A Health Update and the River Rats - Beyond Bourbon Street

The Mississippi River Batture

Today’s episode is all about the people who live and have lived along the sliver of land between the levee and the Mississippi River called the batture.

To help me explore this culture I’ve enlisted the help of Macon Fry, author of the book They Called Us River Rats, and himself an inhabitant of the batture.

Sponsor: The Historic New Orleans Collection

Support comes from The Historic New Orleans Collection, the city’s premiere history museum, located at five twenty Royal Street in the heart of the French Quarter.

Their current exhibit, Making Mardi Gras runs through May 8, 2022. This show stopping display invites visitors into the sprawling dens, late-night sewing sessions, and sweaty dance rehearsals where “The Greatest Free Show on Earth” is created and re-created each year among the city’s diverse communities.

Explore the vibrant expression that only Carnival season can muster, as we meet up with 19th-century float artists, dawn-breaking skeleton gangs, and homebound house-float creators—stopping to admire costumes, royalty, and hand-painted coconuts.

This is the Mardi Gras that happens before we’re watching, the Carnival that will wind through the city on Fat Tuesday, far from the intemperate Bourbon Street scene. Catch it before it passes.

Go to HNOC.org/Visit to plan your trip.

Sponsor: Patreon

Today’s episode is sponsored by our Patreon Supporters.
If you love the podcast, the Facebook group and the work I’m doing please consider becoming a monthly supporter. Find out more at patreon.com/beyondbourbonst.

We have perks at all levels, and if you join at the $10 level or higher, we’ll mention you on an episode.

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Thank You

Thanks to Macon Fry for joining me on the show and showing me around his camp on the river! Thanks also to Joel Sharpton of Pro Podcasting Services for editing the podcast.