tran did a great job and the ticket was not outrageously expensive. I did a carry on and I had no problem getting my back in the overhead compartment.

I am staying at the Sheraton and the folks I’m meeting with are staying at the Marriott, our co-headquarters hotels. Both are directly across from each other on Canal St. and just a few short blocks from Bourbon St.

I have stayed at the Sheraton many times for other meetings and during the New Orleans Jazz Fest so when I arrived, I felt right at home. A good friend of mine who works in sales at the hotel met me outside and we made plans to meet in the lobby bar at 5 where we were meeting another friend who use to work for the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau.
I’ve known Margo at least 15 years when she was at the Fairmont Hotel so we did have a lot to catch up on.

My first meeting was at the convention center at 1:00 pm. So an hour before the meeting I walked the 6-8 blocks to the center and then went to every meeting room we have reserved to see if the meetings I assigned to those rooms would work. The walk was lovely and if I could do it in my stilettos, anyone can do it. But not to worry, we will provide shuttle transportation from our headquarters hotels.

Let’s Talk Turkey
The center looks good. The paint is fresh, the wallcovering looks good and the carpet is relatively new. I met with our convention service manager and went over the overall look of our show, our outside vendors and filled her in on what we are all about. Then the food and beverage person joined us – good think I had had a filling lunch of pretzels and diet coke because all the talk of food made me think of biting into a shrimp po’boy and I’m a vegan.

Sneak Preview: The Welcome Reception sponsored by Carboline is going to be fabulous. As they say, “when in Rome...” We’ll have lots of food that New Orleans is known for, Mufalettas, red beans and rice, gumbo – so bring your appetite.

Additional meetings were with the various services we utilize within the center: production, security, utilities, emergency services. Fortunately with the thousands of people that pass through our doors, the most we’ve ever needed emergency services for was a band-aid.

By 5:30 my meetings were over and I walked back to the hotel. I was running a little late to meet my friend but after 15 years she knows I’m not always on time.

Tomorrow’s meetings include the Marriott Hotel, going on site to a Habitat for Humanity project and going back to the convention center with our general service contractor and audiovisual provider. It’s going to get technical.

After work hours:

Margo was waiting for me when I returned so we immediately started catching up on what’s going on at the hotel. They’re in the process of installing new escalators which will be completed by November. Everything else will stay the same and that’s a good thing.

The hotel is in great condition – there’s a spacious lobby bar where everyone meets to make their evening plans. The Starbuck’s located off the lobby was doing a brisk business and I could see afternoon runners returning to the hotel.
Of course we talked about the recent mandatory evacuation during Gustav. She and her family decided to make it a vacation and they went to Orlando for a week. That’s what I call turning lemons into lemonade!

Margo wasn’t joining me for dinner but my other friend Laurene came and she too said she took her family to Destin, FL for some fun in the sun during the hurricane. However, when they returned she did go exploring the levees and was amazed at how well they stood up to the storm. Afterall, she lost her home in Katrina 3 years ago. Now she lives on the third floor of a condo building and loves it.

It’s Dinner Time

Okay, with all the food choices in New Orleans, she wanted to go to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in the Harrah’s Hotel. She’s so proud of her city’s accomplishments after Katrina, she wanted to show me. Plus she wanted to give me some backstory.

The Convention and Visitors Bureau does not sell Harrah’s Hotel. Harrah’s fills that hotel with transient business (business travelers, people not traveling with a convention) and most importantly – high rollers. Interesting in my opinion since it’s a 26-story marvel, with 450 oversized luxurious rooms and suites that takes a lot of money to keep it running. They do have some lovely meeting space but its used for more corporate events.

The restaurant was fabulous and for some reason when we walked in Laurene told them it was my birthday. Everyone came to our table to wish me a happy birthday – talk about embarrassing – a man from another table with about 12 people came over and said it was his birthday and was happy to share such a splendid day with me. Little did he know my birthday is really Christmas Even and I stopped celebrating them once I turned 21.

Now you just may ask what a vegan was doing in a steak house – well they always seem to have the best salads and the biggest baked potatoes in the world – they didn’t disappoint me. Portions were big and everything was wonderful.

Laurene’s filet looked great and it was cooked to her expectations. She decided not to get the creamed spinach since I was eating healthy and opted for the broccoli – it all was fabulous.

After dinner, as we were walking back to the Sheraton, Laurene asked if I wanted to stop in and see the Windsor Court Hotel. It’s a beautiful Mobil Four Stars and AAA Four Diamonds luxury hotel. Most of the rooms are all suite accommodations and they serve high tea each afternoon. When you walk in, the smell of the fresh cut roses that are displayed in the center of the lobby, take your breath away. Now I truly understand the old saying of “stop and smell the roses.”

We walked the couple of short blocks back to the Sheraton and Laurene pointed out a few things that were very interesting. The Lowes Hotel was built atop an old building. The façade of the first few floors are the face of the original building but above that is all new. There are beautiful views of the Mississippi River and from what I understand, the Swizzle Stick Bar is one of the hottest places in town with live entertainment Friday and Saturday nights.

Tomorrow’s an early day and I want to get a run in before I get started so it’s off to sleep.

Quickly Returning to Normal

Reprinted with permission from the New Orleans Convention Center.

A picture paints a thousand words, they say. The Convention Center was virtually unscathed by the recent storm as seen in the images that can be viewed by clicking the link below. It did serve as the staging ground for first responders that served the region so well and was well protected by 1,000 National Guard troops who made us all proud to be Louisianans.

As was previously conveyed, all of the major systems of the Center are operating at 100%. The hotels, restaurants and retail outlets are quickly coming back on line. Flights at the airport are back on schedule.

The New Orleans Morial Convention Center is more than ready to host the many events scheduled in the coming weeks and months.

We've returned to our respective offices and our normal course of business. We appreciate your continued interest and support. Please do not hesitate to call if ever we can be of service.

More News from New Orleans

7:54 a.m., Thursday, September 4, 2008
Reprinted with permission from the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau

THURSDAY'S DEVELOPMENTS:
The city of New Orleans and the metropolitan area continues to move forward wonderfully in its post-Gustav recovery. Residents from across the metropolitan area, including surrounding parishes, have begun to return to homes and businesses.

The biggest challenge remaining now for New Orleans after the superb execution of our emergency and evacuation plans is the restoration of power to neighborhoods, as outages still exist in parts of the city and in adjoining parishes. The greatest concern is to ensure that conditions with regard to electricity, sewerage and water throughout the neighborhoods are restored and that businesses that service our residents, such as grocery stores and gas stations are back operating. The downtown, business district, French Quarter, Warehouse and Arts District, Convention Center, Harrahs and the Superdome look terrific.

GOOD NEWS:

As our team walks around the French Quarter, Convention Center area, Warehouse and Arts District, and the downtown we see that the city looks amazing in the tourist corridor.

The only thing missing is our fabulous workers, musicians and especially YOU! All of that should change over the next few days as citizens and workers pour back into the city and head to work to prepare for your return.

There is little to no disruption in meetings and conventions scheduled over the next two weeks nor to special events. The Convention Center, Superdome, and major hotels suffered only minor damage such as a few window breaks and all repairs are expected to be accomplished in the next few hours to few days. There is no mid-range or long-term impact of any kind.

The Louis Armstrong International Airport is now operational and they expect to resume more routine airline traffic today. The first flight back in to New Orleans arrived Wednesday evening. The schedule today will be slightly reduced, but should resume a full schedule within a day or two.

The world famous Audubon Zoo sustained very little damage. All animals are safe and the Zoo hopes to re-open on Saturday.

The Harrah's Casino expects to re-open as early as Saturday.

The New Orleans Saints and the Louisiana Superdome announced yesterday afternoon that the Saints will open their NFL season on Sunday in the Superdome, playing Tampa Bay. A good number of restaurants are planning openings beginning Thursday and a large number should be back by the weekend.

We anticipate that in just a matter of days, New Orleans will be back in business! As more residents and employees from the various sectors of the hospitality industry are able to return, we expect the gradual reopening of hotels and restaurants. We strongly advise that anyone with plans to travel to New Orleans this weekend, whether for pleasure or business, consult with their respective hotels to check the status of each individual property. The CVB is assessing the status of the hotel community as well, but because the city enjoys so many wonderful hotel properties, it is challenging for us to keep up with the status each individual property and post accurate information. We will make every effort to do so as soon as possible.

Many hotels will open this weekend. Most others will open Monday or so. In fact a number of weddings are going on as planned this weekend in New Orleans. As well as the Saints game of course!

A Message from the New Orleans Morial Convention Center

The New Orleans Morial Convention Center has weathered the recent storm event with minor damage. All major systems are operable and the center is functioning at 100% capacity. All major systems of the city are expected to be functioning within the next 72 hours including the airport.

We look forward to welcoming the American Institute of Architects - Louisiana Chapter on September 18-19, and a concert by the band Chicago on September 21 as scheduled, as well as a number of events already scheduled throughout the coming months.

Planning for storm events by and among numerous agencies, local, state and federal, were implemented with great success. The reinforced levee system held without any breeches. Some levees were overtopped but no serious street flooding was experienced.

New Orleans Relents, Says ResidentsCan Return

New Orleans Weathers Gustav

Reprinted from This Week At PCMA

New Orleans has survived Hurricane Gustav with limited damage. The city was mostly evacuated in advance of Gustav, which made landfall along the Gulf Coast of Louisiana on Monday morning.

In a statement released late Sunday evening, New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau President and CEO Stephen Perry praised federal, state, and local officials for their planning and cooperation in readying New Orleans for Gustav. The CVB, he said, took an active role in coordinating emergency communications to the city's hotels, and helped facilitate the evacuation of some 30,000 visitors. "No city has ever been as well prepared for a major catastrophic event as is New Orleans today," Perry said. "The public and private security of our hospitality facilities is superb. We look forward to quickly managing through the storm and reopening for business shortly thereafter."

According to the latest post on www.neworleans.org, "it is not anticipated that the storm will have any impact on the Fall convention and meetings calendar."

Businesses Wait Out Gustav

Reprinted from www.Forbes.com The New Orleans Marriott is a PACE 2009 Headquarters Hotel.

By midday Monday, Category-2 Hurricane Gustav had made landfall in Cocodrie, La., about 80 miles southwest of New Orleans. Power was knocked out in several areas, including New Orleans, and water began splashing over the top of several of the city's levees. Journalists, power-company workers and emergency personnel are packed into New Orleans hotels, doing the same thing people far beyond the reaches of the storm are doing: waiting.

Essentially, nothing can be done until Gustav passes and power-company employees can begin to repair any damage the storm will bring. That's also when the city's hotels stand to benefit; once additional relief workers, power-company workers and claims adjusters come to town, they'll need places to stay.

How much of a business boon these workers' arrival will bring depends on how much damage Gustav causes. After Katrina three years ago, one guest stayed nine months. Others only stayed a month or two. Either way, the hotels that stay open through this storm will be the ones most ready to receive guests after it.

"For a small hotel, [the post-storm business] could have a big impact," says Gil Zanchi, area general manager for New Orleans Marriott. Because 70% of Marriott's business is from tourist sales and 30% from business travelers, having the influx of post-hurricane staff "could balance what we lost this weekend."

And the losses were likely substantial. The Marriott New Orleans in particular had an 85% occupancy rate for the weekend because of the Decadence Festival--1,000 of the 1,200 rooms booked. Right now there are only 200 guests (mostly media, along with police officers, private security contractor employees and Marriott's own emergency preparedness staff), but that number could swell right after the storm.
Marriott has 15 properties in New Orleans, but only two are open: the Marriott New Orleans and the JW Marriott, both on Canal Street. The 13 other properties, if they don't sustain heavy damage, could get up and running much faster than they did after Hurricane Katrina, in part because the Marriott has stationed a handful of private security employees at all its hotels. Their job, says Zanchi, is to "secure the assets."

Zanchi is also glad to host journalists at the two hotels still open. "Having media here," he said, "keeps a sense of normalcy, instead of having an empty hotel."

Just how long that sense of normalcy lasts is anyone's guess. Local television stations reported water splashing over the Industrial Canal levee and in the Lower Ninth Ward, which saw devastating floods after Katrina and is still in the midst of recovery. Meanwhile, the Times-Picayune is reporting 6 inches of flooding from waters splashing over the tops of the levees in the city's Upper Ninth Ward--with plenty of the storm still to go. Rod West, president and CEO of Entergy (nyse: ETR - news - people ), the city's utility company, said that, as of 8 p.m., 750,000 Louisianans were without power.

Leading up to Gustav's arrival, inside the Crowne Plaza Astor in New Orleans' French Quarter, 175 rooms were occupied by a motley crew of journalists, the staff of Mayor Ray Nagin and employees of Entergy. A group of four policemen from Texas hired as security for a cable station staying at the hotel joked about how Gustav was just "a little puff."

That seems to be have been an understatement, but not a grave one--at least not so far. Hurricane Gustav, which reached Category 4 strength at its worst, was downgraded to Category 2 by the time it reached the U.S. coast in an area vital to America's energy industry. Gustav was down to Category 1 strength with winds of 90 mph by late afternoon.

Later in the day, the mood in and around New Orleans' hotels was somewhat relaxed. A small crowd gathered on Canal Street as the Today Show's Al Roker tried to film a segment. The wind was blowing fiercely, and he stretched out his arms to try to maintain his balance. Inside the Crowne Plaza hotel, children of hotel employees took pictures of the empty streets and fierce winds or pushed and played on a luggage cart in the empty lobby.

Days before Gustav's landfall, New Orleans and Gulf Coast residents began evacuating, with millions clogging highways and thousands more leaving the city by buses and trains. Lower-population areas to the south and west of the city are taking the lion's share of the storm's strength, though tornado warnings are being issued in multiple areas throughout the storm's wide path.

With the results so far and the questionable outlook, Gustav is still a stark contrast to the scene of Katrina, especially in the city. But this time around, New Orleans hotels took no chances, refusing to take reservations for locals. Among the few hotels that are actually open, the occupants are the media, government officials and private security firms. In some cases, accepted occupants were given wristbands by hotel management. In the hours before Gustav's landfall, hotels' policy was simple: no wristband, no entry.

Tourism is the lifeblood of New Orleans. Last week, the city's convention and visitor's bureau put out a report on the state of the industry--the largest employer in New Orleans and the second-largest industry in the state, generating $5 billion in visitor spending and $250-$300 million in tax revenues for New Orleans. Sixty-nine thousand people from every neighborhood in the city currently depend on the hospitality industry for their paycheck. Tourism accounts for 35%, or $210 million, of the City of New Orleans' annual operating budget, according to the bureau. The report estimates that the industry lost $3 billion after Katrina.

And Gustav couldn't have come ashore at a worse time: right as the city's tourism industry was close to full recovery. In 2007, 7.1 million visitors came to town and spent $4.8 billion, a 92% increase over the number of visitors in 2006 and not far from the pre-Katrina norm of 8.5 million annual visitors. New Orleans hosted the Sugar Bowl, BCS National Championship, NBA All-Star Game, Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, Essence Fest, Satchmo Fest and hundreds of conventions. The 25th annual French Quarter Festival in April 2008 had its highest attendance ever of 435,000.

Inside the Crowne Plaza Astor, a relaxed skeleton crew of managers and service staff waited for the hurricane to make landfall in the next few hours. Light jazz was being piped in through the hotel's speakers. Zimmer was confident: "I think we'll come through this quite well."

Monday, neworleansonline.com, the official Web site for visitors, posted a note saying, essentially, that the city was closed but hoped to be open again soon: "Thank you for checking on New Orleans! Wish us good luck. We are ready."

Additional News From New Orleans

7:24 p.m. Monday September 1, 2008

(Updates posted at 7:00 a.m., 12:00 noon, and 7:00 p.m. Monday or more frequently if major news warrants)Printed with Permission from the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The city of New Orleans proved to be exceptionally well prepared for the wind and rain of Hurricane Gustav which struck Monday morning. The evacuation of some 30,000 visitors to the city this past weekend in less than 24 hours went exceptionally well and almost flawlessly followed the emergency plan established after Hurricane Katrina. Only very minor logistical tweaking was necessary as the plan worked even better than hoped for.
PREPARED:
New Orleans is now the best prepared city in the world for a major disruptive event such as this. The federal, state and local governments, in stark contrast to the unexpected events of Katrina, coordinated seamlessly the positioning of supplies, emergency personnel, public safety officers and first responders.
The city is proud to not only be the nation’s leader in fun, food, music and major cultural and sporting events, but now to be the most sophisticated destination in the world in all levels of emergency planning, execution and visitor management.
MONDAY'S DEVELOPMENTS:
New Orleans fared extremely well Monday during the heavy winds and rain of Hurricane Gustav. In an unusual turn of events, the capital city of Baton Rouge seemed harder hit as were many coastal parishes and parts of Acadiana. Over one million Louisiana families are without power all across the state, but 50 % of New Orleans has power tonight. Though there was considerable loss of power, and minor flooding, the levees have held well with only minor overtopping in a couple of locations that will have limited duration effect. The thorough preparations paid off beautifully under real duress.

The French Quarter, Business District, and downtown fared well with most of the minor flooding, and tree and downed power line damage uptown and to the east and toward the lakefront. The next 24 hours will prove the final strength of the levee improvements on the canals protecting the East Bank of the city.

No significant damage to the hospitality infrastructure of New Orleans has been reported at this time and it is not anticipated that the storm will have any impact on the Fall convention and meetings calendar. Additional assessments of property and facilities will be made overnight and a report given on this site Tuesday morning.

A curfew is still in effect for the evening to continue the superb protection of the businesses and residences. The mayor is expected to announce on Tuesday when reisdents and business owners will be permitted to return to the city.

The reopening of hotels will depend on the mayor lifting the evacuation order of the city at his press conference on Tuesday. Then properties will make individual decisions as to when to reopen based on the return of staff and other variables. We will announce on this site when hotel reservation systems are reopened. In the meantime, please check with the individual property of your interest to check on existing reservations and to inquire about new reservations. Many hotels will reopen fairly quickly.

Information on the reopening of the city's large number of fine restaurants will also be posted.

TOOK WONDERFUL CARE OF OUR VISITORS:
Visitors were informed of all developments over the weekend and were encouraged to and provided the opportunity to depart a day early in advance of mandatory evacuation of the residents of the city. This was to ease their departure and make it as convenient as possible. Drive-in visitors were provided the same opportunities.
Additional transportation to Armstrong airport to supplement taxi and shuttle service was provided to ensure the easy flow of all visitors to the airport. The airlines added new sections and up-gauged equipment to ensure that all visitors were able to leave by the end of flight service at 6:00 p.m. Sunday. All operations at the airport have gone smoothly and all fly in visitors had departed by Sunday evening. The airport closed at that point and will remain closed until after the storm. Exact re-open times will be posted when that decision is made.
The only visitors remaining in the city after 6:00 p.m. Sunday were national and local media imbedded in a few select hotel properties. Hotels have now closed to the public and have fully secured and protected their facilities.
SAFE AND SECURED CITY:
A city-wide curfew from dusk to dawn has been set for the city for the duration of the storm and its immediate after effects. This will ensure the safety and protection of all local businesses and hotels, restaurants and other commercial properties. It will ensure that after the storm the city’s hospitality industry will be able to re-open relatively swiftly in fine condition.

The New Orleans Morial Convention Center and the Louisiana Superdome are well secured and protected by the National Guard and State Police and will not serve any role as evacuation centers or shelters. This will ensure that, immediately after the storm events, those facilities will be in superb shape and ready to serve our corporate and association meeting community and the myriad of sporting and other special events hosted in the Dome.

LEVEES AND FLOODING:
Hurricane Gustav has now passed through southern Louisiana. Significant rain and wind preceded it and buffeted the downtown areas. We are closely watching the storm surge and the levels of rainfall that occured. There has been minor overtopping of some canal walls but nothing serious at this point. Tuesday will tell the final tale.

We fully expected at least minor flooding in the city due to extensive rain. This is a New Orleans norm even during non-storm times. State and local officials were particularly concerned about flooding on the West Bank which has a less developed levee system than the East Bank where the French Quarter, Business District, SuperDome and Convention Center lie. A private levee has breached in Plaquemines Parish and affected homeowners there but is no threat to New Orleans as it is contained by a separate river levee.

Significant work has been accomplished on East Bank levee and canal improvements. However, the projects on the West Bank are only now under construction. This is important because the track of Gustav differs from Katrina in that it is farther west and thus more endangering to the West Bank. However initial reports are that the West Bank has fared even better than expected.

SEE YOU SOON!
Thank you for checking on New Orleans! Thank you for wishing us good luck. We were fully prepared and ready. But we look forward mostly to getting back to work shortly at the one thing we love more than any other....showing off the world's best food, music, museums, attractions and art scene of America's most historic, authentic, walkable city.

News from New Orleans

Reprinted with permission from the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau

11:25 a.m. Monday September 1, 2008

(Updates posted at 7:00 a.m., 12:00 noon, 6:00 p.m., and 10:00 p.m., or more frequently if major news warrants

The city of New Orleans is well prepared for the wind and rain of Hurricane Gustav that we are currently experiencing. The evacuation of some 30,000 visitors to the city this weekend in less than 24 hours went exceptionally well and almost flawlessly followed the emergency plan established after Hurricane Katrina. Only very minor logistical tweaking was necessary as the plan worked even better than hoped for.

PREPARED:
New Orleans is now the best prepared city in the world for a major disruptive event such as this. The federal, state and local governments, in stark contrast to the unexpected events of Katrina, coordinated seamlessly the positioning of supplies, emergency personnel, public safety officers and first responders.
The city is proud to not only be the nation’s leader in fun, food, music and major cultural and sporting events, but now to be the most sophisticated destination in the world in all levels of emergency planning, execution and visitor management.

TOOK WONDERFUL CARE OF OUR VISITORS:
Visitors were informed of all developments and were encouraged to and provided the opportunity to depart a day early in advance of mandatory evacuation of the residents of the city. This was to ease their departure and make it as convenient as possible. Drive-in visitors were provided the same opportunities.
Additional transportation to Armstrong airport to supplement taxi and shuttle service was provided to ensure the easy flow of all visitors to the airport. The airlines added new sections and up-gauged equipment to ensure that all visitors were able to leave by the end of flight service at 6:00 p.m. Sunday. All operations at the airport have gone smoothly and all fly in visitors had departed by Sunday evening. The airport closed at that point and will remain closed until after the storm. Exact re-open times will be posted when that decision is made.
The only visitors remaining in the city after 6:00 p.m. Sunday are national and local media imbedded in a few select hotel properties. Hotels have now closed to the public and have fully secured and protected their facilities.

SAFE AND SECURED CITY:
A city-wide curfew from dusk to dawn has been set for the city for the duration of the storm. This will ensure the safety and protection of all local businesses and hotels, restaurants and other commercial properties. It will ensure that after the storm the city’s hospitality industry will be able to re-open relatively swiftly in fine condition.

The New Orleans Morial Convention Center and the Louisiana Superdome are well secured and protected by the National Guard and State Police and will not serve any role as evacuation centers or shelters. This will ensure that, immediately after the storm events, those facilities will be in superb shape and ready to serve our corporate and association meeting community and the myriad of sporting and other special events hosted in the Dome.

LEVEES AND FLOODING:
Hurricane Gustav has now hit southern Louisiana. Significant rain and wind have preceded it and have begun in the downtown areas. We are closely watching the storm surge and the levels of rainfall that will occur. There has been minor overtopping of some canal walls but nothing serious at this point.

There should be expectations of at least minor flooding in the city due to extensive rain. This is a New Orleans norm even during non-storm times. State and local officials are particularly concerned about flooding on the West Bank which has a less developed levee system than the East Bank where the French Quarter, Business District, SuperDome and Convention Center lie.

Significant work has been accomplished on East Bank levee and canal improvements. However, the projects on the West Bank are only now under construction. This is important because the track of Gustav differs from Katrina in that it is farther west and thus more endangering to the West Bank.

SEE YOU SOON!
Thank you for checking on New Orleans! Wish us good luck. We are ready. But we look forward mostly to geting back to work shortly at the one thing we love more than any other....showing off the world's best food, music, museums, attractions and art scene of America's most historic, authentic, walkable city.

Going to PACE 2009? Then learn the local lingo and get the most out of Mardis Gras!

Ball, bal masque A masked ball, where a krewe’s court is presented to the club members. Old-line krewes throw decorous balls, often introducing debutante daughters of members. Attendance is by invitation only and limited to krewe members and their guests. A few newer krewes have refashioned the balls into bashes with celebrity guests and nationally recognized entertainment. Some are open to the public for the price of a ticket. To emphasize the new format they renamed the parties: Endymion throws an Extravaganza, Bacchus a Rendezvous, and Orpheus, the Orpheuscade.

Boeuf Gras (beuf grah) French for “fatted bull.” Since the Middle Ages, it has heralded the feasting and festivities that precede the fasting and penitence of Lent. The fatted bull was killed on Monday, and the crowds gorged themselves on their last meat, trying to consume it all before midnight, when Lent began. The Boeuf Gras is a traditional theme float in the Rex parade.
Call-outs Partners for masked members of old-guard krewes are sent formal invitations prior to each ball. They are then “called out” from the audience to dance with the krewe members who invited them to the ball. With each dance, krewe members give favors to their call-out partners.

Captain The chief organizer of a carnival krewe or organization.
Carnival From Latin, it literally means “farewell to meat.” Metaphorically, it’s a temporary adieu to the pleasures of the flesh, as the multitudes gather to overindulge before Lent. The carnival season begins on Twelfth Night, January 6, and culminates on Mardi Gras day, Fat Tuesday.

Colors of Mardi Gras Because the first Rex parade honored a Russian prince, the New Orleans Mardi Gras adopted the colors of the royal house of Romanov: purple, green and gold for justice, faith and power, respectively.
Court Ball Royalty The king, dukes, queen, maids and pages. Only the Court of Rex is called the “Carnival Court.”

Den Once a secret location— generally a large warehouse. It’s where a parade krewe’s floats are built and stored.

Doubloons Commemorative coins struck for individual krewes. They are designed with the krewe crest or emblem on one side and the parade and/or ball theme on the other. Some also imprint mottoes; for Rex, it’s Pro bono publico, “For the common good.” The Krewe of Rex tossed the first parade doubloons in 1960. Now usually made of aluminum, some have been minted of bronze, sterling and real gold, given as call-out favors during balls. Rex alone has minted over eighteen million doubloons since 1960, and now tosses out about 600,000 on Mardi Gras day.
Favor Krewe souvenirs given by members to guests attending the ball. From small costume jewelry pins to special doubloons, favors can be anything a krewe member wants to give his partner. On occasion, favors have even been extravagant items of real jewelry.

Flag Notice the purple, green and gold flags flying outside homes around the city? Only former kings and queens of carnival have the right to fly the ones with crowns. The Crescent City is full of past, present and future royalty.
Flambeaux (plural, flam-boe) Multipronged long metal torches fueled by naphtha or kerosene and secured by straps slung about the waist. Before portable generators and battery-operated lights, they were the only way to illuminate the floats of night parades. Traditionally carried by white-robed African Americans, they began as a symbol of Haiti’s independence, won in 1791, after slaves held a torchlight parade led by their priests.

Floats Mobile platforms or trucks, each extravagantly decorated to depict one subject related to the parade’s theme that year.For instance, Pinocchio might dominate a float in a parade of fairytales or children’s literature. Popular theme areas include mythology, history, fairytales, and pop culture. Masked krewe members dressed in keeping with the parade theme or float subject toss a variety of throws to the crowds below.

Go-Cup Plastic or paper cup. It’s legal to drink alcohol in the streets of the Big Easy as long as the container isn’t breakable. If you’re going to stroll and drink, ask the bartender for a go-cup.

King Cake A party staple from January 6 through Mardi Gras day, the cake is named for the three kings who visited the Christ Child and whose feast, the Epiphany, is celebrated on January 6, the Twelfth Night after Christmas. Traditionally, the cake is a brioche pastry baked in a circle, suggesting a crown (although for convenience, large ones are oval). They are sprinkled with gem-like sugar crystals in the official Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold. A plastic baby (symbol of the Christ Child), or in some cases a bean, is baked inside. By custom, the one who finds it throws the next king cake party. Lately, the brioche recipe has been supplemented by a coffee-cake ring alternative. French settlers brought the gâteau des rois to Louisiana in the 18th century. Their original round, flaky pastry pie filled with almond crème and topped by a paper crown, is now making a comeback in the French pastry shops around the city.

Krewe A variation of the word “crew,” most carnival organizations, all are private and non-profit, are known as krewes. The word was invented with a little creative spelling in 1857 by the first New Orleans carnival organization. The founders of the Mistick Krewe of Comus, named their group for a reference to “Comus with his crew” from John Milton’s poem, “A Mask Presented at Ludlow-Castle.” A few parading organizations are not called krewes: Rex, Bacchus, Knights of Babylon, Knights of King Arthur, Corps de Napoleon, Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club.

Lundi Gras French for “Fat Monday,” it’s the day before Mardi Gras, and the revels intensify after the weekend parades. Today, both Rex, King of Carnival and the King and Queen of Zulu arrive via riverboats. The City of New Orleans hosts a free bash in Spanish Plaza outside Riverwalk, where the live entertainment features some of the Big Easy’s best musicians. During the festivities, the mayor presents the keys of the city, declaring Mardi Gras a legal holiday and the domain of Rex, who officially begins his reign of merry madness. The party shifts into high gear with great food and fireworks. In the evening, the venerable Proteus and spectacular Orpheus parades roll.

Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday Rex rules, but marching clubs like the Jefferson City Buzzards and Pete Fountain’s Half Fast Marching Club meander around town, alternating between playing and hitting the bars while they trade beads or paper flowers for smooches. Parades other than Rex roll through the city— Zulu, the Krewe of Elks and the Krewe of Crescent City in New Orleans, and others make merry in Metairie and in adjacent parishes. The masses don costumes skewed from elegant to outrageous. The elaborate regalia of the Mardi Gras Indians flash across the landscape in neighborhoods throughout the city. And downtown, the Bourbon Street Awards go to the best transvestite costume, usually loaded with more spangles than a Liberace ensemble and more elaborate headdress than a Las Vegas showgirl. No matter how wild, the celebrations end at midnight, when Ash Wednesday begins.

Mardi Gras Indians Beginning in the 18th century, runaway slaves were sometimes taken in by local Native Americans. In homage to their saviors, African Americans began to band together in tribal krewes like the Wild Magnolias, Wild Tchoupitoulas, and the Wild West, headed by chiefs rather than captains. Fashioning the incredibly elaborate costumes of feathers and beads, is a family affair, and the custom is handed down from father to son. The feathered show usually takes wing near Claiborne and Orleans Avenues.

Maskers Masked and costumed krewe members in parades or at balls.
Neutral Ground Grassy medians where crowds stand to watch the parades and beg shamelessly for carnival throws. When the Americans arrived in New Orleans after the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, they were unwelcome to the Europeans and Creoles who inhabited the French Quarter (then, the entire city of New Orleans). So the immigrants settled across Canal Street and established what is now the Central Business and Arts District. Canal Street then became the “neutral ground” in the clash of cultures. Ever since, New Orleans has been a city sans medians. Here, we have only neutral grounds. In case you’re wondering, cars parked on the raised neutral grounds mean only two things: imminent and nearby parades or a forecast of rain.

Parade A procession of floats, maskers, horses, motorcycles, marching bands, flambeaux carriers and dancers. Parades begin about twelve days before Mardi Gras and end on Mardi Gras Day.

Rex King of Carnival. Rex is Latin for “king,” Also known as the “Monarch of Merriment,” Rex officially misrules over Mardi Gras having received the keys to city from the mayor on Lundi Gras. He is chosen by the inner circle of the School of Design, the organization that sponsors the Rex parade. His identity is a closely guarded secret until Mardi Gras day, when the local papers flash photos of him and his queen across the front pages.

Tableau A scene enacted by masked krewe members at a Carnival ball. Staged before the dancing, it depicts the parade and/or ball’s theme. Think of it as a short, short, one-act mime.

Throws Typically, plastic beads and cheap trinkets hurled by masked krewe members from passing floats. The usual suspects include beads (from plain round beads in Mardi Gras colors to light-upand- flash crawfish and other swamp inhabitants), doubloons and plastic cups. However, depending on the parade, the generosity of the masker, and the appeal of the crowd member, an energetic parade watcher could catch a rose, a stuffed animal, an Opheus virbloon (a virtual doubloon: a CD with video highlights of the previous year’s parade footage), a plastic alligator, rubber snake, a Zulu coconut, spear, a krewzer (whirling disc of polyester that converts to a throw bag), and dozens of other interesting little and large tchotchkes.