Yesterday I motivated myself enough to travel all around and make sure that I get some volunteering done. I’m still trying to find a literacy/social justice sort of non-profit to work with. In the mean time I’ll focus on the arts and food, two things that are also very important to me.
First stop the 26th Annual Tennessee Williams/New OrleansLiterary Festival. A literary explosion of over 80 events being held in 11 locations (3 of which are off The French Quarter “grid” as it were) with almost 50% of festival attendees coming in from out of town (read- have no idea where they are going). FUN!
Honestly, if dealing with lost guests is the least of my worries... This will be the first time in 7 years that I can claim ignorance during a lit fest. No one is going to leave me alone with a register/cash box/store/phone/stack of paperwork/merchandise and assume I know what to do with it, or expect me to keep artists happy while not actually engaging them in personal conversation. No one is going to question the cut of my dress, or suggest that I’m not wearing enough make up.
Which is to say, this is TWNOL Festival is going to be a cake walk. I’m trying to decide if I’m excited about being a nameless volunteer with no authority. Volunteering is always hard work but I’m used to something significantly more labor (of the mind, body and spirit) intensive.
I honestly regret that I didn’t have time to say good bye to my old festival stomping grounds before shuffling off to NOLA… I think about mailing, but I don’t know how to prepare an apology for the unintentional offense. Oh well.
I’m working Friday morning and picked up a Sunday morning shift… because the organizer asked nicely and offered me free tickets to an event that would serve free beer. I’m not super excited about many of the panels and workshops—Most of them are aimed at novelists, playwrights and T. Williams fanatics. I am none of those things. But I will be attending “Day of Music at the Palm Court Jazz Café — Drummer and Smoke: Musicians Battle for the Future of New Orleans in New Atlantis and HBO’s Treme.” I’m going to miss the NPR panel and Late Night Poetry Slam because I have work those nights. Figures.
Next Stop! The New OrleansHealing Center to pick up postcard flyers for The 1st Annual Spiritual Music Festival 1st Annual Sacred Music Festival which I’ll be dropping off in cafes up and down Magazine Street this afternoon. Again, I’m going to miss Saturday night (the night I want to attend!) because of work. But if I don’t work on Sunday I’ll volunteer for the evening taking tickets and listening to some local soul-inspiring grooves. I apologized to the organizer for not being able to give him more time. He was incredibly friendly, and when he found out that I was new in town he said he’d keep his ear to the ground for leads on jobs.
Everyone in this town is friendly. It’s true!
Then it was time to swing into the New Orleans Food Co-op to drop off my Hands-On-Owner application. I need to e-mail the outreach coordinator to introduce myself. But in all honesty I’m nervous about being around co-op people again. Not that I should categorize all co-op people as… well… kinda mean and back stabby. The wound is still deep I suppose. I’d love to get back to teaching a kids craft class. And I have an idea about starting a crochet circle when it starts cooling off with simple scarves going to Missions and Shelters. Once it comes closer to that time of year I’ll certainly pitch the idea to the outreach crew.
I’m full of ideas. I just need a place to put them. Or as a friend says, “Naomi. You’re so good at this.”
I was all smiles yesterday.
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