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French Quarter Festival kicks off 41st season; Solar eclipse dazzles viewers across the country

A performer dances in the French Quarter in New Orleans on April 12, 2023.
Zack Smith
/
Courtesy of French Quarter Festival
A performer dances in the French Quarter in New Orleans on April 12, 2023.

The 41st annual French Quarter Festival kicks off in two days. The neighborhood festival in New Orleans continues to evolve with added programming and music stages.

Emily Madero, festival president and CEO, joins us for a look at what’s new.

The total solar eclipse on April 8 inspired a lot of people to travel to try to get the best view. Many WWNO and WRKF staff members made the journey northwest to reach the path of totality. While others stayed put right here in Louisiana, where visibility was pretty good too.

Garrett Hazelwood, Aubri Juhasz, Paul Maassen and Drew Hawkins shared their observations and feelings about the cosmic event.

Parsons Dance, an internationally acclaimed American dance company, closes this year’s season for the New Orleans Ballet Association with a special tribute to Allen Toussaint, the beloved NOLA musician.

David Parsons, artistic director and Reginald Toussaint, percussionist and son of Allen Toussaint, join the show to discuss the performance.

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Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Diane Mack. Our managing producer is Alana Schrieber. Matt Bloom and Aubry Procell are assistant producers. Our engineer is Garrett Pittman.

You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at 12 and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, Google Play and wherever you get your podcasts.

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"This is NPR's Morning Edition, at 89.9 WWNO. Good Morning, I'm Diane Mack."