Rent Party 2008

Tomorrow will be the second Rent Party held at Abita Springs Town Hall. This event is sponsored by Bring it on Home, an organization founded after Hurricane Katrina to help musicians find work. The term Rent Party comes from the Depression era where concerts were held to help musicians pay rent.

Tickets will be available starting at 5:20. Prices are $25 for adults, $15 for children, and children under two get in free. Food a drinks will be available for purchase. The Marilyn Jazz Band of Cologne will provide pre-show entertainment.

One of the goals of Bring it on Home is to showcase the muscial heritage of Louisiana. Gospel, bluegrass, jazz, cajun, R&B, and latin music will be represented. The bands that will preforming are The Mount Zion Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church Mass Choir, The Louisiana Purchase Bluegrass Band, The Beausoleil Trio with David and Michael Doucet, Don Vappie and the Creole Jazz Serenaders, and Fredy Omar con su Banda. There will also be a special tribute to New Orleans Rhythm and Blue done by various artists.

The show will run form six to nine.

PTA Meeting

Tomorrow, March 18th, there will be a PTA meeting at Abita Springs Middle School. Remember, involved parents create successful schools. A time was not listed, but I believe they are usually held at 6:30 p.m.

Town Council Meeting

Tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. there will be a town council meeting at town hall.

Sunrise Coffeehouse Anniversary

The Sunrise Coffeehouse will be celebrating their one-year anniversary tomorrow, March seventeenth. It also happens to be St. Patrick's Day, so there's reason to celebrate all the way around. Stop by and celebrate with them tomorrow.

Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny will be appearing at Town Hall tomorrow, March 16th at 2:00. Bring the kids.

More Movie News

While eating at Rauch's today, we had a chance to ask about the movie that was filmed earlier this week. Supposedly, it is a movie that will hopefully launch a TV show on the Disney Channel. The name of the movie is Sunday Sunday Sunday and it will be about monster trucks. What monster trucks have to do with an old-fashioned grocery store is anyone's guess.

Movie Update

I drove by Rauch's Grocery again and got to see a little more. There were two Airstream-style RV's and an old-fashioned looking truck. The rumor is that they're shooting a pilot for a Disney show. I think this is very possible since I saw a few kids around unescorted. Of course, nothing has been confirmed.

Abita Opery

The first Spring performance of the Abita Opery is this Saturday, March the 15th. The doors open at 5:45 and the show starts at 7:00. Tickets can be purchased in advace at Town Hall at a cost of fifteen dollars per person. These are for the reserved section. General Admission tickets will be available at the door at a cost of twelve dollars per person. Children under twelve are free and persons over sixty-five get in for only ten dollars.

Listed performers include the New Orleans Jazz Vipers which play traditional jazz music. Timberland Drive will also be performing. Their style of music is described as "roots music." The House band for the evening will be the Petty Bones who play bluegrass, gospel, and a little jazz. Dirk Billy and Tom Marron will be playing a few Irish fiddle tunes which should put everyone in the mood for St. Patrick's Day.

Other dates for Spring Opery performances are April 19th and May 17th. For more information about the Opery visit their web site: www.abitaopery.com

Movie

Unless my eyes decieve me, I believe that there's a movie or commercial being filmed in or around Rauch's Grocery. I here that this is a popular location for crews looking for an old-fashioned feel. Looks like a pretty big crew from the amount of cars parked in the field across the street from Town Hall.

Animals on Parade

"Animals on Parade" rolled through the streets of Abita Springs today. The Abita Elementary School Kindergarten classes held their annual parade. There were safari guides, zebras, tigers, birds, and more. There was also a marching band and cheerleaders. Students paraded on Level, Cypress, Grover, Pine, and back onto Level. The weather had looked pretty grim, but it only just started to sprinkle towards the end of the route. The event was definitely a success.

Historic Meeting

A Historic Meeting will be held tomorrow at 7pm in the new conference room. I'm not sure what all will be discussed, but I'm thinking about going myself to see.

Fun at Rosies

Rosie's Tavern will be hosting live music tomorrow night. The Coon Billies will be playing. Go check it out.

PTA Meeting

Abita Springs Middle School PTA will meet tonight at 6:30. Remember, involved parents means a more successful school. Tomorrow is Muffins with Mom--I'll try to get some more information on that.

Ladies Progressive

The Ladies Progressive will meet tonight at 7:00 in Town Hall.

Abita Pharmacy Helps Friends of the Park

For those of you who don't know, Friends of the Park is an organization dedicated to identifying, designing, implementing, and funding beautification projects in and around Abita Springs. Abita Pharmacy has become a member, and has made a generous donation to the cause: one dollar of every prescription filled in the months of November and December will be donated directly to Friends of the Park. This is an easy way for everyone to give a little something to Friends of the Park--just have your prescriptions filled at the Abita Pharmacy.

For those interested in joining Friends of the Park, membership sign-ups are available at both Bot and Nola's Snoball Stand and Abita Pharmacy. The cost is thirty dollars for a single membership, and fifty dollars for a family and are good through 2008. Open meetings will begin in January, and all members will be welcome to come and share their ideas.

Simon Wins District 74

In an unexpected turn of events, candidate Adam Ackel withdrew from the run-off scheduled for November 17th. His opponent, Scott Simon, will now take the position. Ackel did not state a specific reason for withdrawing, only said that he thought it would be in the best interest of himself and his family. Ackel is still very young and we may not have seen the last of him. It will also be interesting to see what Scott Simon does with his new position. Both men are Abita Springs residents.

Bingo

Tonight Bingo is being held at Town Hall. The fun starts at 7:00.

Wow

Well, I drove out to check out all the action on Level Street, and they weren't kidding! The place was crawling with ghosts, goblins, pumpkins, and princesse. Main street was also pretty busy. I can't wait till next year when I get to be in the middle of all the action.

Adult Fun

Rosie's tavern will be having their weekly poker tournament tonight. Unfortunately, I missed their costume party which was this past Saturday. Sorry!

Zoning and Planning Meeting

Maybe Halloween isn't your thing. Maybe you'd prefer to attend a local meeting. If so, you're in luck. The Zoning and Planning meeting will be held tonight, October 31st, in the new conference room.