What's Up Downtown
26 February 2016 Issue
WEDNESDAYS AT THE SQUARE IS BACK

Volunteer Opportunities
 
YLC has volunteer opportunities for YLC's 2016 Wednesday at the Square concert series at Lafayette Square beginning on Wednesday, March 2 and going every Wednesday through Wednesday, May 18 from 5:00 - 8:00pm. WATS is an entirely volunteer led event, and YLC's largest annual fundraiser, helping to raise funds which directly supports YLC's 15 community service projects, working to improve the quality of life in the New Orleans region. Volunteers receive food and drink tickets from YLC to use during their volunteer shifts at Wednesday at the Square. Click here for more information.
 
Kicking off the free 12-week concert series Wednesday will be Royal Teeth and Naughty Professor. For a complete list of performers, CLICK HERE.

The DDD is proud to be a major sponsor.

SweetArts

      
A CAC Fundraiser
 
Presented for more than 30 years, SweetArts is a premier gala that supports the CAC's mission to present diverse and exciting multidisciplinary arts programming, and that honors significant donors and artists for their recent contributions to the CAC and the local arts community. The event is a prelude to the CAC's 40th anniversary season. It pays homage to the art, culture, and energy of the decade in which the CAC was founded-the 1970's. It will be held Saturday, February 27, from 8-11pm at the CAC in Downtown New Orleans.
 
Attire-1970s Chic. Costumes encouraged.
CAC OPEN CALL 2016


MONDAY LAST DAY
Exhibition on View Aug. 6 - Sept. 25
Opening Reception during Whitney White Linen Night
 
The Contemporary Arts Center is pleased to invite contemporary visual artists to submit to the 2016 Open Call for Submissions. Artists who live, show work, or have held an artist residency (during the 2015 calendar year) in New Orleans or the surrounding region (within 200 miles of New Orleans city limits) are eligible to apply. Visit www.cacno.org for information on key dates, eligibility, general guidelines and to submit work for Open Call 2016.

DOWNTOWN NOLA APP


Download the free Downtown NOLA Mobile App featuring the Downtown guide, SafeWalk and ways to communicate directly with the DDD about Downtown matters. Download now by clicking on one of the links below to have Downtown NOLA in the palm of your hand.
Creative Industries Summit featuring the Downtown Nola Arts-based Business Pitch


NOEW, Monday, March 14, 1pm - 5pm, join the DDD, CANO and LCEF for the 4th annual Downtown NOLA Arts-Business Pitch aimed at identifying and supporting entrepreneurs that have a scalable project situated in the creative field. Finalists competing for over $40K in resources are:
 
Culturalyst - a web platform that creates an organized and highly visual directory of a city's creative population, accompanied by a support mechanism.
 
Escape My City - an ongoing scavenger hunt game in Downtown New Orleans which invites players to visit various businesses and cultural institutions.
 
Girl's Guide - a resource for women on the go in major cities, providing a web and mobile interface that gives members full access to a curated and accurate list of everything a city can offer, including shopping, dining, bars, salons, and so much more.
 
LIBERTAD - a self-guided digital tour app that allows an immersive and personal exploration of slavery in the CBD section of New Orleans. It will be the first in a series of "Uncover New Orleans" Tour Apps that highlight under discovered aspects of the living museum that is New Orleans.
 
PatentDive - an application to allow artists, creatives, and inventors to create design patents in minutes.
 
In anticipation of the pitch, CANO and LCEF will host two forums focused on the creative economy.  "Breakthrough Coalition for the Creative Industries" and "Pipelines and Lifelines for Creative Industries Business Development."
 
Click here to Register for the event.
 
Other sponsors for this year's pitch include Postlethwaite & Netterville, Jones Walker, Wisznia, beta and Corporate Realty.

NOEW Lineup
VOTE Big Idea Pitch

Check out the lineup for this year's New Orleans Entrepreneur Week (NOEW), presented by IBERIABANK, an eight-day business festival engaging New Orleans' entrepreneurial community. Produced by The Idea Village, NOEW will be held on Fulton St. in Downtown New Orleans from March 11-18, culminating with the crowd-driven extravaganza - the Blackstone Big Idea, featuring 10 finalists.
 
Cast your vote to select those 10 who will compete for $25K in cash and prizes. Click here to watch videos & learn more about the 20 Blackstone Big Idea semifinalists and then make your choice.

The Beacon at South Market Ready for Occupancy in March

Now Pre-Leasing

The Domain Companies has announced pre-leasing at The Beacon, the much-anticipated luxury apartment building located in the South Market District, Downtown New Orleans. The Beacon features 124 one- and two-bedroom apartments and penthouses, 20,000 square feet of retail space, and proximity to some of the city's best restaurants, shops and entertainment.

Toast for the Coast

Friday, February 26
Audubon Aquarium of the Americas
 
Meet New Orleans Pelicans players and coaches, bid on incredible auction items, and enjoy your Aquarium after hours! 100% of Toast for the Coast proceeds benefit the New Orleans Pelicans wetlands education partnership with Audubon Nature Institute. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.

CITY TO HOLD LOTTERY FOR JACKSON SQUARE 
ARTISTS AND VENDORS


The City of New Orleans will hold a lottery for qualified artists and vendors to obtain permits necessary to sell art in Jackson Square in the French Quarter on Saturday, Feb. 27. Qualified applicants seeking a Jackson Square permit including current Pirates Alley permit holders who wish to acquire a Jackson Square permit, must apply in person between 8 am - 5 pm on Monday, Feb. 22 through Wednesday, Feb. 24, at the Department of Finance's Bureau of Revenue located in City Hall at 1300 Perdido St., Room 1W15, New Orleans, LA 70112. All applicants must present a valid photo ID. Those Pirates Alley permit holders who seek to upgrade to a Jackson Square permit must also present their current Artist B permit.
 
For more information, contact the Department of Finance's Bureau of Revenue, Application Unit, at (504) 658-1600, (504) 658-1694 and (504) 658-1678. 

TRAFFIC ADVISORIES for Downtown

Picayune Pl.
Picayune Pl., between Natchez and Gravier streets closed to vehicular traffic with no on-street parking, during work hours while crews perform exploratory excavation work. Due to underground utility conflicts, the Sewerage and Water Board must redesign placement of the new waterline prior to installation. Once exploratory excavation work is completed, the street will be temporarily asphalted and open to vehicular traffic until waterline replacement work begins.
 
Waterline replacement work is scheduled to begin in March 2016 and last approximately three months. During this time Picayune Pl., between Natchez and Gravier streets, will be closed to vehicular traffic with no on-street parking, during work hours.
 
Gravier St.
Beginning Monday, February 22, 2016 and lasting approximately three months, Gravier St. between Baronne and O'Keefe streets will be closed to vehicular traffic with no on-street parking, during work hours. The scope of work includes excavating a portion of the roadway, replacing damaged or leaking water lines, placing fill material beneath the roadway, and paving the damaged portion of the roadway.
 
In both projects, construction crews will be working from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Work on the weekends is not anticipated; however, inclement weather may alter the project schedule.
 
For more information about these projects, or to sign up for regular e-mail status updates on the FEMA-funded Waterline Replacement Program, contact Kristen Sawyer at kksawyer@nola.gov or 504-658-8483. 

TRAFFIC COORDINATION MAP 

View Areas Impacted by Construction

 

City of New Orleans Department of Public Works has traffic coordination maps for the major portions of the City that are currently being impacted by construction including Downtown New Orleans. Visit www.nola.gov/dpw/traffic-coordination to view them. The maps are updated every 2 weeks.

 

ADD YOUR BUSINESS TO THE DDD WEBSITE

Downtown organizations may register and add their company and/or event to the site for free. Click here to begin your post. 

 

Don't miss this opportunity to let us help promote you!

 

And be sure to follow us on Twitter @DDDNewOrleans & Instagram @DDDNewOrleans and like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/DowntownNola. 


SAFECAMNOLA.COM 

Register Your Security Camera with NOPD to Help Fight Crime

 

If you own a security camera in New Orleans, you can now register it with NOPD to help detectives solve crimes in your neighborhood and provide strong evidence to put offenders away. 

 

The New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation, in partnership with the NOPD, launched a new online service called Safecam NOLA.  The program allows residents and business owners to register their security cameras with New Orleans Police. The SafecamNOLA project is an expansion of "Safecam8," which was an on-line program that Downtown residents and business owners in the Eighth Police District have been using for years to register their cameras with Eighth District police.  The 1,302 8th District cameras that are in that system are now included in the citywide SafecamNOLA system.  

 

Please visit www.SafecamNOLA.com to enroll today.

 
RECYCLING BINS BEING DELIVERED DOWNTOWN
Glass Recycling Included 

Citizens in Downtown New Orleans can call 311 to request delivery of the blue recycling bins if their property is eligible for collection by the City.
 
Residents and small businesses can recycle paper, small metals, cardboard and plastics (#1-#7) on Tuesday of each week. Glass will be collected on Thursday.
 
Collection of recyclable materials operated by Empire Services. For more information visit www.nola.gov.