NOLADrinks Show – 4-19-18 – Tall Ships NOLA 2018 – French Quarter Festival – Jamal Batiste

On this edition of The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias, we have some great interviews lined up! We talk with Erin Short of Tall Ships America and their involvement in the tricentennial of New Orleans. We also chat with Heather Twichell of French Quarter Fest wrapping things up from last weekend’s great event. Lastly, New Orleans drummer extraordinaire, Jamal Batiste, joins us for another installment of #SoulSkillet.

Pictured above from left – Bryan Dias of NOLADrinks and Jamal Batiste.

NOLADrinks Show – 4-19-18 – Tall Ships NOLA 2018 – French Quarter Festival – Jamal Batiste

We start things off talking about today’s show and with whom we’re chatting. We also talk about two upcoming events. First, we mention the Food Truck Rally at Champions Square on Friday put on by the New Orleans Food Trucks Coalition. Next, it’s the terrific event this Monday, Chefs’ Charity for Children, benefitting Saint Michael Special School.

Our first interview is with Erin Short of Tall Ships America. We talk about their organization, which brings together various sailing ships to provide experiential and educational opportunities. They are here in New Orleans with several ships and its all connected to our tricentennial celebration and this weekend’s Navy Week. The event, Tall Ships America New Orleans 2018, takes place at Woldenberg Park and on Lake Pontchartrain through Sunday. We talk about how you can tour the ships, interact with the crews, and attend a special gala on Saturday evening.

Pictured above – at left – Erin Short of Tall Ships America. At right – Heather Twichell of French Quarter Festivals, Inc.

Next up, we chat with Heather Twichell, food and beverage manager for French Quarter Festivals, Inc. We talked with Heather on Sunday, the last day of last weekend’s terrific 35^th annual French Quarter Fest. We talk about the festival, the cancellation of Saturday’s events due to rain (the right decision to make!), and how Heather is working to not only make the fest a world-class music event, that it is already, but also a world-class food and drink event. With over 60 terrific food and drink vendors at this year’s event, from some of the best spots in the city, they are well on their way!

For our last interview this time around, we welcome New Orleans drummer, Jamal Batiste, of the famed Batiste family. We talk about his music, growing up around such a great legacy of music, and his new album as a bandleader – “All Rock’d Up.” This is part of our ongoing #SoulSkillet series where we interview local musicians from around the New Orleans scene. Be sure to check out Jamal’s music and catch him playing with his own band and alongside many other NOLA musical greats!

We close things out talking about some news from around the food and beverage world including where you can eat a “tarantula burger” (for real) and a study on what Bordeaux wines might look like in 2050 due to climate change. We also touch on next week’s show that will feature the New Orleans Crawfish Festival as well as Elizabeth Pearce and Abigail Gullo of Drink and Learn.

Special thanks to our friends at Sylvain for hosting us while we taped a couple of our segments for this week’s show there!

Below the map that shows the location of Sylvain, you can subscribe to, stream, and download The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias podcast below…

Cheers, You All!

~ Bryan