Second post-Katrina Jazzfest 'good for the soul'' - Times-Picayune: Updates

Posted by April 27, 2007 2:24PM

Crowds poured into the Fair Grounds for opening day of the 2007 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival on Friday, reveling in the gorgeous weather and everything the city is known for - food, music, dancing and kicking back.
Everything except the crime, police noted.
"Everything is going as expected," said Sgt.

Joe Narcisse, spokesman for the New Orleans Police Department, offering a wide smile when asked if anything unfortunate had happened Friday. "Absolutely uneventful."
Narcisse meant the absence of crime, of course.

By midday, Jazzfest, in its 38th year, appeared as vibrant and soulful as its namesake city.
Last year was the comeback Fest, full of healing and survivor stories and comfort. Twenty months after Hurricane Katrina and the levee failures nearly drowned the city, this year's Fest reflected New Orleans as it was before the storm.

"I want to look forward, I want to look ahead," said Charles Marshall, 66, a retired bail bondsman still rebuilding his eastern New Orleans home. "We're definitely getting back."
Marshall worked the beer tent for the Kiwanis Club of Eastern New Orleans.

"We should have a banner day," said Marshall, as the gates opened.
While today's stage line-up includes Dr. John, Lucinda Williams, and piano legend Eddie Bo, the festival has an endless supply of sights.

Jazzfest 2007 is a tiny kingdom of Louisiana lore and culture. A blacksmith worked an anvil near the Fais Do-Do stage, while Congo Square vendors displayed African-inspired art and jewelry.
From the Plum Street Snowball stand and the Roman Candy mule cart to the Jumbo Peanut men, the fairgrounds pulsed with a down-home, all neighborhoods included vibe.

The city's small-town feel was ever-present, as a who's-who of locals dotted the Fair Grounds in Gentilly.
New Orleans Fire Chief Charles Parent grooved to the Latin drenched drums and guitars at Congo Square.
And if you were headed toward the mini-village of food stands by 12:30 p.

m., where alligator pie competes with gumbo and boiled crawfish, you would have walked right into singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco, who carried her newborn daughter in tow.
"I can't speak for the city, but I feel hopeful," said DiFranco, an upstate New Yorker who has adopted New Orleans as home.

"It's good for the soul to see a lot of neighborhoods coming back, with little help but people are doing it.